Posts by Carter Wrenn
Burr’s Contortions
Senator Richard Burr’s contortions on President Bush’s Immigration Bill have him tied in knots. First, Burr announced he was against the bill. And voted against it. Then, yesterday, he reversed himself, supporting Bush’s bill on a key procedural vote. Now, Burr’s staff is reassuring opponents of the bill, telling them he will vote against its…
Read MoreBloomberg
At first, I was a little intrigued by Michael Bloomberg’s running for President as an Independent. After all, the Republicans (at least the ones in the White House) have joined Ted Kennedy on immigration and the Democrats have marched so far left Hillary’s now a moderate, so I thought, maybe, shaking up the two-party system…
Read MoreOdds and Ends
It’s perplexing. How could Vice President Cheney not understand that when he said he was not a member of the Executive Branch just about everyone in America was going to look at him and say, Huh? Cheney may have a hoary legal point. But he just surpassed Dan Quayle’s misspelling potato when it comes to…
Read MoreOh, Johnny Boy
It may be a coincidence but just as John Edwards is redirecting the focus of his campaign away from the war and back to his crusade against poverty, the New York Times has published a scathing report about Edwards’ anti-poverty foundation, the Center for Promise and Opportunity. The Times reports, “The main beneficiary of the…
Read MoreMs. Pelosi, Work and Junkets
Nancy Pelosi, during the honeymoon after being elected the first woman Speaker ever, promised she was going to put the members of Congress to work after their indolent year under the Republicans. Then she set a schedule for House sessions this year. That gave members twenty weeks off (Dick Morris Reports, 6-20-07). No corporation can…
Read MoreAn Activist’s Nightmare
Here’s an activist’s nightmare. He – or she – camps out on the lawn of the State Legislature in the June heat for 51 hours with a ragtag band of fellow demonstrators alongside a troop of plastic hogs, piles of artificial hog manure and a baby wading pool full of the real thing (to send…
Read MoreWait and Hope
What to do about the war in Iraq has the Republican presidential candidates tied in knots. They don’t want to get out, they don’t dare say to go in deeper and the surge isn’t working. So Republican policy boils down to three unstated words: Wait and Hope. Imagine this: A presidential candidate says, “Look, we’re…
Read MoreDole’s Dilemma
Talk about a dangerous place to be – how about Sunset Beach last weekend with the Trial Lawyers in town holding their annual convention – you could get sued for using the wrong fork at dinner. That aside, it’s a safe bet Congressman Brad Miller didn’t drive 200 miles to the beach just to sit…
Read MoreA Comedy of the Absurd
Five members of the School Board are up for re-election this fall and School Superintendent Del Burnsâ decision to cashier high-school teacher Robert Escamilla may land right in their laps. Mr. Escamilla teaches â or did teach until Burns demoted him â at Enloe High School. For twenty-four years, he has received good to exemplary…
Read MoreThe Bottom’s Out of the Bucket?
For thirty years rural voters have been the bedrock of the Republican Party. President Bush beat John Kerry in rural America by 20%. But, suddenly, according to a new poll (www.npr.org) rural voters are poised to vote Democratic. John Edwards and Barack Obama are as popular in rural communities as President Bush, John McCain and…
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