Archive for 2011
What Would Jim Hunt Do?
I’m frequently asked what Governor Hunt would do in Governor Perdue’s situation – since he faced the first Republican House majority 16 years ago. Here’s what he did: Got what he could. Then picked a fight. Of course, much was different then. Democrats still held the Senate. Hunt’s approval ratings were in the…
Read MoreGlory Days
For Republican legislators, these are the best of times. Thoughtful-looking, chin-in-hand, close-up photos on the front page. Admiring newspaper profiles. Crowded news conferences. Lobbyists lined up to see you. Donors lined up to give to you. Big offices to move into. Gavels to wield. Then, at noon tomorrow, boom! The big gavel comes…
Read MoreAttention Must Be Paid
Looking back, President Obama made a huge strategic error in 2010: He let voters think he was spending too much time reforming health-care and not enough time creating jobs. He learned a lesson. He now promises to focus on jobs, beginning with his State of the Union speech. But did Washington Republicans miss…
Read MoreWorlds Apart
Call it Colbert World versus Fox World. That’s where the WakeCounty schools debate is happening today. This kind of division is nothing new in North Carolina politics. Go back to 1950: It’s been a 60-year war between conservatives (“racists,” as their opponents call them) and progressives (“socialists,” as their opponents call them.) …
Read MoreCashing In
Republicans who denounced corruption and pay-for-play in Raleigh are now racing to the trough. Like locusts, newly minted lobbyists and would-be influence-peddlers are descending on Raleigh. They brag of their access to the new legislative leaders, and they promise to deliver anything and everything to their clients. How many of them will still…
Read More“Idiot Bloggers”?
I’m sure Tom Fetzer wasn’t talking about Carter and me last weekend when he urged North Carolina Republicans to ignore “idiot bloggers.” But I’m sure he was talking about the idiots who virtually hijacked our blog last year with attacks on Fetzer and other candidates for GOP party chair. It got so bad…
Read MoreCarter’s Advice to Perdue
Now that the trial lawyers are listening to Carter, maybe Governor Perdue should too. He posted a blog last week, “Perdue Upside Down,” about her political dilemma. He concluded: “Perdue has a choice: She can ignore her other problems and set to work convincing voters that, whatever her flaws, her Republican opposition is…
Read MoreTuning In
Even if she doesn’t know what it means, Laura Leslie is pioneering the future of journalism in North Carolina. The long-time Raleigh reporter for WUNC Radio is now the “multimedia statehouse reporter” for WRAL-TV. Here’s how Laura defined her new job: “I’ll be on TV a little, but most of my work…
Read MoreTax Bites Media
How many times have you read stories in the media along these lines: “Tax reform is difficult because special-interest groups always complain when their tax loopholes are threatened”? Then you’ll enjoy the following email from Randall Gregg of The Raleigh Telegram, president of the Triangle Press Club: IMPORTANT NOTICE: NC Tax Being Proposed…
Read MoreBlood and Tears
President Obama soared. Sarah Palin bombed. And, of course, John Boehner almost broke down. Let’s examine all three performances – and the implications. When even Fox News and Glenn Beck praise him, you know Obama hit a home run. But the most remarkable thing about a remarkable speech was that he had to…
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