He Likes Ike!

Tea Party types must have gone into cardiac arrest last night when Governor McCrory said he’s “kind of an Eisenhower Republican.”   Just not as ambitious. Ike built the Interstate highway system; Pat wants to “fix the lights” on the Interstate. And, like Ike, he’s afraid to confront the Joe McCarthys in his party.  …

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One-Trick Pony

Like a bull seeing a red cape Karl Rove lowered his head and horns swinging, charged straight for Cole Porter’s adoring but unhappy wife;— as soon as actress Ashley Judd (who starred in De-Lovely) became a possible Senate candidate in Kentucky Rove had put out an ad out saying, “Ashley Judd’s an Obama-following, Obama-loving, radical…

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Not So Fast

The Economist newspaper says North Carolina has bid “farewell to purple.” But an article in The New York Times Magazine gives Democrats reason for optimism.   The Economist notes: “North Carolina has a Republican governor, a conservative majority on the state Supreme Court and Republicans controlling both legislative chambers.” Plus, Republicans have nine of our…

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A Poster Child for Ineptitude

Cautiously holding their fingers to the wind most politicians avoid controversies like the plague – but State Auditor Beth Wood, a farm girl who put herself through East Carolina University, has a trait that’s all but extinct in politics: Grit.   Last year, after Wood audited the state’s new Medicaid Processing Computer System, she blistered…

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GOP ‘Compassion’

“We are being compassionate,” said state Rep. Mike Hager of Rutherfordton. “We have a mindset of pulling…government burden off these small businesses.”   Well, that sums it up. Republican compassion is for businesses and corporations, not people.  Remember: People aren’t corporations, my friend.   First North Carolina Republicans slashed help for people who can’t find…

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Reasonable and Petty

I settled into my chair, rocked back, opened a book, and a few minutes later Obama’s measured voice floated across the room saying John Boehner ought to delay the Sequester, then Obama explained how government ought to do more for people with less and it’s only fair the well off pay a little bit more…

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Listening to McCrory

After receiving a typically enthusiastic introduction from former Governor Jim Hunt Tuesday, Governor McCrory said, “Note to staff: Never have me speak after Jim Hunt again.”   Here’s another note he should send them: Know my audience.   McCrory was speaking at N.C. State’s Emerging Issues Form on manufacturing. He seemed to think he was…

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Older and Wiser

After Tea Party candidates rolled to victory in 2010 they headed for Congress to cut spending, and late one night, six months later, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner announced they’d made a deal to pass the biggest annual spending cut in history.   Now, two years later, it turns out the cuts were…

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Obama’s Edge

Thanks to the 2012 campaign and Mitt Romney, President Obama has found his voice. That gives him a big advantage over Republicans the next two years.   For all his writing and oratorical skills, Obama never found a way in his first term to effectively tell his story – and sell his message. That led…

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Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Some Republicans seem determined to be “the stupid party,” in Bobby Jindal’s memorable phrase.   Like U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx.   The Sunday New York Times took a look at how some students today pay for college. The story focused on Steve Boedefeld, an Appalachian State University student who wants to avoid graduating with a…

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