Giving a Friend a Break

The other day when one of the bureaucrats over at the Department of Health and Human Services slipped up and made a mistake, the blame landed squarely on Secretary Aldona Wos’ shoulders. And Wos landed back on the front page of the newspaper again.   Secretary Wos had a tough year. And Governor McCrory ought…

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Vollermort

The internal politics of the North Carolina Democratic Party are a mystery to me, so I’m lost when people ask, essentially, “WTF is Randy Voller up to?” So I refer you to an insightful piece by an observer I trust: Bob Geary with Indy Week.   Geary begins: “After a stormy year as state Democratic…

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McCroryCare?

Your eyes may glaze over reading about the McCrory administration’s plan to reform Medicaid. But this may pop your pupils: It adopts a key feature of Obamacare.   Like the Affordable Care Act, DHHS’ new and improved Medicaid plan depends on an animal called “Accountable Care Organizations.”   One health expert describes ACOs this way:…

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Keep ‘em here, Send ‘em home

Immigration, the newspaper says, is ‘bedeviling” Congresswoman Renee Ellmers. It’s also bedeviling Speaker John Boehner. And half the Republicans in Washington.   It’s a knotty problem.   Part of the politicians have decided it’s best to send every single illegal immigrant back to where they came from – but no one’s quite sure how to…

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Obama Tops McCrory

This poll result caught the eye: “Obama at 42 percent approval in NC, McCrory at 36 percent.” Yes, the Governor’s approval rating was lower than the President’s in a High Point University poll.   Now, a big caveat: The poll was of all adults, not just voters. The results might be different among voters alone.…

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McCrory Jumps Back Into the Frying Pan

Even Governor McCrory’s critics were ready to move on, but he won’t, for reasons that are unfathomable. Instead, he takes time out of his (we assume) busy schedule to write a letter to the Charlotte Observer about his now-famous encounter with a cook at a gourmet food store.   The letter tells us a lot more than…

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Crappy PR

When you’ve got bad news, get it out. It only gets worse with age.   Pat McCrory’s new-look DENR failed that test last week, at a time when people were watching closely how the  administration would react to its first environmental crisis. When three million-plus gallons of untreated sewage spewed into the Haw River, DENR…

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In the Line of Fire

Politics 101 used to say that getting in the news was good for politicians. Not today.   The new rule is: If you’re in the spotlight, you’re losing. The more you’re in the news, the lower your poll ratings.   When the government shutdown dominated Page 1, Republicans plummeted in the polls. When Obamacare took…

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McCrory Jumps Back Into the Frying Pan

Even Governor McCrory’s critics were ready to move on, but he won’t, for reasons that are unfathomable. Instead, he takes time out of his (we assume) busy schedule to write a letter to the Charlotte Observer about his now-famous encounter with a cook at a gourmet food store.   The letter tells us a lot…

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580,834

The number floated up off the page and hung shimmering in the air in front of my eyes: 580,834.   Surprised, and curious, I clicked on the computer, then stared at another number that looked dreary in comparison: 345.   580,834:  The number of people who have watched Clay Aiken’s video since he announced for…

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