Posts by Gary Pearce
Following the Flock
Political reporters are like flocks of birds. One bird flies to a wire, and every bird flies to the same wire. One national political reporter writes a story about Obama’s problems in North Carolina, and every national political reporter writes the same story. The latest story to cause the Obama campaign heartburn came from…
Read MoreBlue Dems
Maybe there was energy, electricity and excitement in the air at N.C. Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson this weekend. But, judging from outside, the optimism seemed a bit forced. (I’m happy to say I wasn’t there.) Also on the outside, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm among Democrats right now about the fall election.…
Read MoreDefending Sweepstakes
A few blogs back, I took a swipe at video sweepstakes as a “seamy enterprise.” Brad Crone, who consults with the Internet Based Sweepstakes Organization, replies: “What’s the difference between a mid-level manager playing a round of golf for $200 in Pinehurst versus a plumbers assistant spending $20 on video sweepstakes? There isn’t…
Read MoreThanks, GOP!
Self-righteous Republican legislators seem determined to hasten the day when their days are numbered. It’s the pitfall that comes with power: You think you’re invincible, so you act like it. You drew your districts to keep you in power, so you think you’ll never lose power. So you act like the Senate Republicans…
Read MoreDueling Messages
The contrast between Walter Dalton’s and Pat McCrory’s messages to the NFIB this week alarmed one Democratic political veteran. Rob Christensen wrote in the N&O that the two “painted sharply different portraits of North Carolina on Tuesday, with the Democrat saying the state was emerging from difficult times and the Republican saying the state…
Read MoreBushed
If I were a Republican (I’m struggling here now), I’d wonder why this election is even close. With the economy in the tank and Americans in a funk, why doesn’t Mitt Romney have a huge lead over President Obama? Jeb Bush has it figured out. He told reporters that his father and Ronald Reagan…
Read MoreThe Speaker’s Entourage
Thom Tillis may be a fiscal conservative on education, but he’s happy to spend taxpayers’ money on himself. First, as I recall, were the big-screen TVs outside the House chamber – featuring none other than Speaker Tillis. Last week, he told WPTF radio host Bill LuMaye he approved extra pay to staffers fired…
Read MoreNot a Starr
A friend of George Holding (and a Democrat) took issue with yesterday’s blog. He wrote: “Here is the reason I don’t think George will be the next Starr: “Bill Clinton was a flawed man but was fundamentally a good president with lots of allies and a good overall record. “John Edwards is…
Read MoreIs Holding Starr-Crossed?
Whatever he does, Kenneth Starr will always be remembered for his obsession with Bill Clinton’s sex life. Will John Edwards likewise live on forever in George Holding’s bio? Today’s N&O story by Ann Blyth and John Frank reminds us that the trial might be over, “but one aspect of the case remains unexplained: Why was…
Read MoreIn the Doghouse
Where does the North Carolina Democratic Party rate with the White House? Here’s a clue: the Jefferson-Jackson dinner speaker isn’t the President, the First Lady, the Vice President or Mrs. Biden. It’s not David Axelrod or another big-name campaign official. It’s the Bidens’ son, Beau. Unless party HQ heard wrong, and the White…
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