The New Chief

No sooner did the state legislators vamoose out of town than the pundits begin publishing post-mortems and obituaries.   Republicans, they opined, had a ‘breathtaking session,’ marched right off the right end of the earth, passed bills that hurt everyone from the poor to the lame, halt and maimed, and got pounded for their wicked…

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Cookies, Governor?

The absurdly awkward photo says it all: Governor McCrory turning away from a stunned protester left holding his plate of cookies.   Next time, Governor, give them hush puppies.   In truth, McCrory didn’t want the abortion bill. He didn’t want to sign it. He certainly didn’t want this WRAL headline: “Abortion law breaks McCrory…

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Is McCrory Over His Head?

Maybe Kieran Shanahan quit because Governor McCrory still hadn’t learned his name. The Governor called him “Sharon” and “Karen” at a press conference.   Whatever caused Shanahan’s abrupt and rumor-spawning resignation, it punctuates a rough start to McCrory’s administration.   He claimed he got 20 of his 22 legislative priorities. But he clearly was the…

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One Thing’s for Sure…

One reason politics (and state legislatures in particular) are fascinating is they put an endless parade of foibles in a fallen world on display every day. There’s probably no place on earth better to study sin or foolishness than a state legislature.   Since way back when, political wheel-horses in Raleigh have been quietly rewarding…

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A CEO on Jobs and Tax Cuts

A successful businessman – and Democrat – offers the view below on the tax-cut bill passed by the legislature and signed by Governor McCrory. The writer is Reid Overcash, who has been a business owner and CEO for four different companies.   “There is no short-term successful strategy to creating jobs by reducing taxes. No…

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Shedding Light on the Rhubarb

Most of the political pundits in the newspaper said the disagreements between the three tribes of Raleigh Republicans were ideological – they broke it down like this: Tribe #1 – Conservative; Tribe #2 – Less Conservative; Tribe #3 – Least Conservative. But a college professor (who’s usually dry as a bone when talking about the…

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Time for Choosing

So is this the direction North Carolina wants? More restrictions on voting and on women’s health care – and fewer on trash-hauling, landfills and fracking? Less help for people out of work, less health care for the sickest and poorest – and more tax cuts for people on top of the pile?   Most of…

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Puffed Up

The N&O’s striking front-page photo of Speaker Thom Tillis looks like a caricature of a pompous, puffed-up politician.   Now, all of us have been captured on film in less-than-flattering poses. But not on the front page. And not at a time and in a way that seems to capture all the things that people…

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Democrats’ MVP

It’s hard to be an all-star when your team is getting steamrolled every day. Still, a number of Democratic legislators have fought hard, stood their ground and spoken eloquently.   But I’m awarding this coveted honor (the TAP MVP) to the Democrat whose star has risen fastest and farthest this session: Senator Josh Stein of…

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A Mischievous Genie

Over a week ago in a newspaper story – after a day of women chanting “shame, shame, shame” – a Republican consultant declared bluntly House Speaker Thom Tillis had better support the Senate’s abortion bill or just about every Republican was going to be mad with him.   Next, in the same story, a Democratic…

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