This blog comes from a long-time, active Chamber member. I approve this message: “There’s a political lesson for all of us in the needless maelstrom that has engulfed the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce: You get fleas or worse when you lie down with dogs and dog killers, and you can destroy your credibility in…
Read MoreYour first reaction was probably the same as mine. Clay Aiken? The singer? For Congress? Then I met him. He’s the same person you meet in his announcement video. He’s smart, serious and genuine. He clearly has thought deeply about policy matters. He has a unique voice that is a breath of fresh air in…
Read MoreIs this a “Groundhog Day” sequel? Republicans talking about impeachment? Is it 1998 again? Dan Barkin had an intriguing article in the N&O about several Republican U.S. Senate candidates talking up impeaching President Obama. They fumed about Obama’s alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, not to mention being black, a Democrat and President anyway. Democrats…
Read MoreNobody ever runs for office on snow removal, but it’s a sure way to get run out of office. This week the mayor of Atlanta and governor of Georgia are skating on thin ice after a winter storm left thousands of people stranded on the roads. Earlier this month, New York’s new mayor caught…
Read MoreSome Republicans probably would like to get Sen. Bill (Mad Dog) Rabon a rabies shot – or get him fixed, if you know what I mean. Rabon’s now-famous rant just shows that, in politics, the worst wounds are self-inflicted. Rabon diminished his own stature, put his bosses in an awkward spot and gave folks…
Read MoreAs a boy easily bored in school, I loved snow days. We lived in one of the world’s great sledding locales, just off Canterbury Road in west Raleigh. Every crossing street – Churchill, Lewis Farm, Grant – is a steep hill both ways. We spent hours going down them, going home long after dark. …
Read MoreDon’t you suspect there’s an email to the effect of “Time for some voting problems for Democrats”? Why else would 13 Republican legislators try to quash subpoenas for any documents they have related to the “rationale, purpose and implementation” of the state’s new voter ID law? This, you recall, is the same crowd that promised…
Read More50 years ago we declared war on poverty, spent $20.7 trillion, and lost. So now the President is trying again. Only this time he’s calling it a war on income inequality because a war on poverty only appeals to folks who are poor while a war on income inequality appeals to just about everyone except,…
Read MoreWhenever you think political discourse can’t get coarser, somebody comes along and proves you wrong. Especially super-PACs, which are basically piggy banks for political consultants who make big bucks by making over-the-top ads that make the people writing the checks happy but flop with voters. (See: Karl Rove, Crossroads GPS, 2012 elections.) Carter and…
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State Representative Joe John, who died today, looked something like a friendly but fierce bulldog. He…
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Some of my friends didn’t watch Trump’s inauguration. One went to church. One went to every…
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The Democratic Party needs to get tougher, and that’s a job for Democratic women. Sydney Batch…
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