Posts by Gary Pearce
Rays of Light
Too many Democrats are too quick to draw too-sweeping conclusions about why Kamala Harris lost and what the party needs to do now. Usually, their prescriptions mirror their preconceptions. Bernie Sanders says we lost touch with the working class. James Carville says we went too woke. Some Democrats blame President Biden. Some say Harris was…
Read MoreFight for Justice
We may be tired and tapped out after a long campaign, or drained and dreading the looming Trump disaster. But a critically important election remains unresolved in North Carolina, and Republicans are trying to steal it. The outcome of Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ reelection fight could decide the course of North Carolina politics through…
Read MoreTV Ads Still Work
The communications world has changed drastically since I started in politics, but 2024 proved that TV ads still are the best way to deliver a campaign message. Even in today’s fractured and fragmented information landscape – with cable networks, Facebook, X, TikTok, Blue Sky, podcasts and the rest – nothing carries more throw-weight than a…
Read MoreBiden
Joe Biden has been a good President, but missed being great because he wasn’t a great communicator. You can’t be a great politician – and certainly not a great President – if you aren’t a great communicator. Biden’s one term is much like President Jimmy Carter’s. Both did great things, but couldn’t tell the story.…
Read MoreMandate?
Trump boasts that his election – by 1.5% in the popular vote – gives him a “mandate.” Which reminds me of what Jim Hunt said after one of his four elections as governor. (I forget which one, but I do remember that his margins of victory ranged from 9.5 to 31%.) A reporter asked Hunt,…
Read MoreCourage
Instead of obsessing over Trump’s Cabinet picks, I read the story of a man who gave his life pursuing freedom and happiness for his country. The book is Patriot, by Alexei Navalny, the Russian politician who stood up to Putin and as a consequence was harassed, arrested, charged with multiple made-up crimes, poisoned and ultimately…
Read MoreTrumpenStein
Back in the last millennium, the paradox of North Carolina politics was: How can the same state elect Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms? Today, it’s: How can the same state elect Donald Trump and Josh Stein? They’re not just political opposites; they’re two of the most opposite people on planet Earth. Call us TrumpenStein. The…
Read MoreThe View from Iceland
If you seek political asylum the next four years, try Iceland. We went there last week and loved it. Yes, it’s cold, dark half the year and expensive. But it’s also beautiful and historic; the people are friendly, peace-loving and progressive-minded; and it’s a six-hour direct flight from RDU. Still, don’t give up on the…
Read MoreMistakes and Miss-Takes
Bert Bennett of Winston-Salem, the legendary political godfather to Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt, had a terse dismissal of election post-mortems: “When you win, everything you did was right. When you lose, everything you did was wrong.” Democrats can select from a lengthy list of excuses and explanations for Kamala Harris’ loss. Like, “It was…
Read MoreDon’t Give Up
This is bad. Bad for America and for the world. Bad for women, for immigrants, for LGBTQ+ people and for all marginalized people. Bad for the Democratic Party nationally. But North Carolina proved that Democrats and progressives can win. Good candidates who ran good campaigns won: Josh Stein, Rachel Hunt, Jeff Jackson, Mo Green and…
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