Posts by Gary Pearce
No “Deceit and Betrayal”
Today’s blog, which responds to Carter’s post “Deceit and Betrayal,” was written by a thoughtful reader who prefers not to be named. I agree with their opinion, and I can’t say it any better. Carter, you have written a column accusing President Biden of “deceit and betrayal,” reporting that he had “refused to send Israel…
Read MoreTrump’s $1 Billion Bribe
This one stands out – even in the never-ending flood of Donald Trump’s sins, crimes and scandals. But the national media hasn’t given it the same time and space as, say, President Biden’s age or swing-state polls. At Mar-a-Lago last month, The Washington Post reported, Trump told Big Oil executives that if they raised $1…
Read MoreBiden’s New Democracy
Joe Biden is a great President, but not a great communicator. He has a good story to tell. It goes like this: For more than 40 years, since 1980, the Republican Party – and, sad to say, too many Democrats – have taken the American people down the wrong road. They saddled us with trickledown…
Read MoreProtest Politics
Two things have been true throughout American history: We love to protest, but we hate protesters. And bashing protesters is always good politics. Protesting is deep in our DNA. Protesters settled the country. The American Revolution was the ultimate, violent protest. Ever since, we’ve cycled through protest and repression. When abolitionists protested slavery, Southern slaveowners…
Read MoreGrand Old (Drunk) Party
Before North Carolina Republicans got down to business in the legislature, they got down to some serious partying. First there was the incident at the December wedding of Rep. Destin Hall, who wants to be Speaker next year. One of his groomsmen fell off a truck and was injured so badly he was hospitalized for…
Read MoreProtests and Presidents
Fifty-four years ago this week, on May 8, 1970, 4,500 students from nearly a dozen colleges and universities marched on Capitol Square in Raleigh to protest the Vietnam War. Four days earlier, National Guardsmen had shot and killed four students and injured nine more in protests at Kent State University in Ohio. Our march, which…
Read MoreA School Test
The Republican legislature may not vote for Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s school plan, but North Carolinians can in November. The Governor has drawn a line in the sand – and a clear line of difference between the two parties. Cooper’s plan: 5% teacher pay raise this year $1,500 retention bonus restore master’s degree pay for…
Read MoreDemocrats’ Country Inroads
New data shows that North Carolina Democrats are right to look for votes on country roads and small-town streets. A group called Rural Democracy Initiative – “Communities, Not Corporations” – will release a poll next month saying that “rural voters tend to be economic populists who would overwhelmingly support parts of the Democratic Party’s agenda…
Read MoreRachel Hunt and MAGA Meltdown
Two things this past weekend made me feel good about this election. First, I crashed a women’s fundraiser for Rachel Hunt, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Second, I posted on X/Twitter this photo of Hunt and me, showing off the Jim Hunt Dark Brandon shirt my wife got me for my birthday. A mega…
Read MoreFor Our Schools: Mo Green
A teacher I know, who happens to be our daughter Maggie Pearce Dill, said it better than I could about Mo Green, the Democratic nominee for state superintendent of public instruction: “I have met more candidates and seen more politicians speak than I can count, but very rarely am I moved like I was hearing…
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