Posts by Gary Pearce
Union Politics in Raleigh
Organized labor was a big winner in the 2006 elections. Not that it was on the ballot. But it strongly supported Democrats. And it will play a major role in the 2008 presidential race – as shown by John Edwards’ recruitment of David Bonior of Michigan to lead his campaign. Unions could also play a…
Read MoreOverreaching, Overspending, Overtaxing?
My joy over Democratic victories in 2006 is tempered by my fear over what we might do to screw it all up in 2007. Politicians’ instinctive reaction to victory is too often hubris. When they win, they assume they have license to do everything they’ve ever dreamed of doing, regardless of whether the voters voted…
Read MoreWill Raleigh Elections Be First Shot in Democrats’ Civil War?
Thomas Friedman wrote in The New York Times recently that Iraqis can’t be having a civil war because they’re not sufficiently organized to have one. But I suspect my fellow Democrats are. And next year’s Raleigh elections may be the first battle of that war. There are two very different schools of thought in the…
Read MoreJournalists Struggle with “New Media”
Carter and I did a panel Sunday before a group of Southern journalists who are navigating their way through the brave new world of blogs and the Internet – and the impact on politics. One UNC professor asked this question: “Does the ‘new media’ make politics more negative and more superficial?” He cited the blog-…
Read MoreThe Seat That Got Away
North Carolina Democrats had a good year, but it could have been better. Talkingaboutpolitics.com has learned (now, doesn’t that sound pretentious?) that Rahm Emmanuel’s vaunted Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee missed a chance to take out Robin Hayes. A group of North Carolina Democrats were poised to raise last-minute money for Democrat Larry Kissell’s campaign, if…
Read MoreJudges’ Verdict Is In: TV Beats Turnout
I’m singing one of my favorite songs again: Winning campaigns spend money on media, not turnout. And I have judicial proof in this year’s elections. There appeared to be little pattern in who won the judicial races, which are now officially nonpartisan. Democrat Sarah Parker won big. But Republican Donna Stroud edged Linda Stephens. Here’s…
Read MoreNo Democratic Dead Zone Here
A recent story in The New York Times asked: “Is the South Truly a Dead Zone for Democrats?” You’d have to be politically brain dead to believe that. Look at North Carolina after the November elections: We’re one of only 15 states with a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature;…
Read MoreWill Walter Jones Turn Blue?
Will Democrat-turned-Republican Congressman Walter Jones turn back to the party of his father? That’s the rumor in Raleigh this week. Jones was a Democratic member of the State House and a Democratic Congressional candidate before he became a Republican and won his U.S. House seat in 1994. Before that, Jones worked for Governor Jim Hunt.…
Read MoreCarville versus Dean
The war between James Carville and Howard Dean reflects a long-running divide inside the Democratic Party. I suspect Republicans suffer it, too. Carville speaks for the political pros – the consultants, pollsters and media mavens. Dean speaks for the grassroots – the state chairs, county chairs and precinct chairs. The battle is over money. The…
Read MoreMemo to Congress
Now that House Democrats saved Nancy Pelosi from the self-inflicted wound of John Murtha, it’s time to take up real ethics reform. Nobody has made that case better Bruce Thompson, who I think is one of Raleigh’s best lawyer-lobbyists. He’s also a good Democrat, I should add. Bruce wrote an op-ed in Monday’s Charlotte Observer…
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