Posts by Carter Wrenn
A New Democratic Scandal
If the News & Observer is not careful pretty soon folks on Governor Easley’s Board of Transportation are going to be calling it a Republican newspaper. The N & O has grabbed a tiger by the tail. A few years ago the legislature passed a law requiring DOT Board members to report how much money…
Read MoreA Bit of Stress for Democrats
There are more cross currents in the Democratic Presidential primaries than a hurricane. It’s got everything. Race. Sex. Money. Brittany Spears must be next. Let’s – gingerly – explore race. Hispanics vote for Hillary (or, more to the point, against Obama) two to one. Asian-Americans vote for Hillary (and against Obama) eight to one. African-Americans…
Read MoreMcCain vs Huckabee
Mitt Romney has ‘suspended’ his campaign – which in plain English means he’s struck the flag. Romney out-fundraised, out-spent, out-organized and ran two or three times more ads than any other candidate. But there are campaigns – and candidates – who never find their message. And Romney was one. He was a governor with a…
Read MoreRun This Ad Tomorrow
The News & Observer reports how the candidates for governor are spending their money. Republican Fred Smith led the way spending the most, including $360,000 to publish his book, A Little Extra Effort, $100,000 for Lee Greenwood to write a song about him and $90,000 for barbecue. The second biggest spender, Bill Graham, spent $1.5…
Read MoreThe City Council Strikes a Blow for Butterflies
Seven of eight members of the Raleigh City Council live south of the 440 Beltline. So, maybe, it’s no surprise their attention is less than riveted on North Raleigh. For the first time in 30 years, the city was poised to build a gym and community center in North East Raleigh on city owned property.…
Read MoreRace and Change
When Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary, he announced it was a victory for change. If so, it appears while African-Americans were overwhelmingly for change, other Democrat voters were not – because 80% of the African-Americans voted for Obama, while 75% of the white Democrats voted for Edwards or Hillary. Given the first real…
Read MoreImagine This
Imagine this. Two Democrats are arguing about John Edwards future. One says, ‘Why not? Why shouldn’t he do it? Here’s the scenario: Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid calls John Edwards, says, John, your running against Elizabeth Dole could mean Democrats keeping control of the Senate. Which could mean the end of the war in Iraq.…
Read MoreGarage Band Equals Carlessness
During the Republican debate last week, Pat McCrory said “twenty percent of the inmates” in the Charlotte jail are illegal immigrants. He also said in a speech last week over fifty-percent of the babies born at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte are Latino. McCrory didn’t make the numbers up. But it turns out he was…
Read MoreIt’s Not the Economy, Stupid
This year’s Republican presidential primaries haven’t been debates about issues. They’ve been about character. Not character as in honesty and integrity. But character as in biography. Who you are. Not where you stand. Mike Huckabee is an example. There are, roughly, three groups of voters in the Republican primaries: Evangelicals. Economic Conservatives. And Moderates. Huckabee…
Read MoreRepublican Governor’s Debate
Last week’s Republican debate started out as a sleeper. No controversial stands. No sparring. No real debate at all. Fred Smith said he was best qualified because of his life experience. Pat McCrory said he was the man to deal with a crisis. Bill Graham said he’d listen to the people. Bob Orr explained he’s…
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