Posts by Carter Wrenn
Contemplating Your Navel
Back in 1976 when Ronald Reagan was running in the North Carolina Primary, Arthur Finkelstein (Reagan’s pollster) hammered into my head the importance of time in campaigns, saying a hundred times, Campaigns have three resources: People, money and time. You can hire more people and raise more money but you can’t make one second more…
Read MoreMore Odd Facts
When Paul Coble, Bill Randall and George Holding debated at the Civitas Debate, when Paul Coble finished describing his conservative record Bill Randall shot back, In 2009 when Barack Obama, President Obama, came to Raleigh, North Carolina, Randall Williams, a Republican physician, was welcoming President Obama to promote Obama-care. Paul Coble endorsed Randall Williams for…
Read MoreMore Politics as Usual
For years Paul Coble’s been your easy going, hail fellow well met County Commissioner, going along with the other local politicians when they wanted to raise the county’s debt, pass budgets with unfunded liabilities and spend Obama Stimulus Money. But, now, suddenly, Coble’s turned into an anti-establishment ball of fire. No one can…
Read MoreNegative Attacks
Every day we move closer to the primary in May more punches and elbows are thrown by politicians. Now, in politics there are three kinds of negative attacks. There’s ‘The Blunder’ – this attack is so outrageous (and untrue) it backfires and destroys the attacker. People take one look at it and say,…
Read MoreThe Fault Line
Since before the Iowa Caucus the pundits have been saying what Republican voters care about most is electing the strongest candidate to beat Obama, or electing the candidate who’d fight hardest to cut spending. Almost everyone’s been opining ‘The election’s about who can beat Obama’ or ‘The election’s about spending,’ but it turns out that’s…
Read MoreCalling Out a Skunk
Paul Coble reared up on his hind legs and slammed an evangelical, born again, Spirit moving Baptist by calling him a liberal gay marriage supporter – then added that’s the kind of no good varmint who’s supporting his opponent’s campaign and that’s all the reason anyone needs to know to vote against George Holding. …
Read MoreWhat’s He Been Smoking?
Paul Coble’s gone and done it again. Just a few months ago Paul Coble was asking Joe Knott to support him for Congress. Now, treading water, Paul’s hit the panic button and called Joe Knott a wild-eyed liberal – because Joe’s supporting George Holding and not Paul. Next, out of a clear blue…
Read MoreCoble Heaves a Mudball
Yesterday, Paul Coble reared up on his hind legs and brayed like a mule and hurled a mudball straight at George Holding – which is a sure sign Coble’s campaign is in trouble. The rhubarb began Saturday at the debate – Coble rolled through a homily to himself then Bill Randall asked, What about…
Read MoreDemocracy in Action in the State House
The News and Observer headline read, Thom Tillis pushed bill for donors. And the first line claimed Tillis had “muscled through” a bill so his donors could charge folks (who’re near the bottom of the 99%) 36% interest on loans. But here’s an odd fact: Not one Democratic legislator had a critical word…
Read MoreCousins
Last week when I was standing in the back of the bookstore my cousin Winifred, who’s past eighty and pure steel magnolia, walked through the doorway and made a beeline straight to me and snapped, Were you at that convention? Last week at the Republican convention the Chairman, Susan Bryant, called Bev Perdue was…
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