Posts by Gary Pearce
Stop the Steals
In 1968, Richard Nixon’s campaign told South Vietnam to reject a peace deal before the election. Nixon thought peace might help Hubert Humphrey. In 1980, we now learn from The New York Times (link below), John Connally sent word to Iran not to free the hostages before the election. The Reagan campaign thought their release…
Read MoreTrump’s Carnage
Donald Trump likes to incite violence. He set a violent mob on the Capitol January 6, 2021. Now he’s riling up his supporters to protest if he gets arrested. When Trump was inaugurated, he said, “The American carnage stops right here, right now.” No. He was just getting started.
Read MoreHate
Nancy Pelosi once called Donald Trump “the most dangerous person in the history of our country.” And that was before he set a violent mob on the Capitol to overturn an election. Now he’s back. And he’s worse than before. He promises us “retribution.” After the 2016 election, I asked a Republican friend, no fan…
Read MoreJeff Jackson’s Bank Shot
Congressman Jeff Jackson is the best political communicator in North Carolina. His social media posts yesterday on the banking situation are a master class in explaining volatile, complex issues in simple, plain-spoken terms. Last night, I saw that his video had been viewed over one million times. I’m a print guy, so I read his…
Read MoreCooper’s Big Win
State Senator Phil Berger and Speaker Tim Moore took a beaming star turn before the cameras when they announced their agreement on expanding Medicaid. They pointedly excluded Governor Roy Cooper. But make no mistake: This is Cooper’s victory. It is a signal accomplishment of his administration. It means 600,000 North Carolinians will get better health…
Read MoreA New Constitution?
One of the truly worst ideas in the history of American politics is a convention of the states to rewrite the Constitution. One of the truly worst people in the history of American politics, Rick Santorum, was in Raleigh this week pushing the idea. When Santorum represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1995 to 2007,…
Read MoreBishop Curry’s Message of Love
Introduced as “the most exciting Episcopalian in history,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry didn’t disappoint. Of course, being the most exciting Episcopalian in history is “a low bar,” Rector Greg Jones joked as he presented Bishop Curry to the audience at St. Michael’s Church in Raleigh Monday night. Then Bishop Curry set a high bar for…
Read MoreTax Cuts or Better Schools?
It’s a long-running debate with long-running impact on North Carolina: cut taxes or improve education? This year, again, the Republican-controlled legislature is set on cutting taxes and starving public schools, even with a $3 billion-plus surplus that could significantly raise the quality of education. For 60 years, the state made a series of different decisions.…
Read MoreBiden’s Age: The Kid is All Right
I’m old enough to know the problems an 80-year-old man can face. I get why Democrats worry. The gait stiffens, hearing gets iffy and words – names! – can be elusive. But old people know a lot that young people don’t. We know, first of all, what it’s like to be young. Young people don’t…
Read MoreThe Man from Plains
Jimmy Carter burst onto America my first year in politics, 1976. I had just joined Jim Hunt’s first campaign for governor. Democrats here feared 1976 would be a repeat of 1968 and 1972, when liberal, Northern presidential nominees, Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, sank the party in the South. Then came Carter. He was different…
Read More