Any Southerner worth his salt, at some point, has come face to face with William Faulkner’s story “The Bear” – about a mammoth, faster than a locomotive bear who roams and rules the last 100 square miles of pure wilderness in Mississippi where the final vestiges of ancient virtues like endurance and sacrifice have not…
Read MoreIf Terry McAuliffe wins the Virginia governor’s race, Democrats might want to rethink this campaign finance thing. Public Policy Polling’s final poll shows McAuliffe winning 50-43. But here are the numbers that caught my eye: McAuliffe leads in fundraising $34.4 million to $19.7 million. The New York Times reported, “Armed with a much…
Read MoreWhatever else it does, Obamacare drives Republicans into a frenzy of hype, hypocrisy, irrationality and overreaction. Exhibit A: Republicans in Congress are outraged that website glitches prevent Americans from signing up for a program Republicans compare to slavery. Why are they complaining? They should take a cue from George Holding, take a nap and…
Read MoreIf Democrats want to come back in North Carolina, they need to avoid their usual mistake of thinking it’s all about the issues. It’s in Democrats’ DNA to do that. We’re issues people. We care a lot about things like Medicaid expansion, Common Core curriculum, growth strategies and infrastructure. It’s not that voters…
Read MoreCarter likes to say that politics is an exercise in human folly and error. Both parties seem set on proving it in Washington. A few weeks ago, President Obama’s job ratings fell when the news was focused on Syria. But Washington Republicans came to his rescue. They shut down the government. Everybody forgot about…
Read MoreWhat’s the over/under on how many bad headlines and headaches will come from Governor McCrory’s plan to shift job recruitment from the N.C. Department of Commerce to a new “public-private nonprofit corporation”? The N&O’s Rob Christensen reported that similar partnerships across the country have been criticized for “misuse of taxpayer money, conflicts of interest,…
Read MoreThe judge, after I asked about Eric Holder’s lawsuit, grunted and said, Whatever gave you the idea that law and justice are the same thing – the law can be a darn peculiar beast. Not long ago the Attorney General of the whole United States sued the whole state of North Carolina to put…
Read MoreWe all are shocked – shocked, I say – that Governor McCrory and the Republican Party are putting political cronies in state jobs. Like that has never happened before. I’m reminded of the Jim Hunt supporter who wanted to get a state job for a local boy. The Governor’s patronage chief, Joe Pell, asked,…
Read MoreRepublicans couldn’t defund Obamacare, and Democrats seemingly can’t defend it. Some states (where there’s competition) are seeing lower insurance rates, and some (where Republicans blocked competition) are having sticker shock. Nobody understands what Obamacare is, but everybody understands a website that won’t work, so we’re obsessing about that. Maybe we’re overcomplicating this. Maybe…
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