The Democratic Field

Dan Blue’s decision to run didn’t surprise many Democrats. They had seen him do this dance before.   Bob Etheridge’s decision to run did surprise a few. They think he is hurt by the “loser” tag, the “who are you?” video and consequent difficulties raising money. But he’s ahead in the polls, so why not…

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More on Ayn Rand Grant

The John William Pope Foundation took issue with my recent blog “Reading Ayn Rand.” I’m always flattered that the Pope people read my blogs and think they’re important enough to take issue with, so I’m happy to post their comments. Note, however, that there is nothing here to change my basic point: The best way…

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Will NC Decide GOP Race?

I hope North Carolina Republicans get to do this year what North Carolina Democrats did in 2008: decide their party’s presidential race.   Obama clinched the nomination when he won North Carolina’s primary, according to none less than the late Tim Russert of NBC.   So I’m pulling for Rick Santorum to win tonight –…

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‘Real’ Christians

“Republicans being against sex is not good. Sex is popular.” – Republican strategist Alex Castellanos   A long, hard-fought presidential nominating race doesn’t hurt Republicans by leaving them divided. They’ll unite against President Obama. No, it hurts with voters in the middle.   First there’s this obsession about whether President Obama is “real” Christian. Franklin…

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Santorum’s Contraception Obsession

Rick Santorum, who wants to take America back to 1900, takes me back to 1984.   That was the year of the Hunt-Helms race. In the dying days, we were behind in the polls – and desperate. With the help of (believe it or not) Dick Morris, we came up with a bomb to blow…

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Why Fool Around…with Lt. Governor

Talk about manna from heaven, Linda Coleman must be thanking her lucky stars – the State Employees’ Union just announced it’s going to spend $1.8 million to elect her and defeat Eric Mansfield in the Democratic Primary for Lt. Governor.   The State Employees’ Union has charged into Super PAC land with a passion but…

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Democrats and 2012

There’s good news for Democrats looking ahead to the fall elections. But then there is really, really bad news.   The good news is that Obama can carry the state again. He will play hard – and spend heavy – here. That will turn out votes for the entire ticket.   Also good: the bitter…

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Gone Too Far

Campaigning up in Ohio last weekend Rick Santorum allowed that President Obama’s politics springs from his ‘world view’ which in turn springs from “some phony theology, not a theology based on the Bible.”   Obama’s campaign immediately shot back in a white heat that Santorum had just questioned the President’s Christianity.   And Santorum answered…

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Reading Ayn Rand

Champions of academic freedom are scandalized, but I think this is a wonderful idea: making college students read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.”   The Guilfordian, Guilford College’s campus paper, reports on a grant to the college by one of Art (“I Am Not an Heir”) Pope’s groups:   “The ten-year grant for $500,000 that Guilford…

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Tata Tantrum

Tony Tata is the Karl Hess of school superintendents: a click too sensitive to criticism.   (Memo to all – and self: The next time you get mad at somebody, feel free to compose a blistering e-mail to them. Then immediately hit “Delete.” You won’t regret it.)   Tata had won over a lot of…

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