Bev Goes Forward

I spoke to the North Carolina Democratic Party’s annual Sanford-Hunt-Frye Dinner Saturday night.   I talked about the “Go Forward” tradition in North Carolina politics, starting with Kerr Scott and running through Sanford and Hunt.   We sat at Governor Perdue’s table, which gave me some pause given some of my blogs about her. But…

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What Would Ted Do?

  The commentariet says Ted Kennedy’s tactical skills will be missed in the health-care reform debate.   What’s more likely to be missed is his roar.   Democrats– including President Obama – lack a loud, clear voice to frame the debate.   Like Kennedy did on Robert Bork. Like I heard him do at the…

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Teddy

Ted Kennedy was both an inspiration and political poison to North Carolina Democrats.   We loved him because he was the last link to the glory days of John and Bobby Kennedy, the New Frontier, the Mercury 7 astronauts, the Peace Corps, “pay any price, bear any burden…” and all that.   And his voice…

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Yes Bev Can

Give Governor Perdue credit: She’s not a quitter.   She has been a blur of activity since the legislature left. Launching a government-efficiency study. Riding a bus the first day of school. Asking for money-saving ideas. Sending out YouTube videos.   Clearly, she has the energy to fight her way back. All she needs now…

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Characters

Bill Friday surprised me in our UNC-TV interview when he asked me about the most remarkable characters I’ve met in politics.   So I’ve given it more thought. I’ve come down to two people I met during Governor Hunt’s 1984 campaign against Jesse Helms.   At different times that year, our campaign was advised by…

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The Fox and the Henhouse

Back in January when Governor Perdue made a healthcare lobbyist head of the Department of Health and Human Services it looked like she’d slipped and put the fox in charge of the henhouse. But the Governor shrugged it off, saying that whoever Lanier Cansler had lobbied for in the past, ‘He’s now owned 100% by…

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The Evil Twin

  A strange tale is unfolding over in a courtroom in Hillsborough about madness, an Evil Twin and Alvaro Castillo hearing the Voice of God.   When Alvaro Castillo was a teenage boy – he’s now twenty-two – he saw a new version of the movie Romeo and Juliet, set in a modern day city…

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Bob Novak

I never liked the crabby grouch Bob Novak played on television. But I did like Bob Novak the reporter.   I got to know him when he covered the Hunt-Helms race in 1984.   Novak obviously was a conservative, but I don’t know what he thought of Helms. He liked Hunt personally, but I don’t…

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What to do this Friday Night

On Friday night at 9 o’clock turn off MSNBC and Fox and CNN and click over to Channel 4 and you’ll have a once in a lifetime experience: Gary’s being interviewed on Bill Friday’s program.   This could turn out to be like having a front row seat at a movie about North Carolina politics.…

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Pulling the Plug?

First President Obama retreated under Sarah Palin’s “death panel” attack.   The Great Communicator couldn’t communicate how ludicrous the attack was. The provision actually was proposed by a Republican. It would have reimbursed doctors who advised patients about leaving instructions for how they want their end-of-life decisions made. Something everybody should do. It spares families…

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