Posts by Gary Pearce
Today’s Number: 48
One number jumps out of Public Policy Polling’s latest survey of the 2016 Governor’s race: 48. That’s the percentage of Independents who disapprove of Governor McCrory’s job performance. Only 32 percent approve. McCrory leads Roy Cooper among all voters by 44-39. But that includes a 43-28 McCrory lead among Independents. That’s not going to…
Read MoreClinton-Bush, the Sequel
One score and four years after Bubba beat Poppy, another presidential election could be a showdown between the Republican First Family and Democratic First Family. We shouldn’t be surprised. It’s the money, stupid. Since the 1970s (or earlier), George H.W. Bush has built a vast network of fundraisers and donors. He did it…
Read MoreCurses. Foiled Again.
Not long ago, I blogged that Democrats in the legislature should help Governor McCrory expand Medicaid (“Pass McCroryCare”). With Democratic votes and some Republicans, McCrory could overcome opposition from the legislative leadership. But a Raleigh group called the Carolina Partnership for Reform, which says it “was formed to advocate for a freedom-based agenda in…
Read MoreBig Staff Envy
A TAPster with long experience in the General Assembly offers this: In reaction to Gary’s blog about “Big Government” and Speaker Moore’s laughably large staff, here are the three popular theories in Raleigh today about why Republican leaders like the Speaker and Lt. Governor think they can singlehandedly solve the state’s unemployment problem by…
Read MorePolite? Us?
Things have come to a pretty pass when a photo and story about Carter and me run under the headline: “Polite Disagreement.” This is our reward? After all we did to make Hunt-Helms one of the most bitter, negative and expensive races ever? After years, decades even, of earning reputations as tough, give-no-quarter political…
Read More1K = 3 Front Pages
Yes, 1,000 wins in college basketball is remarkable. But three front pages? That’s what greeted readers of the N&O print edition Monday morning. First there was Page One of the main news section. In approximately the same size type that might say “WAR!” was “1,000” – in Duke Blue, of course. Beneath were a…
Read MoreBig Government
The government is too big, Republicans say. Too much bureaucracy, too much waste, too many overpaid, do-nothing chair-sitters mooching off hard-working taxpayers. Presumably, House Speaker Tim Moore agrees. He’s as eager as any other hard-nosed Republican to cut out the deadwood. But first he has to hire a staff. Here, thanks to Under…
Read MoreThe Comeback Kid
President Obama’s speech last night showed he has a knack for coming back after a setback – and a knack for the comeback quip. Three things about the night: (1) How Obama framed the debate (2) the partisan debate over bipartisanship and (3) the split-screen social media experience of watching political events like what…
Read MoreParty Pooper
There’s good news and there’s bad news about the true state of the N.C. Democratic Party. The bad news is that the actual financial situation is worse than it looks. Much of the $42,700 that the party has on hand belongs to the House and Senate caucuses. That’s also the good news, because…
Read MoreSilence of the Rams
Is there something in the water in Chapel Hill that keeps University big shots from giving straight answers? The same lockjaw that keeps the UNC-CH athletic-academic scandal on the front pages has now spread to the Board of Governors. The board’s non-speak/double-speak non-explanation of why Tom Ross was forced out leaves only one logical…
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