General
Cansler’s Deposition
Last summer, for reasons that aren’t quite clear, Secretary Lanier Cansler and his Deputy Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries and aides trooped over to the General Assembly and told legislators they had a report that absolutely, conclusively, without a doubt proved 45% of the Medicaid patients who were receiving in home care were chiselers. Of course,…
Read MoreBlame the Republicans
The White House needs to go on offense on the Gulf oil spill. Democrats, all too often, are weenies when it comes to political combat. They want to be fair, see all sides and over-intellectualize. It’s time for a go-for-the-gut message: Blame the Republicans. Here’s how it goes: This all started…
Read MoreX Factors
X factors are the spice of politics – and the bane of political operatives. X factors are the unexpected events that disrupt the best-laid plans of campaign consultants and political consultants, who are the world’s greatest control freaks. The classic X factor was the economic collapse that decided the 2008 presidential election by…
Read MoreGrasping for Negatives
I had my hopes up. For a few minutes, I thought the Senate primary was going to get down, dirty and negative – just the way I like them. Wednesday morning, Cal Cunningham’s campaign sent out a breathless email denouncing a “negative letter the Marshall campaign just sent to many of our supporters, attacking…
Read MoreThe Lost Ark
I reckon there’s no doubt the folks showing up at Tea Party rallies have the politicians in Washington – both Republican and Democrat – all shook up but, at the same time, I’ve got a feeling the Tea Partiers may be facing a hard lesson of their own: That sometimes it’s the fellow sitting in…
Read MoreBroke
Oil still gushes into the Gulf of Mexico, courtesy of BP – “Broken Pipe.” So many dollars, debt and deficits gush out of Washington that the country looks broke. Even Al and Tipper broke up. This is a scary scenario for President and Obama and the Democrats (except for the Gore split). Nothing…
Read MoreCloud Cuckoo Land
Last week on his Facebook page, Raleigh Congressional candidate Bill Randall boldly challenged his readers: “Do not read the following if you are not willing to face this challenge head-on. Is there a remnant out there who aren’t willing to give up? This great Republic must be preserved.” Well, naturally, I clicked on the…
Read MoreGetting His Story All Tangled Up
In a way Bill Randall was clever, taking a fifty year old document, Stan Evans’ ‘Sharon Statement,’ renaming it and posting it on his website as his own ‘Charter of Principles’ as if he’d written it. After all, it worked for almost a year – until last week when Randall got caught red-handed. …
Read MoreIn Praise of Campaign Money
It seems to be accepted truth today that all money in political campaigns is inherently evil. Let me offer a contrary view, thanks to Ferrel Guillory Ferrel is the ever-wise director of Program on Public Life at the UNCCenter for the Study of the American South. At breakfast the other day, we were…
Read MoreThe ‘Helms Station’
It’s no surprise Jesse Helms cozied up to the FBI. He and J. Edgar Hoover were the leading enemies of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. But the revelations spotlight part of WRAL’s history that people at the station today might rather forget. In the 1960s, WRAL was known as the…
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