Posts by Gary Pearce
Quote of the Year, So Far
Governor Perdue this week at the ribbon-cutting for a “green” McDonald’s in Cary: “I love McDonald’s. I eat here all the time, as you can see from my butt.”
Read MoreA Defense of Janet Cowell
A reader says my blog about Governor Perdue and Treasurer Janet Cowell “is a misread.” Here is the reader’s take on Cowell – and her battle with Perdue and DOT over Charlotte loop funding: “She’s a straight shooter, Gary, as close to pure and simple as you’ll find at that level of political…
Read MoreCouncil of State Headaches
You’d think Governor Perdue had enough problems with Republicans. But two of the biggest obstacles in her first year have been Democrats – Council of State members. This is nothing new. All Governors get to where they want to call a constitutional convention to abolish the Council of State. The conflict is inherent…
Read More‘Saint Elizabeth’
As the N&O noted this morning, excerpts from the book Game Change have tarnished Elizabeth Edwards’ halo. People have been reluctant to criticize Elizabeth. She lost a son. She is battling cancer. And she suffered the public humiliation of her husband’s infidelity. But she long had a reputation for being startlingly harsh with people,…
Read MoreThe Edwards Syndrome
The new revelations about John Edwards’ 2008 campaign – from the book Game Change by John Heilemann & Mark Halperin – raise this question: Didn’t he learn anything in his Senate race? When Edwards ran in 1998 – and I was one of his strategists – we struggled with how to handle the firestorm…
Read MoreABC, DMV, SHP…
Is everybody in state government crooked? No, they’re not. But the average person might think so when – in one skinny issue of the paper – they see ABC boards investigated, the ex-DMV director accused of wiretapping and the State Highway Patrol questioned about missing records and sexual misconduct. Does this ever end?…
Read MoreFight Back
Democrats need to stop wringing their hands and worrying about November. And start fighting back on health care. Here’s the message: This year – over the opposition of every single Republican in Congress – we did something that Americans have needed for 50 years. When the health-care bill passes, every American will be…
Read MorePolitical Cycles
There is a natural rhythm that usually governs politics. And it suggests that 2010 will be a Republican year. But not so fast. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote The Cycles of American History about those political rhythms. In recent years – as both parties have migrated to their political extremes – the cycle…
Read MoreThe Roots of Health Care Reform
As the health-care battle resumes in Washington, some history may be just what the doctor ordered. Most people believe this battle traces back to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s failed effort to reform health care in 1993-1994. Actually, it goes back to 1991 – and a now-forgotten special election for the U.S. Senate in…
Read MoreAbolish Resolutions
It sounds un-American, but I’m adamantly opposed to New Year’s resolutions. First of all, all the media stories are tiresome: How to start a new exercise routine – or a new life. How to lose 20 pounds. How to change your diet. How to run that ultra-marathon across the Sahara that you’ve always dreamed…
Read More