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After the Fall

By Carter Wrenn November 20, 2008

To most people – like Bill Clinton losing his party’s control of Congress in 1994 – one election is usually enough of a wake-up message. But Republicans are hard-headed – if madness is repeating the same mistake over and over with the same result we qualify. We shrugged off 2006, so history repeated itself in…

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The Failure of the Southern Strategy?

By Carter Wrenn November 19, 2008

When folks lose elections they go into paroxysms of contrition – usually confessing to the wrong sins. And when they win, there’s a parallel temptation – they attribute victory to virtues that had little to do with their success. Now, mi amigo Gary surely has a point when he says Republicans are in danger of…

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Rout of the OWGs

By Gary Pearce November 19, 2008

Here’s one way to look at the 2008 election: The Old White Guys who were running things got fired. There’s George Bush, the MBA Presidency and all his OWGs running the war and the economy. There’s Mike Easley. Bev Perdue spent the final weeks of her campaign promising “change orders” on day one to put…

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Team of Rivals

By Carter Wrenn November 19, 2008

Barack Obama is going to fill his Cabinet with a “Team of Rivals?” Like Lincoln. This is going to be one big mistake. Let me get this right: Obama is going to appoint people who disagree with his policies (which they will promptly torpedo) and, when they do, he can’t fire them because he’s established…

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Perdue Launches Incumbent Protection Scheme

By Carter Wrenn November 18, 2008

Bev Perdue’s gone back to being Miss Positive, setting up the Endowment for Positive Gubernatorial Campaigns – a $50 million trust fund – to pay for her next campaign for governor. But there’s one catch: To get his share of her fund Perdue’s Republican opponent must pledge not to criticize her: No negative ads. Now…

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Trapped by the Southern Strategy

By Gary Pearce November 18, 2008

Richard Nixon and Strom Thurmond ginned up the Southern Strategy in 1968. For 40 years, Dixie gave the Republicans an almost insurmountable edge in the Electoral College. The GOP won seven of the next 10 presidential elections. Now Republicans are trapped by their history. The only counties where Republicans gained in 2008 were in Appalachia…

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Women Go Negative

By Gary Pearce November 17, 2008

John Drescher’s column in the N&O Saturday – “The fair sex? Not in politics” – was on the money. His money shot: “…based on the recent campaigns, it’s hard to claim that women are more ethical and fair than men.” He cited Liddy Dole’s “godless” ad – “the national cheap shot of the year.” He…

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Sin, Murder and Trespassing

By Carter Wrenn November 17, 2008

Last week I had dinner with Paul the theologian and Willie, who is a rosary-thumping Catholic and, for a moment, I thought the Reformation and the Seven Years War were about to start all over again. Oddly, what started the conflagration was Willie saying he’d just read Pat Buchanan’s new book; then he leaned across…

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The Great New Debate

By Carter Wrenn November 14, 2008

Back in Jesse Helms’ campaign in 1990 when we made the ‘infamous White Hands’ ad one of the handful of people sitting in the studio was Alex Castellanos; lately Alex has been spending time on CNN and the other night he was asked how the Republican Party could save itself politically – after Barack Obama…

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Always Wrong

By Carter Wrenn February 7, 2025

It’s a kind of mystery – will hitting Canada and Mexico with tariffs land us in…

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Broken Egg Promise

By Gary Pearce February 7, 2025

Waffle House shows Trump lied – and broke his biggest promise. He promised, “when I win,…

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Who Pays the Price

By Carter Wrenn February 5, 2025

Wiley lifted his cell phone, held it in the air in front of him, pushed a…

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