No high ground for McCrory

Pat McCrory’s reelection problems go much deeper and much farther back than HB2. Any lift he gets from putting on his hurricane hat isn’t likely to lift him out of the floodwaters. That’s the assessment Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling gave at a Common Cause NC fundraiser Sunday evening. Jensen offered a view of…

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The Stalker

Last night Donald Trump looked like a stalker, one of those sexual predators Republicans are so concerned about, except when he’s their nominee for President. After hearing his boys-on-the-bus “locker room talk,” we weren’t shocked by anything he said. The lying, rudeness and interrupting were familiar. What was new was what he did. Pacing. Sniffing.…

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Quentin Lindsey

Quentin W. Lindsey was by no means the most colorful or controversial person to work for Governor Hunt. But he had more long-term impact on North Carolina than most any of us. Quent, who died September 21, was the Governor’s Science and Public Policy Advisor. He was instrumental in the establishment of the NC School…

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Murder in Paleolithic Times

If you attach the words ‘science proves this’ to a statement most people, almost as a reflex, will believe it. Often without a second thought. The other day the newspapers reported a scientist at Granada University in Spain had published a study on the ‘evolutionary history of lethal violence.’ The scientist had carefully created a…

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No answer at 911

A TAP contributor writes, “Here’s an example of what slips through the cracks when a governor is distracted by his world collapsing around him: “McCrory and his team did nothing when 400 people lost their jobs in the abrupt closing of Johnston Ambulance Service. Anybody who’s been around a hospital or nursing home in eastern…

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An Unpopular Question

Hillary, speaking about Bernie Sanders’ supporters, explained, “They’re children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parent’s basement. They feel they got their education, and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves.” Donald Trump shot back: “Hillary Clinton thinks Bernie supporters are hopeless…

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Trump’s big fat trap

Since Donald Trump opened up his big fat trap at the debate 10 days ago, a big fat trap has opened up for Republicans all down the ballot. Polls now show the full measure of damage that Trump did to himself and to all Republicans, especially with Independents and women. Even worse, Trump has two…

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Over a Barrel

Somehow the New York Times laid its hands on Donald Trump’s tax returns from 1995,  which showed Trump had claimed $916 million in losses – losses so large, according to the Times, Donald Trump may not have paid a penny of federal income taxes for 18 years. It would be hard to find a newspaper…

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Pat’s Cat 5 Storm

Regardless of what Hurricane Matthew does, Pat McCrory is struggling against high headwinds and a vicious riptide. That forecast track is clear in WRAL’s SurveyUSA poll (which has nothing to do with Greg Fishel). It’s not just that Roy Cooper leads McCrory 48-44. It’s that all the winds are blowing Cooper’s way. Half (51 percent)…

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