Archive for 2012
The Master of the Deal
In 2010 Governor Perdue steered Democrats to defeat, in 2011 the Republicans in the Legislature pounded her, and in 2012 she announced she was not running for reelection. Speaker Thom Tillis has had his own problems: Two of his aides had affairs with lobbyists, Tillis declared nothing untoward (beyond adultery) was going on, then…
Read MoreWillie Bain Horton
Summertime is historically when presidential candidates get defined in a way that cripples them in the fall. It happened to Michael Dukakis in 1988. After he locked up the nomination, he went back to Boston, rolled up his sleeves and work to work – on being governor. Meanwhile, Lee Atwater rolled up his…
Read MoreHow Washington Sets Policy
How Washington went about setting health care policy is for more erudite minds than mine but here goes: Tom, Dick and Harry rolled into the ER in ambulances and each was having a heart attack – Tom’s so poor he couldn’t afford to buy health insurance, Dick could almost afford it but not quite,…
Read MoreOwning it All
It happens on Wall Street: A tycoon calls an eager young executive into his office and hands him a job to do (like selling Facebook stock) and says, This is your responsibility – you ‘own’ it. Three years into the ‘Great Recession’ no politician in his right mind wants to ‘own the economy.’ It…
Read MoreHow Government Works
When Dr. Craigon Gray headed Medicaid in North Carolina he didn’t care much for home health care – he would tell anyone who’d listen how home health care was riddled with fraud. Now a lot of folks suspected Dr. Gray’s animus towards home care (and his preference for sending elderly people to nursing homes)…
Read MoreMove On
Will Republicans now make the same mistake on health care reform that President Obama made? Apart from never adequately explaining his reform, the President hurt himself by focusing on health care when Americans were focused on the bad economy. Now a poll shows that, however they feel about the law, Americans want to…
Read MoreHands Off
To celebrate Independence Day, Congress should oblige those patriots who attended the “Hands off My Healthcare” rally in Raleigh this weekend: Pass a law making them ineligible – now and in the future – for Medicare. And give them medals for their sacrifice. Oh, that’s not what they meant? No, they want government…
Read More36 Years Too Late
Venerated Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who is seventy-eight years old, just faced his first primary in three decades – a Tea Party opponent ran against him who said Washington could do with one less politician who’d spent years voting for more debt and more spending. Senator Hatch weathered the storm but, then, after the…
Read More3 Strikes,You’re Out
Like Charlie Brown, Governor Perdue and Democratic legislators took three mighty swings at the Republicans’ best pitches. And whiffed on every one. It was an inglorious end to the party’s first legislative session out of power. And maybe a taste of how things will be for a while. Some Democrats thought Governor Perdue…
Read MoreWhose Economy?
Speaker Thom Tillis says Republicans “own the economy” and is optimistic: “I think we are seeing some green shoots.” But Pat McCrory says Governor Perdue owns the economy and it’s “broken.” Nationally, of course, Republicans say President Obama owns the economy and it sucks. Obama avoids sounding too optimistic. Democrats say it’s…
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