Eric Cantor’s defeat, immigration reform, gerrymandering and Republican presidential hopes all got rolled up together last week in a classic demonstration of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Cantor’s opponent, David Brat (I love that name), attacked him for being soft on immigrants. That struck fear in the hearts of other Republicans in Congress. That…
Read MoreIn May as soon as the Notables and Honorables who serve in the State Senate arrived in Raleigh and settled into their seats, they glanced at Governor McCrory’s Budget, flipped it into the waste bin, and substituted their own budget. What happened to Medicaid’s an example. With their usual delicacy, the Old Bull’s in…
Read MoreThirty years ago it sounded fine when Democrats set out to save North Carolina from the wickedness of a Republican Governor firing Democratic state employees – they were ridding state government of nasty old politics. But it didn’t turn out quite the way they expected because, when all was said and done, they’d…
Read MoreRepublicans made great hay in 2010 and 2012 over then-ongoing investigations of Democratic politicians, like John Edwards, Mike Easley and appointees of Bev Perdue. Suddenly the shoe is on the other foot. Such are the perks of high office. Now there are two investigations of possible illegal activity, one involving the coal ash spill…
Read MoreWhen it comes to avoiding another coal ash spill, the problem may not be (as the environmentalists believe) the villainy of Governor McCrory. The problem may be more subtle. Going back decades, the career state employees over at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have told Duke Energy it was handling coal ash…
Read MoreThe unexpected almost always happens – but who’d have expected this: Down in Mississippi the Tea Party has been battling it out with the Republican Establishment, trying to whip Senator Thad Cochran and when all the votes were counted the Tea Party candidate led Cochrane by an eyelash 49.6% to 49%. The surprise? …
Read MoreEverybody has a theory about why Eric Cantor lost, one that usually reflects their overall theory about politics: It was about immigration. Cantor was aloof and arrogant. The Tea Party is still a force in the GOP. Voters lie to pollsters. Pollsters are stupid. Let’s consider another possible factor, one that echoes last month’s primaries…
Read MoreI’m very, very nervous… Democratic State Representative Marcus Brandon said. Disagreeing, Republican Representative Michael Specialecountered, What’s the price of selling our souls? When it comes to keeping ‘Common Core’ the politicians in Raleigh have divided into two armed camps. Rep. Michael Speciale is dead-set against it. Rep. Marcus Brandon is for it. …
Read More“This is a miracle from God that just happened.” – David Brat, who rocked the political world Tuesday by upsetting Eric Cantor in a Virginia Republican primary. Well, that’s certainly one explanation. A more earthly one came from former Representative Thomas M. Davis III, another Virginia Republican: “There are some very angry people upset…
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