My grandmother, years ago, would regularly tell me, Carter, you’ve got your wants and your needs confused. It turns out reporters have the same problem. What reporters need, just about every day, is a story. And what they want is a crisis to make it an interesting story. Take the newspaper headlines…
Read MoreIt’s one town and one election, but it was one hell of a shot in the arm for an old Democratic war horse like me. A dedicated, sleep-deprived, over-caffeinated crew of young organizers and Appalachian State students helped sweep the Boone Town Council races for a slate of progressive, forward-looking candidates, including Andy Ball…
Read MoreRob Christensen wrote a tribute to Jack Hawke and in it mentioned hardball politics and Jack’s run-in with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice – there’s more to the story: During Senator Helms’ 1990 campaign, when Jack was Republican Chairman, I asked him for a favor – to work with…
Read MoreThe Republican civil war takes off, Obamacare takes a hit, Virginia is still purple, a big GOP personality wins big in blue New Jersey, public pollsters lose big and a new generation of Democratic leaders rises across North Carolina. Let’s run it all down. GOP civil war: The skirmishes are over, and the real…
Read MoreSomehow it’s right that Jack passed away at election time. His life revolved around election days. I suspect Pat McCrory would be a better governor if he had listened more to Jack this year. I know politics won’t be as much fun with him gone.
Read MoreRemember when George W. Bush ran as a “compassionate conservative” in 2000? Ted Cruz could run in 2016 as a “cruel conservative.” The distance between the two Texans shows how far right the Republican Party has gone, thanks to the Tea Party. It’s a hell of a thing when Bush looks good in hindsight.…
Read MoreSome Democrats fear – and Carter sincerely hopes – that the Rev. William Barber will become the face of the Democratic Party. But ponder this: If Barber can inspire thousands of people to protest on “Moral Mondays” – and 900 of them to get arrested – how many people can he inspire to the polls…
Read MoreThe poor Tea Partiers are finding the Republican Establishment in Washington harder to keep ahold of than a greased pig – they cornered the elusive rascals, trying to defund Obamacare, but then the wily Pachyderms slipped through their fingers and now Ted Cruz and the Tea Partiers are taking a pounding, being called pouty children…
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