Archive for May 2012
Render Unto Caesar
Back in 2010 instead of giving a million dollars to candidates the Democratic Party decided to give the money to local party officials to spend; it didn’t work out too well as the Democrats lost control of both the State House and Senate but it was popular with local officials who then elected bow-tied David…
Read MoreTime to Pull Over
A frustrated TAPster vents at both parties: “The ‘check engine’ light is flashing on the dashboard of North Carolina politics, and a quick look under the hood shows the problem is more than a bad tank of gas. “We are emerging (hopefully) from a generation of incompetent political leaders. Governor Perdue’s mindless comparison…
Read MoreJust Kidding
After I posted my blog on the Democratic Executive Committee’s meeting being a plot hatched by Art (“I Am Not An Heir”) Pope, a TAPster emailed me: “You’re being facetious, right?” Surprised, I replied: “Of course.” She wrote back: “I figured, but you’d be amazed how many of my rabidly Dem friends are posting…
Read MoreBackwards
Like almost everything else in modern times politics has changed – in odd ways. In the old days when Jesse would run for Senate the Republican parties scattered across counties across the state had one mission: They figured their job was to elect Republican candidates. A lot of times what they could do was limited…
Read MoreThe Manchurian Committee
There is only one logical explanation for what happened at the Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting: It was a vast right-wing conspiracy masterminded by the Dr. Evil of North Carolina politics, Art (“I Am Not An Heir”) Pope. Here’s how the nefarious scheme worked: Years ago, Pope saw that David Parker had run…
Read MoreNobody Likes a Bully
Contrary to how things looked after North Carolina passed the marriage amendment, Gay Politics Week may end up hurting Mitt Romney far more than President Obama. It’s telling that Republicans didn’t pile onto Obama after Joe (Gabby) Biden forced him to come out of the closet. Then the story exploded about Romney organizing…
Read MoreThe Rules
A TAPster reminds me that Tuesday’s primaries reinforce the three rules of politics: Rule 1: Money talks. Rule 2: Never forget Rule 1. Rule 3: There are no other rules in politics. When Bob Etheridge conceded Tuesday night, he said he didn’t like raising money, but he sure enjoyed visiting 45…
Read MoreBaldwin Runs for Chair
I question Mary-Ann Baldwin’s sanity. But I hope she gets elected state Democratic Party chair. The party desperately needs someone who can raise hell, raise money and referee all the players this fall. One of the worst political rumors I heard this week – and that covers a lot of ground – is that…
Read MorePrequel to November?
Four years ago, the May primary thrust North Carolina into the national spotlight. An unexpected surge of new voters clinched the Democratic presidential nomination for Barack Obama. The tide raged on into November. It lifted Democrats to one of their biggest election victories in decades. This year, we’re back in the spotlight. This time,…
Read MoreFact Checking the Fact Checkers
If a newspaper is going to be a ‘Fact Checker’ it ought to take the time to do the research to get its facts straight. A few days ago the News and Observer reported Paul Coble ‘has voted to issue’ millions of dollars in new Wake County bonds (debt) but added, But those bonds…
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