Posts by Gary Pearce
Tear down this wall
Trump may never get his wall with Mexico, but he’s built a hell of a wall between Americans. It has bitterly divided Democrats and Republicans in Washington, it has shut down government, and it divides the American people. And it’s not even a real issue. It’s an imaginary solution to an imaginary problem. Even if…
Read MoreWinning the news war
Trump is both creature and creator of today’s hyper-speed, Twitter-hype news cycle. To win in 2020, Democrats need a candidate who beats him at the communications game. The New York Times reports: “By all accounts, Mr. Trump’s consumption of cable television has actually increased in recent months as his first scheduled meetings of the day…
Read MoreRob Christensen Retires
With Rob Christensen’s retirement, we lose North Carolina’s most experienced, knowledgeable and insightful political reporter. There were, still are and always will be other great political reporters in North Carolina. But nobody stayed on the job for 45 years. Nobody had Rob’s wealth of history and sources. Nobody worked harder, worked sources harder, listened longer…
Read MoreCrime and Politics
My blogging partner Carter Wrenn hit the big time yesterday. He had the “Quote of the Day” in The New York Times: “I’m old fashioned, but anytime somebody may have broken the law, it’s appropriate for the state to look into it.” Carter was quoted (as “the dean of North Carolina’s Republican strategists”) in a…
Read MoreImpeachment talking points
Democrats, repeat after me: “Impeachment should be done only on a bipartisan basis. Ask Republicans what they think about impeaching Trump.” This is smart for two reasons. First, it’s the right thing to do. Bill Clinton’s impeachment showed that it shouldn’t be done on party lines. The country is divided enough already. Second, it’s good…
Read More#NC09
The election-fraud story in the 9th Congressional District has a long way to go, but three things are clear. First, real news and real journalism are alive and well. I won’t single out any reporter or news outlet, because so many have performed so well. A salute to each and every one of you. A…
Read MoreWhat’s that smell?
As its decade of political dominance nears an end, the Republican Party reeks of the stench of corruption from top to bottom, from Washington to Wisconsin to Georgia to Raleigh and all the way to Bladen County. The Bladen scandal once again puts North Carolina at center stage – and Republicans in the spotlight. The…
Read More41
Democrats 30 years ago would be shocked at how Democrats today are extolling and eulogizing President George H.W. Bush. In 1988, while Bush talked about a “kinder, gentler” America and “a thousand points of light,” he let Lee Atwater run a viciously negative, racist (Willie Horton) campaign against the hapless Michael Dukakis. Atwater apologized on…
Read MoreGodfatherGate
The news last night looked like a mashup remake of “The Godfather” and Watergate. Michael Cohen flipping on Trump is like consigliere Tom Hagen turning state’s witness against Don Corleone. Then Trump came on saying Cohen was “a weak person” whom he hired “because he did me a favor a long time ago.” Did Cohen…
Read MorePelosi for Speaker
Women voters, women volunteers, women donors and women candidates made this the best year for Democrats since Watergate. Now some Democrats want to dump the highest-ranking female elected official in the nation? Nancy Pelosi has taken Hillary Clinton’s place as the most-demonized politician in America. That’s to be expected from Republicans. They hate her because…
Read More