Confusion reigns supreme

Nobody who does politics knows what’s up with politics now. Republicans can’t explain why Trump is winning. Democrats can’t explain why Clinton isn’t winning. Ask candidates, consultants, commentators and the media crowd for explanations, and they all mumble, fumble and stumble. A month ago, everybody thought Republicans were headed for a deadlocked convention and Democrats…

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Don’t do it, Dennis!

I’m appealing to my old friend and comrade-in-arms Dennis Wicker: Don’t solve the HB2 crisis. It’s helping Democrats! Now, I feel bad saying this. Dennis is one of the finest and most public-spirited people in North Carolina. We lost out big time when we didn’t elect him Governor in 2000. Now he – and Art…

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Brought to you by Koch

A sensible Republican legislator (there is such a thing!) was asked why Senate Republicans want to regulate wind and solar energy to death. After all, don’t these people despise government regulation? His answer – more accurately, his suspicion – was: “The Koch Brothers.” The Koch fortune relies heavily on extracting fossil fuels and fouling the…

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More Clinton vs Trump

Here are two more simple arguments for Hillary Clinton. The first comes, as in yesterday’s blog, from former Senator Bob Kerrey: “The Clintons did a good job on the economy the last time they were in the White House. I have every reason to think they will again.” The second is from a big Republican…

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“Who sucks less?”

That’s how former Senator Bob Kerrey says most Americans view the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. And a poll by The New York Times last week bears him out. Trump’s troubles: He is viewed unfavorably by 60 percent of women, 65 percent of voters age 18-29 and 68 percent of non-white voters. Clinton’s…

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Cooper’s coup on HB2

Now Roy Cooper can say he’s protected more jobs against HB2 fallout than Governor Potty McCrory has. After Cooper met with the CEO, New Jersey-based Braeburn Pharmaceuticals decided to proceed with a $20 million, 50-job manufacturing and research facility in Durham County. The company had been reevaluating its plans because of HB2. Cooper can say,…

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A heady honor

This is a high point in my life. One of the people I admire most, D.G. Martin, put forward my name for a panel he suggests to resolve North Carolina’s HB2 crisis. D.G. wrote in a recent column: “I believe that a panel of people of goodwill representing both supporters and opponents of HB2 could…

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Capital bullying

Republican leaders in Raleigh look like a cross between the Nixon White House and North Korea. Nixon: “Make an enemies list. We’ll screw ‘em!” North Korea: “All Facebook and Twitter posts will be monitored. There will be no deviations from the party line.” WRAL’s Laura Leslie exposed the tawdry mess in a story (“Lobbyists: Lawmakers…

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George and Renee — End of Round 1

Renee Ellmers was being clever. She thought. By telling voters George Holding had opposed ‘the U.S. Army.’ But it turned out to not be clever at all. Because when Holding explained that Ellmers was claiming he’d voted against the Army because he’d voted against Obama’s Omnibus Budget Deal – the earth shifted beneath Ellmers’ feet.…

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Remember when…

Governor McCrory is very proud that North Carolina moved up from 42nd to 41st in teacher pay last year. Well, let’s turn back the clock about 20 years. In 1997, Governor Jim Hunt proposed raising teacher salaries to the national average. At the time, we ranked 43rd. With bipartisan support (including a Republican-majority House), the…

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