Posts by Carter Wrenn
Infectious?
Well, looking back, it was bound to happen. First, John Boehner decided to sue Obama for not enforcing the Obamacare laws and most of the House Republicans went along on the theory even if they didn’t like Obamacare the laws are the laws and the President can’t just change one whenever it suits him.…
Read MoreThe Best Lobbyists on earth
The other day Gary wrote, “For Democrats this election year, this legislature is the gift that keeps on giving. Maybe they’ll stay in session all the way to November” – considering by Speaker Thom Tillis’ announcement the legislature is about to return to town and pass the stuck ‘coal ash’ bill, Gary may get more…
Read MoreReading the Morning Newspapers
I swear it looks like there’s not a peaceful corner on the planet. We’re bombing the Taliban in Afghanistan. There’s a war in Iraq. And Syria. And Gaza. And this morning NATO reports Russia is about to invade the Ukraine. It’s like every varmint on the globe got loose at once and went…
Read MoreR-E-S-P-E-C-T
It was unusual summer – first Governor McCrory reared back and threw a punch at the old Bull Mooses, then he threw another, and another. Back in May, when he’d sent his budget over to the Senate, the Bull Mooses had unceremoniously dumped it in the waste bin, just as they had the year…
Read MoreA Weak President?
There was a history program on Frontline the other night about the war in Iraq and the first part was about the foibles of George Bush and Dick Cheney but I did learn something new: How General David Petraeus came up with the novel idea of buying off the opposition to the Maliki regime by…
Read MoreWho Won?
The Governor lined his cabinet secretaries up in a row, sat down behind a table, clenched his fist, looked straight into the cameras and said there’d been tough, tense negotiations but he’d threatened a few vetoes and everyone had come around so, to his way of thinking, the budget was fine. Since May, when…
Read MoreWhacking a Structuralist
The mention of the phrase ‘public schools’ conjures up a vision of nurturing teachers and faithful laboring principals but it turns out ‘Big Education’ is a kingdom teeming with ‘Big Players’ from teachers’ unions to textbook publishers to testing companies all battling for promotions, contracts and a bigger piece of the billions spent on public…
Read MorePeace and Quiet?
After President Obama bombed Libya into submission I wouldn’t have expected to hear anyone calling him an isolationist but according to Dick Cheney that’s exactly what he is. John McCain’s not exactly happy with the President either; he’s upset with Obama for not doing more in the Ukraine. But the isolationist who’s done the most…
Read MoreModern Political Debate
It sure looks, Richard said politely, like John Boehner could have found something else to sue President Obama over. Fifty-four times John Boehner and the Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare so it seemed odd to Richard, a retired businessman, that Boehner was about to sue Obama for not enforcing the Obamacare Employer Mandate.…
Read MoreIf Dan Blue…
As soon as Conor the Jessecrat sat down at our regular political dinner he unfolded a newspaper, pointed, and said, There’s a headline to strike terror in every Congressman’s heart. I read ‘Judge Orders Districts Redrawn’ and thought about the half-a-dozen lawsuits in North Carolina about redistricting but it turned out this lawsuit was in…
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