Issues
Waiting for the Doctor
Right now President Obama is like a patient waiting for the doctor to bring back the test results. And the signs aren’t good. In fact, it looks like the Supreme Court is going to give his health-care reform a death sentence on Thursday. Talk about “death panels.” There are three ways this will…
Read MoreThe Economic Choice
An AP story captured Democrats’ dilemma this election. It summarized where Mitt Romney and President Obama stand on the economy this way: “On planet Republican: The economy is backsliding, and the president is to blame. His stimulus spending did more harm than good, and his big-government rules are strangling businesses. The answer is repealing…
Read MoreHating Government
This week I spoke to the Association of Government Information Officers in Raleigh. About 25 people were there (all but three were women, by the way; the reverse from when I was in government over 30 years ago). I asked two questions. First, how many think your agency (most all are in state government)…
Read MoreKeeping It Simple
Walter Dalton beat Bill Faison like a drum in the Democratic primary. But Dalton could learn something from Faison’s ability to boil down an issue – and an attack – to its essence. Or, as one old Southern politician said, “he gets the hay down where the goats can reach it.” Example is Faison’s tweet…
Read MoreHard Hearts
Republicans are determined to define themselves as hard-hearted – and hypocritical. They give two explanations for cutting out $10 million to compensate people who were forcibly sterilized by the state. The first is: We can’ afford it. Let’s figure here. The budget is $20 billion. $200 million is 1 percent of that. So…
Read MoreDefending Sweepstakes
A few blogs back, I took a swipe at video sweepstakes as a “seamy enterprise.” Brad Crone, who consults with the Internet Based Sweepstakes Organization, replies: “What’s the difference between a mid-level manager playing a round of golf for $200 in Pinehurst versus a plumbers assistant spending $20 on video sweepstakes? There isn’t…
Read MoreThanks, GOP!
Self-righteous Republican legislators seem determined to hasten the day when their days are numbered. It’s the pitfall that comes with power: You think you’re invincible, so you act like it. You drew your districts to keep you in power, so you think you’ll never lose power. So you act like the Senate Republicans…
Read MoreSweeping Taxes
Is Governor Perdue’s sweepstakes tax a smart idea? At a time when she’s struggling to remain relevant, it put her back in the headlines. But the proposal, like her original budget, is headed straight for the legislative trash can. It did put the focus back on school cuts – winning ground for Democrats.…
Read MoreKing Canutes
That’s one less thing to worry about. The Republican legislature has decided that the ocean will not eventually take over our little place at Nags Head. Wait until I tell my brother-in-law that on the golf course this weekend. He’s a Republican himself; after all, he did very well in the oil…
Read MoreLiars Sure Do Figure
The Romney campaign says: “Under President Obama, the nation has lost 552,000 jobs.” But the New York Times notes, “that statistic includes Mr. Obama’s first year in office, and especially the months of February, March and April, when monthly job losses from the economic collapse were at 700,000 or higher. “Just leaving out…
Read More