Posts by Gary Pearce
Thompson Dramatized GOP Weakness
Fred Thompson is a big, imposing guy with a big, authoritative voice. Too bad he doesn’t have anything to say. All his voice is booming so far is empty platitudes. If he’s the Republicans’ next Ronald Reagan, they are in more trouble than I thought. Reagan had a message: Strengthen America. Tear down this wall.…
Read MoreIn Defense of Incentives
All the candidates for Governor – Democrats and Republicans – now say they support Governor Easley’s veto of the Goodyear incentives bill. Are incentives that politically radioactive? I’m not sure they are. But the supporters of incentives are doing a damn poor job of making the case. The way to win the argument is to…
Read MoreDole-drums
A well-placed North Carolina Republican has been telling friends lately that he doesn’t think Senator Elizabeth Dole will run for reelection if she draws a tough opponent. As Richard Nixon said to Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, there comes a time to get off the pot. The Democratic candidate who comes out strong first may find…
Read MoreCorporate Democrats, Unite!
Another sign that North Carolina Democrats aren’t taking the increasingly anti-corporate tone of the national party is a fundraiser Richard Moore is holding in Raleigh this month. The host is John Kane, of North Hills fame. (Now that Moore has come out against incentives for Goodyear, maybe Kane can lobby him for his parking-deck subsidy.)…
Read MoreBush’s Political Surge
The military surge may or may not be working in Iraq. But George Bush’s political surge appears to be working at home. His surprise Labor Day visit demonstrates the power of the President – even a poll-ravaged lame-duck President – to command the political heights on foreign affairs. How can this be? How can a…
Read MoreBrave New World of the Gubernatorial Veto
I blogged not long ago about the veto being Jim Hunt’s gift to Mike Easley – and all future Governors. Now – with Easley’s veto of the Goodyear-incentives bill – we begin to see what veto power really means. Brave New World, Chapter One: So much for being a lame duck. Easley may be ineffective…
Read MoreTrue Believers
A poll last week seemed to support Karl Rove’s argument that Hillary Clinton is a “fatally flawed” candidate. But the results may say more about how polarized voters are today. The poll, by the Pew Research Center, said: “Among voters of all parties with an opinion, Clinton is viewed favorably by 55 percent, the lowest…
Read MoreThe Power of Apology
I confess to not knowing much about Senator Janet Cowell from Raleigh, who wants to run for State Treasurer. But she did something rare for a politician last week. And my opinion of her immediately went sky-high. She apologized. She admitted she made a mistake. She owned up to it. And she did so in…
Read MoreNCAE Politics
Richard Moore’s campaign believes the fix is in for Beverly Perdue at the N.C. Association of Educators. Moore sent a letter to the NCAE President asking for a delay in the endorsement in the Democratic governor’s primary. A Moore aide sent me an email suggesting I blog on the matter: “Given NCAE’s history of endorsements…I…
Read MoreNothing Coy About Him
Coy Privette has joined the dubious ranks of self-proclaimed moral leaders who got caught with their morals and their pants down. For more than 30 years, Privette has been a blustering, bullying political presence in North Carolina. He preached – and politicked – against sin, demon rum and the immorality of liberals and Democrats. I…
Read More