It took the critics no time to pounce on the news that John Edwards is opening a new law firm. A Republican friend e-mailed: “Is it a coincidence that Edwards reactivated his license, set up a speaking engagement, and leaked the idea of a new firm all within weeks of Mark Sanford’s return to…
Read MoreRight now there’re three great powers in Republican politics in Raleigh: The Governor, the House, and the Senate. Now the Governor’s pretty easygoing – the kind of fellow who, when he can, will go out of his way to avoid a fight. Even when he disagrees with folks, he’s not inclined to say much…
Read MoreThe other day the News & Observer wrote a long report comparing the State House and State Senate budgets – but who, other than a certified budget expert with a PhD, could figure out the welter of numbers? The newspaper wrote – in great detail – about who spent money on what: How the…
Read MoreWhen Joyce brought up Edward Snowden and NSA spying, table talk veered from the McCrory Ballgate story, Moral Mondays and legislative lunacy. Snowden is a 29-year-old high school dropout, former Elizabeth City resident and computer nerd who was making $200,000 a year until he started an international furor over U.S. government surveillance. Snowden…
Read MoreMaybe it’s the heat, the humidity or just that it’s June. A reporter gets arrested. Senator Tom Goolsby has 60s flashbacks. Governor McCrory sees “outsiders” when they’re not there. The Democratic Party debacle deepens. But the flap over the Governor’s game of catch – and his spokesperson’s bizarre statement – still stand out in…
Read MoreAh, the old “outsider” shibboleth rears its head. Shades of George Wallace’s “outside agitators.” But it’s not outsiders that Republicans should worry about; it’s the changing electorate inside North Carolina. The Republican overreaction to Moral Mondays looks shaky and out of synch. Especially when you see this photo of a policeman hauling off a…
Read MoreIt seems Republicans up in Congress have split into two hostile tribes – whether you call them ‘Moderates and Conservatives’ (as they did forty years ago) or the ‘Conservatives and Pragmatists’ (as they did twenty years ago) or ‘Insiders and Outsiders’ (as they do now). Now, say, on spending, the Conservatives (or Outsiders) are…
Read MoreThese days conservatives are reeling in the face of the sudden ascendance of gay marriage as a popular issue – they’re looking back at all the votes traditionalists (or old fogies) have won in referendums (including one in North Carolina just a year ago) and then looking at the latest polls saying there’s been a…
Read MoreJohn Drescher recently shared this quote from a column by A.C. Snow: “In my many years I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress.” -President John Adams
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With a better General Assembly, Josh Stein could join Jim Hunt and Terry Sanford on North…
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Once upon a time, there was a great and powerful newspaper: The News & Observer. Everybody…
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The shouting, sign-waving and cane-wielding by congressional Democrats at the State of the Union isn’t a…
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