Issues
Teddy
Ted Kennedy was both an inspiration and political poison to North Carolina Democrats. We loved him because he was the last link to the glory days of John and Bobby Kennedy, the New Frontier, the Mercury 7 astronauts, the Peace Corps, “pay any price, bear any burden…” and all that. And his voice…
Read MoreWhat to do this Friday Night
On Friday night at 9 o’clock turn off MSNBC and Fox and CNN and click over to Channel 4 and you’ll have a once in a lifetime experience: Gary’s being interviewed on Bill Friday’s program. This could turn out to be like having a front row seat at a movie about North Carolina politics.…
Read MorePulling the Plug?
First President Obama retreated under Sarah Palin’s “death panel” attack. The Great Communicator couldn’t communicate how ludicrous the attack was. The provision actually was proposed by a Republican. It would have reimbursed doctors who advised patients about leaving instructions for how they want their end-of-life decisions made. Something everybody should do. It spares families…
Read MoreHealth Care As We Know It
There is an echo of the old welfare debate in the health-care debate. But worse – for Democrats. Until Bill Clinton “ended welfare as we know it,” welfare was a huge political problem for Democrats. Big majorities of the public – black and white – objected to a program they believed took money from…
Read MorePost Mortem
The story of how the state budget got made and passed reads like a plot from a bad Gothic novel. On page one Governor Perdue is sitting, looking at last year’s budget and dreaming of all the new things she is going to spend money on this year; she dreams and dreams then adds…
Read MoreWorth the Risk?
We’ve got a whale of a health care war going on – and it’s a pleasure to watch the Congressmen and Senators getting bearded in their own Town Hall Meetings. In Round One President Obama charged out of his corner and whipped everyone in sight; then, in Round Two, he unexpectedly got rocked back…
Read MoreBev Needs a Dick Morris
No, not the Dick Morris you see on Fox who apparently came unhinged from working for the Clintons. The Dick Morris who rescued Bill Clinton’s presidency after 1994. Governor Perdue needs somebody who will do what Morris did then: scour government agencies for a series of popular, bite-sized things she could do by executive…
Read MoreOld Gene Autry Movies
When I was nine years old my ten year old cousin Jennifer was an Amazon â she could hit a baseball, throw a football and run faster than any boy. When it came time to choose up sides there wasnât any question whether sheâd play with the boys. The only question was which side was…
Read MoreObamaScare
I’m not surprised Public Policy Polling found that only 54 percent on North Carolinians believe Obama was born in the United States, 26 percent said they do not believe he was and 20 percent aren’t sure. The poll reflects a fundamental divide about Obama here and across America. It was there throughout the campaign,…
Read MoreDrug Deal
Now, I may not have all the numbers exactly right on this one. It’s received some coverage, but not enough. So bear with me. Apparently, the Obama administration cut a secret deal with Big Pharma under which the drug companies agreed to give up no more than $80 billion in prescription-drug savings for health-care…
Read More