President Obama’s speech and Speaker Thom Tillis’s remark define the chasm between Democrats and Republicans – and the opening for Governor Perdue in 2012. Obama talked Tuesday about “investments” that will “win the future.” Tillis said Wednesday: “I believe government needs to be as small as possible to provide for people’s safety, to…
Read MoreAfter I posted the blog below on the N&O’s legislative-leaders gallery, I received the following from Dan Kane: “I’d like to clarify what Mary said about Rep. Julia Howard. As a finance chairman, she definitely has clout in the legislature, much more than the average member. I did not include her among the three…
Read MoreWere you struck, like I was, by the big, close-up photos of Republican legislative leaders in the N&O last Sunday? Here’s the take of one longtime legislative observer (who’s not aligned with either party): “It occurred to me that the N&O’s Sunday front-page spread was deliberate by the N&O to underscore a lack of…
Read MoreBecause I’ve written so many speeches, I can’t help being a speech critic. And I think President Obama missed the mark last night. Normally, Obama is a powerful speaker – and a great writer. And his State of the Union speech had its moments. He probably got the politics right. Even Speaker Boehner…
Read MoreI’m frequently asked what Governor Hunt would do in Governor Perdue’s situation – since he faced the first Republican House majority 16 years ago. Here’s what he did: Got what he could. Then picked a fight. Of course, much was different then. Democrats still held the Senate. Hunt’s approval ratings were in the…
Read MoreFor Republican legislators, these are the best of times. Thoughtful-looking, chin-in-hand, close-up photos on the front page. Admiring newspaper profiles. Crowded news conferences. Lobbyists lined up to see you. Donors lined up to give to you. Big offices to move into. Gavels to wield. Then, at noon tomorrow, boom! The big gavel comes…
Read MoreLooking back, President Obama made a huge strategic error in 2010: He let voters think he was spending too much time reforming health-care and not enough time creating jobs. He learned a lesson. He now promises to focus on jobs, beginning with his State of the Union speech. But did Washington Republicans miss…
Read MoreCall it Colbert World versus Fox World. That’s where the WakeCounty schools debate is happening today. This kind of division is nothing new in North Carolina politics. Go back to 1950: It’s been a 60-year war between conservatives (“racists,” as their opponents call them) and progressives (“socialists,” as their opponents call them.) …
Read MoreRepublicans who denounced corruption and pay-for-play in Raleigh are now racing to the trough. Like locusts, newly minted lobbyists and would-be influence-peddlers are descending on Raleigh. They brag of their access to the new legislative leaders, and they promise to deliver anything and everything to their clients. How many of them will still…
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