Yes, there’s still five weeks to go. Yes, anything can happen. But the story of this race is likely to be that Thom Tillis lost it when he stayed Speaker in this year’s legislative session. Apparently Tillis stayed on so he could raise money. But he didn’t, and he’s at a big financial disadvantage…
Read MoreA party that denies citizens their constitutional right to vote is a party that deserves to lose. That’s the Republican Party today. The party of Lincoln and TR has become the party of Block the Vote: Voter-suppression laws. Cutting back early voting. No same-day voter registration. Elections boards that twist the laws to suit…
Read MoreMaybe Thom Tillis should give Civitas’ pollster math lessons. Thursday morning, Civitas put out this release: “Democrat Tom Bradshaw leads Republican John Alexander by 16 percentage points in the NC Senate District 15 race, according to a new Civitas Flash Poll….” The poll, conducted last Monday and Tuesday, showed Bradshaw ahead 52-36 percent. …
Read MoreGive Governor McCrory credit for proposing something big and bold, a $1 billion transportation bond issue. It sounds like a stimulus program, but that would be the kiss of death in the Republican legislature. He may find himself needing some Democratic allies. He and Secretary Tata will have to answer a lot of questions:…
Read MoreTo Ronald Reagan, it was always “morning in America.” To John Hood, it has always been “midnight in North Carolina.” There’s nothing special about North Carolina, Hood argues. Our “exceptionalism” is a myth. Therein lies the difference between Reagan’s sunny conservatism of the 1980s and Hood’s dark depictions now. And the N&O’s Rob…
Read MoreThe other day our top General went over to the Senate and said turning the Iraqi army into a real fighting force may not be possible ;–then he said no one knows who the ‘moderate’ Syrian Rebels will attack once they’re armed – they might attack ISIS or might attack Bashar Assad and, regardless of…
Read MoreMy late father was a dyed-in-the-wool Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrat. He liked to tell this story about why. Jim had a lot of reasons to admire Roosevelt: His family was hit hard by the Depression, and FDR gave them and families like them help and hope. He passed Social Security to keep older people…
Read MoreTwo things happened the other day: One nasty. The other confounding. First ISIS posted a video on the Internet telling President Obama (in no uncertain terms) to watch out – it is going to target every American soldier he sends to Iraq. Second, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, our top General, added…
Read MoreKen Burns’ remarkable series on the Roosevelts makes it clear that Franklin D. Roosevelt never would have passed the Gary Hart adultery test. Would that have been good for America? As Burns’ series was ending, The New York Times published a story by Matt Bai on the scandal that ended Hart’s 1988 presidential…
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