Posts by Carter Wrenn
He’d Kill Us, Too
The newspaper story had dozens of photographs – working men holding shovels, digging up mass graves: One photo showed broken white bone fragments lying in black dirt, another a severed hand, another a mound of skulls with single bullet holes in the back, shot execution style by Putin’s soldiers. Workers dug up bodies of 245…
Read MoreThe Price You Pay
Two years ago, not long after Biden whipped Trump, sitting in a restaurant, voice incredulous, staring at me across the table, blinking, a Republican laughed: “What – are you blind? You can’t see Biden stole the election?” Heads nodded. I remembered election night (in 1980) when John East trailed, led, trailed again, at five o’clock…
Read MoreWho Won? Kevin? Matt?
Over and over CNN called it a fight between normal Conservatives and Ultra-Far-Right-Conservatives. But the fight wasn’t about ideology – or issues – it was about power. For years Washington Politicians – not starting with but including Speaker Nancy Pelosi – tilted House rules, grasping for power. Rules gave them the power to decide who…
Read More“We’re Back”
There was ice in the room the day I met Gary – sitting in a law office staring across the table I saw a devil; staring back Gary saw a devil. We worked out the four Helms-Hunt debates back in 1984. Left. Sitting in another office years later Gary told doctors in a fight with…
Read MoreRecovering from Defeat
The day Al Qaeda murdered American soldiers outside Kabul airport young Congressman Madison Cawthorn tweeted a video showing him waving a letter to Kamala Harris; square-jawed, square-shouldered, voice indignant, mimicking Trump, Cawthorn demanded Harris defrock Biden by using the 25th Amendment – to prove his point he intoned (what he called) “eternal, weighty, and wise”…
Read MoreNo Sin in Losing
Boasting for months Trump said his Arizona audit – done by his allies in the state Senate – would prove he won Arizona. The audit backfired. Confirmed Trump lost. Did Trump admit he was wrong? No. He erupted, firing off scalding emails ripping the ‘fake news’ media, calling for audits in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Texas.…
Read MoreThe Senate Primary
83% of voters – in a poll – said Taliban is a terrorist group and said Trump shouldn’t have negotiated with Taliban. To elect Ted Budd, in an ad Trump says Budd’s always supported him – here’s a question Budd is bound to be asked: Do you think Taliban’s a terrorist group? Was Trump wrong…
Read MoreFingers of Blame
The Taliban is a terrorist group. Trump made a deal with Taliban to withdraw our soldiers from Afghanistan. It didn’t work out. Taliban took over. Trump roared it was Joe Biden’s fault. Biden, pointing fingers, shot back Trump signed the agreement with Taliban. It was Trump’s fault. Neither ever admitted he made a single mistake.…
Read MoreA Political Earthquake Rocks Biden and Trump
John Bolton and I both supported Reagan in 1976; four years later when Reagan’s campaign emerged from the New Hampshire primary dead-broke John told me: The Congressional Club needs to do an independent campaign for Reagan. Puzzled, I asked: What’s an independent campaign? Americans for Reagan spent millions to help elect Reagan. Last February as…
Read MoreHanding an Enemy a Gift
If you’d asked me, Leave Afghanistan? a year ago I’d have nodded, said, Yes. We had tanks, jets, helicopters, drones – and Taliban didn’t – but we botched the war. But it turns out escape was an illusion. It’s an old story. We fight an enemy. We hand our enemy a gift. And the chickens…
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