Archive for April 2013
Murdering Santa Claus
For years Jesse Helms wrote every speech he made, typing each on an old reporter’s typewriter, then one year when he was unusually harried he decided it was time to hire a speechwriter – so we hired ‘John.’ John was an unusually gifted writer but for all his virtues he had a peculiar view…
Read MoreBlow-Up
It’s hard to talk about politics when Americans are being blown apart at a great event in one of our great cities. A celebration of human aspiration and achievement becomes a terrorist’s target. A race that celebrates leg power and stamina becomes an abattoir of lost limbs and broken bodies. But politics inevitably intrudes.…
Read MoreWhen a Politician Goes Too Far
Republicans and Democrats over in the legislature have been battling hammer and tongs but, still, it raised eyebrows last week when the News & Observer reported Republicans have declared war on the cities. House Speaker Thom Tillis explained the new conflagration philosophically, saying ‘Part of the conflict is due to a different world view…
Read MoreUNC vs. GOP
Now that UNC-Chapel Hill has a new chancellor, maybe it can move beyond the battles over sexual assaults and athletics-versus-academics and get on with the real war – the one with the new Republican majority in Raleigh. And it will be war. This is a fundamental social, cultural and political conflict. It is…
Read MoreTesting, Testing, 1,2,3
With Republican legislators pushing drug tests for welfare recipients, let’s look at two Southern states’ experiences. For a year, Georgia has encouraged businesses to alert the agency if a job applicant fails a drug test, so that the state can deny them unemployment benefits. How many people have the tests caught? Exactly one.…
Read MoreA Swell Idea
A laurel and hearty handshake go out to Rep. Robert Brawley for boldly speaking up for the right of legislators to take free gifts from lobbyists. Right on, brother! The legislature should pass this bill. Because it then would take almost no time before most of the members are in jail or forced out…
Read MoreRead This Blog
I commend to your attention PoliticsNC, a new blog by Thomas Mills, a Democratic consultant who gives me great hope for the future. Here’s a sample from a recent post he did that stirred up some Democrats: “Two myths seem to be dominating Democrats’ analysis of their problems. The first is that Art…
Read MoreOne Wrong Begets Another
Years ago some crafty Democratic gnome sitting cloistered in a cell pouring over reams of demographics (trying to figure out the political inclinations of people who didn’t vote) had a revelation: If those folks did vote, a lot more Democrats were going to get elected. Now, in a way, that sounds odd (after all,…
Read MoreWanted: New Ideas
Today I yield my time and space to Nation Hahn, my social-media guru and guide to all things New Politics. He’s one of the state’s bright talents and one of my prime hopes for the future. He offers a timely and telling warning to Democrats: “Gary called for a Democratic Moses recently. It…
Read MoreIdle Hands
My grandmother used to say, ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop’ – and while legislators are waiting for the Senate to introduce its budget over in the General Assembly, they’re making a strong case that temptation and too much time on your hands is as deadly a combination as ever: One legislator sponsored a bill to make…
Read More