Issues
Does McCrory have HB2-flu?
His staff says he has a “viral contagion.” Like the viral contagion of jobs, visitors, entertainers and businesses avoiding North Carolina like the plague. The Governor cancelled all his public appearances – and avoided all HB2 questions – this weekend. Monday, he summoned up the strength to announce his proposed health budget. But he still wasn’t up to…
Read MoreThe Oldest Deal on Earth
After a year of pummeling the Washington Establishment and vilifying Washington Politicians Donald Trump, at last, dangled a carrot: If he is the nominee, Trump said, he will be happy to raise money for the Republican Party. It was a clever gambit: Trump dangled the vision of millions of dollars flowing into the Republican National…
Read MoreA Pebble
Talk about a politician doing an about face. And another about face. And a third about face. Six years ago when she was elected to Congress, Renee Ellmers ran as an Outsider. But after she arrived in Washington, wooed by the Establishment, made a fuss over by House Speaker John Boehner, she had a change…
Read MorePosting Pictures
Last Monday, the day before the Presidential Primary, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers spent the day campaigning and tweeting and posting photographs of herself (speaking at events) on Facebook then returned home to Dunn for the night. Up in Washington, the same night, the House voted on a resolution condemning ISIS for committing genocide against Christians –…
Read MoreA Poll: George Holding vs. Renee Ellmers
When George Holding first ran for Congress, I wrote a series of reports about how campaigns are built day to day. Now, four years later, George has a primary with Congresswoman Renee Ellmers and I’m going to do the same thing again. I should point out, at the beginning, I’m not unbiased. I worked with…
Read MoreA Poll: George Holding vs. Renee Ellmers
When George Holding first ran for Congress, I wrote a series of reports about how campaigns are built day to day. Now, four years later, George has a primary with Congresswoman Renee Ellmers and I’m going to do the same thing again. I should point out, at the beginning, I’m not unbiased. I worked with…
Read MoreSigns
Old people watch for signs: Pains shooting down a man’s arm, a hardly discernible lump in a woman’s breast, all either portents of disaster or false alarms and in politics there’re signs too: Like Roy out-raising Pat by $1.2 million. $5.1 million to $3.9 million. A portent? Or a hiccup? Roy raising more money than…
Read MoreAging Powers
A couple of years before the Berlin Wall fell a writer, gazing into his crystal ball, predicted communism was done for because ‘even the people who believed in it didn’t believe in it anymore’ – then, by way of explanation, he added that a dead ideology lives on awhile in a semi-comatose state but, after…
Read MoreA Moment of Clairvoyance
It was one of those rare moments when a candidate’s lips moved and, in the next breath, clairvoyance dawned. The moderator at the New Hampshire debate looked across the stage at Marco Rubio and told him that Chris Christie had said he “wasn’t ready to be President.” Rubio gave Christie the back of his hand,…
Read MoreTed Cruz’s Bad Moment
Marco Rubio’s bad moment got the most attention at the New Hampshire debate but there was another moment we may see again. When Ted Cruz was asked why his campaign had told Ben Carson’s supporters in Iowa that Carson was dropping out of the race, Cruz looked into the camera and explained how he respected…
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