Governor Easley has turned into the ultimate huckster. The suckers in North Carolina won’t buy enough lottery tickets, so, like a shill in a carny, he wants to jack up the prizes apparently on the theory that if he baits the hook with enough fool’s gold the suckers will part with more of their money.…
Read MoreIt’s one of my favorite political trivia questions: In 1972, George McGovern carried only two of North Carolina’s 100 counties against Richard Nixon. What are the two counties? Most people can guess Orange (Chapel Hill). But few guess the other: Northampton County in northeast North Carolina. Sonny Boy Joyner was the man responsible. He put…
Read MoreJoe (the Sledgehammer) Sinsheimer may be the most powerful person in Raleigh today. On Monday, he files another campaign-finance complaint with the State Board of Elections. On Tuesday, it’s the lead story in The News & Observer. Last year, Sinsheimer had the guts to take on Jim Black when no one else would. For his…
Read MoreThe Iraq battle lines are drawn in the presidential race. Republicans made clear in their debate this weekend that they want to keep troops in Iraq. Democrats are just as clear that they want troops out. So the American people will get to make a clear decision on the war next year. That should be…
Read MoreJohn Edwards’ campaign is either finding its groove or spinning out of control. The New York Times reported this week: “In a slow but striking power shift, advisers who champion the political power of the Web have eclipsed the coterie of advisers who have long dominated Mr. Edwards’s inner circle, both reflecting and intensifying his…
Read MoreYou’ve got to admire John Kane’s chutzpah. But not his political judgment. Kane, the developer of Raleigh’s North Hills, wants $75 million in public money so he can build parking decks for his North Hills East project. What is he thinking? It’s not going to happen. Especially not in an election year. Mayor Meeker immediately…
Read MoreIt’s a baby-boomer politician’s worst nightmare: The New York Times gets holds of personal letters you wrote to a close friend back when you were a self-absorbed college student trying on different personas and personalities. It happened to Hillary Clinton Sunday. This came right after the national media dissected the political and fashion significance of…
Read MoreNorth Carolina’s Realtors spent $700,000 on a media campaign against the “home tax.” The campaign failed. Why? The Realtors had a good idea: Mobilize public opinion to change legislative votes. But they didn’t go far enough. Carter is the master of this strategy. He did it for Farmers for Fairness (hog farmers) in the ‘90s.…
Read MoreAttorney General Alberto Gonzalez – according to the press this morning – mislead to the Senate yesterday. (Even one Republican Senator, Arlen Specter, asked Gonzalez, incredulously, “Do you expect me to believe that?”) The House of Representatives – according to the press – is about to bring contempt charges against President Bush for illegally hiding…
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