Posts by Carter Wrenn
Democratic Spin?
Not all the spin in politics comes out of the mouths of politicians;―just about every day or so there’s a poll in the News and Observer and the N&O is pretty careful to identify PPP as a ‘left-leaning’ pollster but PPP’s pollsters will also argue their politics don’t interfere with their polling or, in other…
Read MoreWhen We Were Fighting Hitler…
I opened the newspaper the other morning and stared at the headline, Afghan War to end by 2014, and thought, How could anyone know that? Imagine opening the newspaper one May morning in 1943 and reading: ‘War to end by 1945’ – you’d have thought someone had lost their mind. But, of course, the…
Read MoreThe Hard Way
For decades no matter how hard our Republican legislators in Raleigh tried they just couldn’t get themselves into trouble with a lobbyist – they just didn’t have the umph in the General Assembly to pull it off. But now they do and, suddenly, Republicans are learning some hard lessons. The greater your power…
Read MoreCounting His Lucky Stars
Last week McCrory got up at a press conference in Raleigh, lambasted Walter Dalton’s negative ads, then said he’d sued two of Dalton’s Democratic supporters for slander, but, then, it turned out McCrory hadn’t sued anyone – all he’d done was file a two page form called an ‘Intent to Sue’ which to any attorney…
Read More166 Hours a Day
WRAL News received a tip about Medicaid fraud in Governor Perdue’s mammoth Department of Health and Human Services, then spent weeks pouring over stacks of Medicaid bills, then reported the department had run amok again. For instance: WRAL found one licensed therapist, a psychologist, whose name was “linked to 22,984 hours of therapy last…
Read MoreThe Pirates and a Chicago Billionaire
These two political consultants from Hollywood go to Chicago and tell a billionaire they have a sure fire way to whip Obama by tying him to Reverend Jeremiah Wright and all they need is $10 million – then, next, before the billionaire writes a check, the consultant’s fifty-four page plan lands in the New York…
Read MoreA Democrat Can Always Screw Up Worse
Two political consultants sat arguing at the next table. The Democrat said, It’s like the mystery of the dog that didn’t bark in the night, then the Republican said, The reason the dog didn’t bark is simple – because Thom Tillis didn’t do anything wrong, then the Democrat said, He fired two aides for unethical…
Read MoreRound 1: Dalton vs. McCrory
First the Republicans called Walter Dalton ‘Bev Perdue, Jr.’ Then the Democrats called Pat McCrory a skunk who as Mayor of Charlotte lobbied to get government money for a company that paid him $140,000. Then McCrory’s lawyers threatened to rain legal mayhem on the TV stations if they ran the Democrats’ slanderous ad, and…
Read MoreA Hung Jury
At dinner the other night two lawyers and a priest were arguing about the John Edwards trial and one said, A juror would have to be blind to believe John Edwards when he says he didn’t take that million dollars from those two billionaires to hide his affair from voters. The second lawyer nodded…
Read MoreAs If By Magic
Awhile back, like incubi of old, mischievous Anony-mices descended on the News and Observer’s website and set up camp; giving themselves colorful names (the way wrestlers on TV do) like Tarheel Crusher, Yosephus and Agent Pierce (who describes himself as Agent Pierce, News Personality, Legendary Cyber Commando) they set about tormenting any hapless victim who…
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