Posts by Gary Pearce
Breaking Bad
“Move fast and break things” is the motto of the tech bros at DOGE – which should be called the Destruction of Government Experiment. That’s how Trump governs. He breaks things. He broke the Western alliance against Putin. He broke his promise to end the war in Ukraine “even before I become President.” His tariffs…
Read MoreRiggs v Griffin
The nearly six-month fight over the North Carolina Supreme Court election has proven one thing beyond reasonable doubt: Allison Riggs is supremely better qualified than Jefferson Davis Griffin. No, his middle name isn’t Davis. But it fits. At UNC, Griffin was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity and dressed up in a Confederate uniform for…
Read MoreShafted
To understand politics today, we need to understand what happened the last 20-plus years. A good diagnosis comes from Rahm Emanuel (photo), a possible Democratic candidate for President in 2028. He’s been senior adviser to President Clinton, a member of Congress and a House Democratic leader, chief of staff to President Obama, mayor of Chicago…
Read MoreTrumpty Dumpty
Trump boasted that the White House Easter Egg Roll this year will feature 30,000 real eggs. Which brings up the biggest broken promise in the history of politics. Last August, then-candidate Trump stood beside a table stacked with groceries: cereal, bacon, fruit, butter, bread and – yes, eggs. He promised: “When I win, I will…
Read MoreThe Stein Way
Governor Josh Stein’s way could be Democrats’ way back to the White House in 2028. In his first 100 days, the Governor has led with calm, confidence and competence. It’s a welcome contrast to Trump’s chaos, conflict and confusion. Trump wages all-out war all the time with an endless list of enemies. Stein believes in…
Read MoreTillis’ Fate
Senator Thom Tillis wants to have it both ways. He wants MAGA Republicans to think he’s a loyal Trump foot soldier. He wants swing voters to think he’s an effective, independent voice. But, no matter what he does, he can’t escape Trump. His political fate in 2026 is lashed to Trump’s like Ahab to the…
Read MoreChoking
At a hearing on the tariffs yesterday, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina demanded to know: “Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis knows the answer. It’s Trump. Here’s the question for Tillis: Will you stand up and stop him? Or will you choke?
Read MoreMadness
We’re all trapped on Trump’s Crazy Train, at the mercy of an engineer who’s mad, mean and stupid. Trump has no philosophy or ideology. His only governing principle is to hurt people he hates. And that’s a lot of people. His tariffs are all about punishing countries he hates. He exempts those that flatter him,…
Read MoreBright Futures
Even though I had to put on a suit and tie, the evening was balm for my soul in these troubled times. It was the annual Scholarship Dinner of N.C. State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which honors scholarship recipients and donors. I’ve endowed a scholarship in political science/communications at the college, which…
Read MoreCarter Wrenn’s Political Trail
My blogging partner Carter Wrenn has written a revealing and engaging memoir of his years in politics – and the rise of the conservative movement in North Carolina in the 1970s and 1980s. His book – The Trail of the Serpent: Stories from the Smoke-Filled Rooms of Politics – takes you inside the conventions, caucuses…
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