Archive for March 2011
Republicans and Insurance Deadbeats
A Democratic reader wonders why Republicans have gone soft on deadbeats. Ronald Reagan excoriated “welfare queens.” The Tea Party denounced freeloaders who sponge off hard-working taxpayers. Republican Governors pick loud fights with public-employee “leeches” who get big salaries and generous benefits, courtesy of the taxpayers. The reader asks: What about people who don’t…
Read MoreEmails
Emails, it turns out, like lemmings have a remarkable capacity to reproduce – one breeds ten which breeds an avalanche of messages pouring into inboxes. Back in the old days you wrote a letter to one person; today with the click of a button you can send an email to thirty people, and people…
Read MorePolitical Point Scoring
Having a Republican legislature and a Democratic Governor fighting over how to best save North Carolina has sure made our politics more entertaining. The Republicans passed a bill to save us from Obama-care – which didn’t go down at all well with Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper who the Republican legislative leaders ordered to…
Read MoreVeto Calculus
Governor Perdue won her first veto fight. And Raleigh’s political chemistry is in flux. Despite their majorities, Republicans now face a Governor who looks stronger than she did a week ago. And then there is the swing power of a handful of conservative Democratic legislators. For Perdue’s part, she has to be careful…
Read MoreA Different Ball Game
The crowds and the quality of basketball aren’t the only things in decline at the ACC tournament. So is its political prestige. Back when, the tournament was The Place to Be for The Powers That Be. A walk around the concourse was a power walk among legislators, decision-makers and North Carolina’s elite. But…
Read MoreA Journalist and a Gentleman
David Broder, the long-time Washington Post political reporter who died today, was one of the most decent people I ever met in politics. He was a legendarily hard-working reporter. His news stories and his columns were consistently – even maddeningly – non-ideological. His energy and longevity were remarkable. He covered the 1960 presidential election,…
Read MoreFailing the School Test
As Stephen Colbert would say, a tip of the hat to Democrats in the legislature who are fighting Republican bills that would hurt public schools: teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, less early education and private-school vouchers. But a wag of the finger to those same Democrats who would hurt public schools by eliminating state…
Read MoreMitt McCrory
Will Pat McCrory be the Mitt Romney of North Carolina’s GOP: suspect on the right for being a closet moderate? Witness the issue of annexation. Senate Republicans pushed through a bill freezing “forced annexations.” “We don’t think government officials should have unrestricted control over someone’s private property,” said Senator Berger. A gnome…
Read MoreA Healthy Veto
Legislative Republicans seem bound and determined to reelect Governor Perdue. By placating their base on Obamacare and giving her another easy veto, they enabled her to effortlessly shore up her base. That’s her most pressing political need right now. Soon, you’ll probably see her poll numbers rising. Which will help her start-up fundraising.…
Read MoreThis is Business-Friendly?
Maybe legislative Republicans are trying to counter’s Carter’s charge that they’re too cozy with business. They’re talking now about making it easier for gun-owners to pack heat at the workplace. That will make performance reviews more exciting.
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