Posts by Gary Pearce
A Baffling Mystery
Somebody please explain this. Every Republican running for any office – no matter how high or low – seems to be running against Obamacare. They rail against the mandate that everyone have health insurance. They say it’s socialistic, un-American and an outrageous intrusion of our liberties. They vow to repeal it. Yet,…
Read MoreSkewering Newt and Mitt
Rick Santorum’s national campaign may be lagging, but he’s getting hard-hitting help in North Carolina. Bob Harris, the legendary Congressional Club researcher (“Where do you stand, Jim?”) has done two TV ads for Santorum. Harris said the ads began running in the Wilmington market this week. They’re sponsored by his super-PAC, Keep Conservatives…
Read MoreFailing Grade for the Legislature
Democrats now have their bumper-sticker message for 2012 – thanks to 25 North Carolina school superintendents. Republican legislators deny they cut any teachers. But the superintendents told a different story at a statewide hearing: “Superintendents said they had laid off teachers, teacher assistants, assistant principals and central office staff members during several years…
Read MoreReformed to Death?
Several Democratic readers responded to yesterday’s blog, “School Choice.” One wrote: “Our message should be, ‘Reform and Invest’.” Another said: “Schools need BOTH reform & investment. Any politician who preaches reform w/out resources is just using reform as a fig leaf.” A third said Pat McCrory’s education plan “is things Perdue/Easley/Hunt already did or…
Read MoreSchool Choice
For all the millions of dollars and words expended, elections always come down to simple choices that can be captured in a few words. In the governor’s race, it looks like the choice will come down to Pat McCrory’s “fix the problems” versus the Democrat’s “invest in education.” That could be a disastrous framing…
Read MoreVote NO
Public Policy Polling has found that people are confused about the marriage amendment: “Oh, it covers civil unions, too?” Plus, it’s so badly worded it could end up hurting widowed seniors and even victims of domestic abuse. Let’s simplify this message. Just tell people to vote NO. A no vote is always easier…
Read MoreGetting Real on Reading
Pat McCroryâs much-ballyhooed education platform reads like a compilation of every cliché and buzzword of the last three decades. This tweet from the McCrory campaign especially struck me: â3rd grade is a critical year for reading. We are not doing our children favors by socially promoting them to 4th grade.â Right you are,…
Read MoreObamaScare
Win or lose in the Supreme Court, President Obama has already lost in the court of public opinion. Polls show that two-thirds of Americans want at least some of Obamacare repealed. If he loses the election in November, he’ll always wonder why he staked his presidency on an idea he opposed in 2008: the…
Read MoreMitt Tillis
There’s a whiff of Mitt Romney about Thom Tillis. Witness his prediction that the gay-marriage amendment, which he supports, will be repealed in 20 years. Was he playing to a college crowd? Once again signaling he’s not really comfortable with the right-wing social issues? Or was it a classic political gaffe – when you…
Read MoreShould Bob Get Out?
The TAPster who wrote the blog below reflects what several Democrats have said privately about Bob Etheridge. If Bob’s campaign or a supporter will respond, I’ll post it. “For the sake of Democrats everywhere in North Carolina, Bobby Etheridge must step aside. “He needs to leave the governor’s race to someone who has…
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