Posts by Gary Pearce
Jim Holshouser
They don’t make Republicans like Jim Holshouser anymore. Big pay raises for teachers? Statewide kindergartens? Coastal Management Act? Rural health centers? Expansion of the state park system? More African-Americans and women in government? Help for black business enterprises? They’d throw him out of the party today. Actually, they did in 1976. As Rob…
Read MoreJohn Edwards Redux
It took the critics no time to pounce on the news that John Edwards is opening a new law firm. A Republican friend e-mailed: “Is it a coincidence that Edwards reactivated his license, set up a speaking engagement, and leaked the idea of a new firm all within weeks of Mark Sanford’s return to…
Read MoreThe Dropout and Big Brother
When Joyce brought up Edward Snowden and NSA spying, table talk veered from the McCrory Ballgate story, Moral Mondays and legislative lunacy. Snowden is a 29-year-old high school dropout, former Elizabeth City resident and computer nerd who was making $200,000 a year until he started an international furor over U.S. government surveillance. Snowden…
Read MorePat Ducks, Blames Obama
Maybe it’s the heat, the humidity or just that it’s June. A reporter gets arrested. Senator Tom Goolsby has 60s flashbacks. Governor McCrory sees “outsiders” when they’re not there. The Democratic Party debacle deepens. But the flap over the Governor’s game of catch – and his spokesperson’s bizarre statement – still stand out in…
Read MoreMoral Monday Quarterbacking
Ah, the old “outsider” shibboleth rears its head. Shades of George Wallace’s “outside agitators.” But it’s not outsiders that Republicans should worry about; it’s the changing electorate inside North Carolina. The Republican overreaction to Moral Mondays looks shaky and out of synch. Especially when you see this photo of a policeman hauling off a…
Read MoreMcCrory: The Un-Easley
Governor McCrory’s style reminds me of Mike Easley: as in, the exact opposite. Easley was notoriously private. He hated being out in public and going to events. Which is bizarre in a politician. But Easley had real beliefs and convictions that he stood up for: smaller class sizes, early-childhood education, economic development in rural…
Read MoreNew Dogs, Old Tricks
Daniel Gilligan, a bright young Democratic policy consultant from Raleigh, offers an analysis of Republican and taxes: “Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have got themselves all worked up over a humdinger of a ‘new’ idea. They want to get rid of that ‘antiquated’ and ‘Depression era’ tax code we got lying around,…
Read MoreWe Have a Weiner
Every session, some legislator does something astoundingly bone-headed. This year we have Rep. Bryan Holloway, R-Stokes. Holloway told WRAL’s Laura Leslie and Mark Binker that he had nothing to do with the embarrassingly sophomoric and allegedly sexist preppy-fantasy blog “Wasp 101.” Leslie and Binker listed the coincidences between Stokes and blog author, “Richard.”…
Read MoreMoral Monday Momentum
Maybe it was the front-page photo of the white-coated female doctor, stethoscope around her neck, being arrested. Maybe it’s the growing number of protesters and arrests. Maybe it’s the broad range of people and interests involved. Whatever the reason, the Moral Monday protests are rolling downhill, picking up speed and making an impact. …
Read MoreGeorge Holding’s Hypocrisy
Congressman George Holding – probably thanks to Carter – had a clear message in his campaign: “Cut Spending Now.” But not now, it turns out. And not for himself. Holding’s ads said: “Cut Spending Now.” His yard signs said: “Cut Spending Now.” In his speeches and debates, he said: “Cut Spending Now.” By George,…
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