Posts by Gary Pearce
JFK at 100
There are many John F. Kennedys to consider. There’s the Camelot myth, and there’s the real man. There’s the assassinated hero, and there’s the real President. There’s the President who managed a peaceful end to the Cuban Missile Crisis, a triumph of strength and restraint. And there’s the President who gave us the Bay of…
Read MoreWatergate at warp speed
Hand it to Trump. He moves fast. As big a crook as Richard Nixon was, it took him four years to get caught. Trump did it in three months. It took two years for Nixon to resign. What might happen with Trump? Some smart people think he might quit. That he’s thinking: “Running was fun.…
Read MoreThe Greening of Trump
Harrison Hickman, my genius pollster friend, told me a simple fact about the 2016 presidential election that I had not seen anywhere. The votes that Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, got in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania were enough to swing the election from Hillary Clinton. And make Trump President. Here are the numbers. …
Read MoreJim Hunt at 80 and 40
Former Governor Jim Hunt celebrated his 80th birthday last week. And this year marks 40 years since his first year as Governor. Last Thursday evening, Governor and Mrs. Cooper hosted Governor and Carolyn Hunt, their family and about 200 “Hunt alumni” – from 16 years of staff, Cabinet and campaign teams – for a wonderful…
Read MoreFollow the Money
That’s the guidance Deep Throat gave Bob Woodward through Watergate. It also applies to Trumpgate. (Of course, it’s hard to follow anything given the velocity with which Trump is trampling the government, national security and the Constitution.) With Trump, it’s always about the money. His money. That’s his Russia tie. Not just the long red one…
Read More2 Tyrants, 1 Leader
Trump saw the FBI on his trail. So he fired Comey. Senate Boss Berger was enraged that Democrats had the gall to propose amendments to his budget. So at 3 am he rammed through an amendment taking money away from schools in Democratic districts. Those were the actions of tyrants. There’s another way. Governor Cooper…
Read MoreFour years on
Four years ago this week, an extraordinary young woman I had come to know was brutally murdered. Stabbed to death in her own home. By a man she and her husband had befriended and helped. Four years on, I still struggle with the monstrous evil here. We know that human beings do cruel, senseless, horrible…
Read MoreSellout or Step Forward?
Governor Cooper’s office calls the HB2 repeal “an important step forward for LGBT rights” even though it “wasn’t a perfect compromise or the Governor’s preferred solution.” LGBT leaders call it a “sellout” and an “insult.” This is the oldest debate in politics. Not liberal/conservative. Or Democrat/Republican. But “compromise” versus “all or nothing.” The Governor had…
Read MoreClinton shattered
A new now-it-can-be-told book performs the requisite autopsy on why Hillary Clinton lost. Judging by the reviews, “Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign” is the kind of political porn we junkies eat up. No doubt it’s filled with delicious dirt dished out by dueling staffers exacting revenge and blaming each other. Yum! It’s a first stab…
Read MoreBannon’s fall = Democrats’ opening
It’s good that Steve Bannon has been eclipsed in the court of the Sun King. By all accounts, he’s a hate-spewing, fear-mongering, immigrant-bashing, Muslim-banning, dark force. But Bannon did have one important insight into today’s politics. And Democrats should take heed of it. Bannon has a clear focus on the anger that millions of Americans…
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