Posts by Gary Pearce
Thanks, Josh
Politics has been so bad that for four months – ever since Election Day – I’ve meant to write about something good. But never got to it. Thanks, Trump. So now the good news: Attorney General Josh Stein. After the carnage of Election Day, one veteran Democrat said, “If you’re going to win just three…
Read MoreCrank, Crazy or a Crook?
In his State of the Union early last week, Trump sounded like a normal President. By the weekend, he was back to his cranky, crazy self. He went on a Twitter rampage. He claimed President Obama wiretapped him. Without a shred of evidence. And despite denials from intelligence officials. Now, it could just be that…
Read MoreTrump TV
Trump’s presidency is best viewed, like Trump himself, as a reality TV show. Sometimes it’s scary. Like when Trump makes life and death decisions on the porch at Mar a Lago in full view of diners. Or anytime Steve Bannon crawls out of his cave. Sometimes it’s weird. Like when it’s big news that Trump…
Read MoreGone home
The house where I grew up came down yesterday. It had to go. It was built some 70 years ago. A tiny box of a place, now rundown and decades outdated. My father had bought it sight unseen. He’d come home nights from his job in the composing room of the N&O. He’d bring the…
Read MoreFake compromise
Governor Cooper is right. The HB2 “compromise” is no compromise. It would make a bad deal even worse. The referendum provision sounds good. What’s wrong with letting people vote? Plenty. First is a matter of policy and principle. As the Governor said, we shouldn’t put minority rights up to a majority vote. That’s like putting…
Read MoreDeep Throats
A high-ranking FBI official (Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat) and The Washington Post took down Richard Nixon’s presidency. FBI Director James Comey and the media echo chamber took down Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Now Trump compares American intelligence services with Nazis and declares that the media is the enemy. Where does this lead? A TAPster passes…
Read MoreMark Sanford takes on Trump
You know things are bad when Mark Sanford is the voice of reason. Yes, that Mark Sanford. The congressman from South Carolina. The ex-Governor who gave new meaning to “hiking the Appalachian Trail.” Sanford is back on stage as one of few Republicans unafraid to criticize Trump. He speaks out in a fascinating Politico article…
Read MoreSecession? Hmm…
Given how things are going with Trump, maybe we shouldn’t dismiss this secession idea too hastily. Let Roy Cooper and Josh Stein steer the ship of state.
Read MorePoll-axed
A good poll can guide you safely through the political jungle. A bad one can lead you into a death trap. Witness Pat McCrory. Jim Morrill reported in The Charlotte Observer (“A day before McCrory signed HB2, he got a poll that showed it would be popular”) that: “Former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed House…
Read MoreThree Americas
One group of Americans watches Trump on TV, and they see their worst fears come to pass. They see a vain, boastful, arrogant, uninformed con man. They see an administration marked by chaos, cruelty, incompetence, hostility to fundamental constitutional rights and a troubling penchant for making unnecessary enemies and strange friends abroad. Another group of…
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