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Another Story from Politics

By Carter Wrenn December 24, 2024

Watergate sunk Nixon. Jimmy Carter was elected. Two years later Jesse Helms ran for reelection. In 1972, he’d been the only Republican to win a Senate election in North Carolina in the 20th century. After sweeping statewide elections in 1974 and 1976 Democrats were on a roll. Here’s a story about Jesse’s 1978 campaign from…

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Unhappy Holidays?

By Gary Pearce December 24, 2024

We Americans are angry this Christmas. 77 million voters were so angry they elected Trump. 75 million are angry that Trump won. Many people are so angry at health-insurance companies they cheered the cold-blooded murder of a CEO on a Manhattan street. In North Carolina, Republican politicians are so angry about Democrats winning elections they…

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A Surprise

By Carter Wrenn December 23, 2024

‘You tell a lot of good stories about Reagan, like his saying a prayer for the man who shot him,’ a friend reading my book said – then laughed, ‘But I wish you’d been kinder to Trump.’ He’s a conservative. Reagan was a conservative. Trump’s now head of the Republican Party. So he sees Trump…

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Grinch Griffin

By Gary Pearce December 22, 2024

The Grinch tried to steal Christmas. Jefferson Griffin is trying to steal an election at Christmas. Call him Grinch Griffin. Griffin lost the Supreme Court race to Justice Allison Riggs. Repeated recounts and audits confirmed the result. But he wants Republicans on the Supreme Court to overrule the voters’ decision, throw out 60,000 votes on…

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Tall Tales?

By Carter Wrenn December 20, 2024

I might be wrong but a story one of Kamala Harris’ political wizards told after she lost sure sounded like a tall tale. He started out by telling a reporter there was no value, during the campaign, in Harris speaking with the New York Times or the Washington Post, added, Their readers are already with…

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Jim Hunt’s Gift

By Gary Pearce December 19, 2024

Forty years ago this month, at a low point in his political career, Jim Hunt had his best idea. It became the Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University. You can argue with “best.” He had plenty of good ideas and initiatives. Like: Smart Start, raising teachers’ pay to the national average, the Primary Reading…

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Surprises

By Carter Wrenn December 18, 2024

Scratching the Surface Broadcasting live on the radio from Grovers Mill, New Jersey on Halloween night 86 years ago a stunned reporter watched Martians leaving a spacecraft, blasting policemen with heat rays. Panic swept across New Jersey. But he wasn’t a reporter he was an actor reading The War of the Worlds on Orson Wells…

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Missing the Mark

By Gary Pearce December 16, 2024

This story from Axios Charlotte was either a cheap bid for clicks or revealed a basic ignorance of how state government works. The headline: “Cooper, Robinson have no record of speaking in days before, after or during Helene.” It began like “Breaking News” on CNN: “North Carolina’s governor and his next-in-command seemingly had zero communication…

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Going Pro

By Gary Pearce December 12, 2024

I’m a Wolfpack fan. I like going to games and yelling, “go to hell, Carolina!” I liked watching Dave Doeren’s teams beat Mack Brown’s four times in a row. I don’t fault Carolina for hiring Bill Belichick. UNC just recognized reality: college sports have gone pro. Some Carolina fans are bewildered by their university spending…

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Mark Robinson Lite

By Gary Pearce August 13, 2024

The last thing Josh Stein would need as governor is another Mark Robinson as lieutenant governor.…

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Trump Lies. Media Surrenders.

By Gary Pearce August 9, 2024

For more than an hour yesterday, Donald Trump ducked reporters’ questions and told lie after lie…

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A Warning Sign

By Carter Wrenn August 8, 2024

Trump wanted to get more Black votes – he’d gotten 12% in 2020, was aiming to…

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