Posts by Gary Pearce
What You Missed
Some of my friends didn’t watch Trump’s inauguration. One went to church. One went to every Martin Luther King Day celebration she could find. One went to an inaugural-free lunch with friends out of town. One dedicated the day to intensive study of the NFL and college football playoffs. I watched for them – and…
Read MoreWomen Warriors
The Democratic Party needs to get tougher, and that’s a job for Democratic women. Sydney Batch (photo), the new Senate Democratic leader in North Carolina, signaled a tougher approach toward Republicans in an op-ed in The News & Observer: “Gerrymandered voting maps, efforts to strip power from Democratic elected officials and the consolidation of authority…
Read MoreBiden’s Warning
In his farewell address, President Biden warned that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” The oligarchy isn’t just “taking shape.” It’s taking power Monday. President Trump’s inauguration will…
Read MoreStein’s Party Lines
Governor Josh Stein wisely ignored my semi-serious suggestion that he devote his inaugural speech to denouncing power-obsessed Republican bosses in the General Assembly. But he made the point. He said, “We have real problems to solve. And we do not have time to settle petty political scores or fight divisive culture wars.” The Governor noted…
Read MoreDisaster Duty
Climate change has changed governors’ jobs. They now must be masters of disasters: floods, fires, hurricanes and winter storms. As soon as he was sworn in, Governor Josh Stein signed executive orders for Hurricane Helene relief. He went to hard-hit communities to see the situation and talk to victims. Just like with Roy Cooper eight…
Read MoreBurying Dignity
America inters a decent, honest President and inaugurates a dishonest, indecent President. Jimmy Carter called on the best in us. Donald Trump calls up the worst in us. Carter had humility, empathy and compassion. Trump calls that “weak” and “woke.” Carter called it living his Christian faith. When he was running for President in 1976,…
Read MoreInaugural Punch
Governor Josh Stein likely will seek common ground with Republicans in his inaugural speech Saturday. Instead, I wish he’d punch them in the nose from the get-go and pummel them across the stage until he sits down. I wish he’d say, “The greatest threat to North Carolina’s strength, growth and progress in the coming four…
Read MoreGovernor Stein
Because he grew up in Chapel Hill and went to Ivy League colleges, Josh Stein sometimes is portrayed as a departure from past Democratic governors in North Carolina. He’s actually the latest in a political bloodline that goes back to Terry Sanford in 1960 and runs through Jim Hunt, Mike Easley and Roy Cooper: a…
Read MoreJimmy Carter
The peanut farmer from Plains was a blessing to North Carolina Democrats in 1976. In 1972, we had suffered our worst losses ever, thanks to President Richard Nixon’s landslide reelection over George McGovern. The tide swept in Jesse Helms as the state’s first Republican Senator and Jim Holshouser as the first Republican governor in the…
Read MoreCooper for President
Roy Cooper could be just what the Democratic Party will need in 2028. A progressive with a Southern accent. A proven winner in a swing state. A two-term governor who leaves office even more popular than when he took office. A successful leader who – despite a gerrymandered Republican legislature – won healthcare for 600,000…
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