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General
Gary Pearce posted on May 06, 2013 09:33
Chairman Randy Voller continues to embarrass himself and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Now it’s for saying Republicans are “raping” North Carolina.
After numerous Republicans committed political self-immolation last year by talking loosely about rape, you would think any man in politics would have the good sense to avoid the word. Not Voller.
Then he compounded the problem by seeming to deny he said it. Then he defended it, saying he used the word “contextually,” whatever the hell that means.
I already called on him to resign for not paying taxes, so I won’t repeat myself. Suffice it to say this isn’t helping the party when it needs a lot of help.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 03, 2013 14:25
Raleigh Republicans’ once-united front is fraying. There was Rep. Larry Pittman’s non-apology apology to Speaker Tillis (“I’m not sorry I said it; I’m sorry I got caught.”) One wit noted that it read like a hostage letter. Was he waterboarded?
Then there’s renewable energy. Some Republicans chafed at the pressure behind the bill to abolish the renewable-energy portfolio, especially those whose districts have jobs and investments at stake. There are also those who worry about the signals the legislature is sending to companies looking at North Carolina (“We’re in a race to the bottom with Mississippi” and “No contract is safe with us in town.”)
The party that once chided Democrats for heavy-handed rule now routinely gavel through bills regardless of how members voted, including their own.
The sinister force behind the renewables bill appears to be Americans For Prosperity, who are for jobs and growth except when they’re aren’t. When these guys hear “renewable energy,” they apparently see the face of President Obama (also known as “Satan”). Jobs, schmobs! Off with their heads!
This suggests AFP would support Senator Berger in a Senate primary against that increasingly squishy moderate Tillis.
Intra-party splits like this are part of the natural order of things. As you would expect, the House and Senate clearly hate each other. Just as clearly, Governor McCrory is eager to spend as much time as he can out of town doing what he does best: grinnin’ and shakin’ folks hands.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 03, 2013 14:00
Sharp-eyed readers no doubt note I goofed in “Foxx at the Wheel” (below): Mel Watt was named to head the Housing Finance Agency, which is not a Cabinet appointment.
Blame Twitter. I had seen a tweet about “Watt to Housing.” I misunderstood. It’s like what The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart said recently when a guest asked if he had read a certain book: “Well, no, but I did read a tweet about it.”
Speaking of Charlotte, one TAPster noted that Anthony Foxx’s selection is another sign of “the ascendency of Charlotte onto the national and statewide stage. Remember it wasn’t long ago when a Charlotte guy could not be elected statewide.”
Now Charlotte guys are Governor, House Speaker, DOT Secretary-designates and potential Mortgage Czar.
We can officially retire the mythical “Charlotte curse.”
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Gary Pearce posted on May 02, 2013 14:31
Liddy Dole rode DOT to a Senate seat from North Carolina and a presidential race. Where will it take Anthony Foxx?
Such is the power of a President: Obama elevated Foxx to the head of the political line in North Carolina. He is now a clear contender for Governor or Senate. He is the anti-Pat McCrory, a progressive Charlotte mayor in high office and in prime position to help his city and his state.
With Mel Watt, North Carolina will have two Cabinet seats. Pretty good for a state the President didn’t even carry. Obama obviously has his eye on North Carolina and the role it can play in national politics for years to come. Maybe he sees Foxx as a potential successor in the White House.
This is not meant to slight Watt, but his age and voting record may preclude him from statewide office. He’s also is in a good place to help North Carolina and those cities that Republicans love to hate.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 01, 2013 12:24
Is this what Governor McCrory means by government serving its customers? It’s certainly as blatant a statement of pay-to-play as has ever been made.
Now, here are some questions for the new Board of Elections to ask: Who are “they”? Lobbyists? Campaign officials? Elected officials? What did they say? To whom? On behalf of whom?
And, of course, what did the Governor know and when did he know it?
Law enforcement officials in North Carolina call video sweepstakes as one of the scummiest operations they have ever seen. The campaign contributions, according to George’s statement, were intended to “get done what we wanted to get done.”
First, the Governor and legislature should start by kicking these people firmly out of North Carolina. Then the board – and the SBI and the DA – should find out who promised what for the money.
This needs to be pursued just as hard and far as questions about Governor Perdue’s campaign flights.
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Gary Pearce posted on April 30, 2013 11:33
Raleigh has never seen this kind of one-party control.
Hold on, you say – especially my Republican friends: Democrats had one-party control for over 100 years.
No, not like this.
For most of those years, the Democratic Party was two parties. Think Terry Sanford and I. Beverly Lake. Or Jim Hunt and Jimmy Green.
After 1972, when conservatives began moving to the Republican Party, Democrats were constrained by their own moderate sensibilities and by practical politics. Marc Basnight and Tony Rand squelched some liberal initiatives from their own caucus because they feared the ballot-box consequences. They caught hell for it sometimes. So did Governor Hunt.
That’s not the case today. Only in the most extreme cases – say, establishing a state religion – have Republican leaders squelched their extremes. (If that bill had gone to a vote, most Republicans probably would have voted for it.)
So, as Carter has noted (see “Worrying About Primaries” below), Republicans in the legislature aren’t worried about ballot-box retribution from moderates across the board, they are worried about retribution from the most far-right elements of their party.
That’s a bad way to run government. I wouldn’t trust things to the most extreme elements of my party. And, in fact, Democrats didn’t.
If Republicans don’t rein it in, their reign will be short-lived.
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Carter Wrenn posted on April 30, 2013 10:10
Up in Washington, Senate Leader Harry Reid and House Leader John Boehner and a handful of politicians have been sequestered in secret meetings, trying to agree on a solution to one of Washington’s most burning problems: How to exempt Congressmen and their staffs from ObamaCare.
Then, to their surprise, word of the meetings leaked – landing on the front page of Politico – and in the next breath, facing an awkward question and needing a quick explanation, the politicians stumbled, sheepishly telling the press they were worried about putting their staffers under ObamaCare because it would lead to a ‘brain drain’ on Capitol Hill – and, of course, one wit immediately wrote the newspaper, How could that be? There hasn’t been a glimmer of a brain on Capitol Hill for years.
Next Politico treed Democratic House Leader, Steny Hoyer, asking where he stood on exempting Congress from ObamaCare – like a man weaving through a minefield Hoyer put out a carefully scripted statement saying he was studying “all the policies in the Affordable Care Act, to ensure they’re being implemented in a way that’s workable for everyone, including members and staff.”
After cornering the Democrat next Politico descended on John Boehner and Boehner’s spokesman, with equal care, announced, “If the Speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from ObamaCare, he will.”
What those two bits of carefully parsed political-ese meant – when translated into plain English – was simple enough: Both Hoyer and Boehner had said Yes.
So in all the great breadth and sweep of America, from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters, one sacred patch of ground may be untouched by ObamaCare – Capitol Hill.
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Gary Pearce posted on April 29, 2013 14:36
Within just a few days last week, the Perdue campaign-fund serial wrapped up, Sweepstakesgate ramped up and Governor McCrory cleaned house at the Board of Elections.
Grab a big bag of popcorn and settle in. This will take a while.
Democrats will pursue this like bloodhounds. They’ll pressure the board, its staff, the media, the DA and watchdog groups to chase it just as hard as they did the Perdue matter.
Republicans will doubtless squawk that it’s overkill. But there is karma (and payback) in politics. And the new elections board can’t look like it’s applying a double standard.
He said indignantly that he “would have walked out of the room” if anyone had tied a campaign contribution to a big corporate tax break. No need to walk, Senator. Nobody in the room needed to say anything. They all understood.
As someone said recently, the problem is that what looks slimy to the public passes as savvy in Raleigh.
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Gary Pearce posted on April 28, 2013 15:00
If you need comfort or inspiration, take an hour to watch the moving memorial service for Jamie Kirk Hahn. If you’re pressed for time, watch Nation Hahn’s remarkable eulogy (at 34:00) and Anthony Quillar’s powerful rendition of the Lord’s Prayer (1:04).
Looking at the oversized portrait in the sanctuary, you’re overwhelmed by the impact that beautiful, lively, smiling girl had on people. (Yes, I said “girl.” When you’re a parent, you can’t help but see a little girl.)
I commend the video to you regardless of your politics. Republicans, you may grit your teeth once or twice; just substitute your own beliefs. For all of us who care about politics and public service, it’s a testament to the difference one person can make – and why we’re in it.
Democrats, take heart from it. That church was filled with many, many young people just as dedicated and just as idealistic as Jamie. There are thousands more across the state. They are an army waiting to be mobilized, and they have an arsenal of mobile weapons with which to mobilize.
Nation gave us this advice from Jamie:
1. Be kind to others. Lift other people up.
2. Be a helper. That is true power.
3. Work at it. Because it’s hard work. Stick to it.
Jamie brought a lot of people together. She’s still doing it. And she’ll be doing it for a long time.
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Carter Wrenn posted on April 26, 2013 09:29
A legislator looked at a bill, winched, looked at another legislator and said, ‘Well, if I don’t vote for it I guess I’ll land in a primary.’
‘You think,’ the second legislator said, ‘that Republicans in your district are for people carrying guns in bars?’ The bill allowed people carry guns in bars, restaurants and on college campuses (as long as the gun is in a locked box).
‘Looking at the emails I’m getting,’ the first legislator said, ‘I’d say they do.’
‘How many emails are you talking about?’
‘Over a hundred.’
‘And how many Republican voters are in your district?’
‘About 20,000.’
‘So, because you got a hundred emails, you think you’re hearing the voice of 20,000 Republicans saying they support people carrying pistols in bars?’
The first legislator bristled. ‘You think that’s wrong?’
‘I think if you want to know what voters think you should take a poll.’
The first legislator, his mind made up, scratched his head. ‘You ever try that?’
‘Yep.’
‘What did it show?’
‘It said Republican voters have more common sense than legislators give them credit for.’
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