General
Wishful Thinking Department
The Southern Pines Pilot opined optimistically: “During the years in which they were out of power, GOP legislators long argued in vain for taking redistricting out of the hands of the General Assembly and turning it over to an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission. Now, maybe that can finally happen.” Ha! As an…
Read MoreSign of the Times?
A wise Raleigh hand told me about a capital-city event this week that was unique in all his years: a show of real bipartisanship. Two veteran House members – Republican Danny McComas and Democrat Pryor Gibson – cohosted a reception in the Capitol for new legislators. Most people came, of course, to see…
Read MorePublic Life, Private Tragedy
A friend wondered why Elizabeth Edwards’ life and death transfixed so many people. Maybe it’s the American fascination with the lives of the rich and famous – especially when they are marked by so many triumphs and tragedies. For her they were, in order: the death of a child, her husband’s meteoric rise in…
Read MoreObama Investigates Perdue
Twenty-seven year old Jeremiah Love – who’s schizophrenic – was murdered in a Rest Home by another schizophrenic who attacked him swinging a metal cane at his head like a baseball bat. In another Rest Home across the state a forty-three year old schizophrenic beat a sixty-seven year old patient to death in an argument…
Read MoreObama’s Signals
President Obama sent two signals about 2012 on today’s front page. First, he’s going to contest North Carolina. Second, he’s going to run the same way he ran the first time, even if it drives die-hard Democrats crazy: as an adult trying to rise above a Washington filled with immature partisans. Despite…
Read MoreBuried Secrets
By not indicting Governor Easley, Joe Cheshire says, District Attorney William Kenerly proved Easley’s innocent and not just innocent but a victim too. The Governor, Cheshire says, has been ‘trashed’ by the villains in the press. And he has a case: The newspapers report the Governor’s done everything from swapping developers permits in exchange…
Read MoreThis is Adult?
Erskine Bowles said his deficit-commission’s recommendations would help start an adult conversation in Washington. So the first thing the Senate does is extend tax cuts, which we can’t afford, and unemployment benefits, which we also can’t afford. Both make wonderful sense. But voting for popular things without paying for them is what got…
Read MoreBev’s Second Message
The other day Governor Perdue climbed on a jet airliner and flew to New York and drove straight to billionaire Ron Perelman’s Manhattan office and held a campaign fundraiser. Now why is a Wall Street tycoon raising money in Manhattan for the Governor? Well, the News and Observer points out Mr. Perelman sits on…
Read MoreGOP: The Challenge and the Opportunity
Transitions are when winners strive to show they’re ready to take over. As Senator Richard Stevens of Cary, co-chairman of the Senate transition team, told the N&O, “The goal is to be ready day one.” Rob Christensen reported that “Republicans are hiring staff, choosing committees and committee chairmen.” They set up eight…
Read MoreThe Media and the Governor
Governor Hunt and I were in Wilmington last night for a book signing, which one TV station used to pursue a feud they apparently have with Governor Perdue over her accessibility to the media, or lack thereof. The same day, I got a call from a veteran Raleigh reporter complaining about the Governor: “I…
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