Issues
Perdue Shuffles the Deck
Governor Perdue’s Cabinet reorganization demonstrates the advantage a governor always has over a legislature. While Republican legislators organize themselves and talk about what they plan to do, she can act. In the context of a near-$4 billion hole, her plan may not look huge. But her changes look good; even Republicans praised them.…
Read MoreWishful 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 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 MoreFiscal Hari-Kari
Last week in Washington Republicans voted to ban ‘earmarks.’ Then a few days later the press asked Minnesota Congressman Michelle Bachman (a heroine of the Tea party) about the new transportation bill – a traditional source of earmarks for Congressmen – and Representative Bachman said she could see allowing some local transportation projects to ‘get…
Read MoreSenator Berger Responds
A reader passed along my post on taxes – “A Whiff of a Waffle” (see below) – to Senator Phil Berger. The reader received this response from the incoming Senate leader: “No waffle. No extension of temporary taxes. Phil.” All righty, then.
Read MoreA Whiff of a Waffle?
The N&O reported that one of Sen. Phil Berger’s five goals for the new Republican Senate is: “Write a state budget with no tax increases and with the intent of letting temporary sales tax and income tax surcharges expire on schedule” (italics added). Saying that’s your “intent” is a lot different from promising…
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