National Democrats
One Kind of Thinking
There’s been a lot of political foolishness going on over in Greensboro and I’ve been watching it pretty closely, working with one of Phil Berger Jr.’s opponents in the Republican Primary, Bruce VonCannon. The other day Berger’s Super PAC broke bad and issued an edict: Voters, they said, ought not to trust Bruce VonCannon to…
Read MoreGame Changer
Harry Reid’s new ad is hardball with a thud. Here’s Reid’s story in a nutshell: He says Thom Tillis shared an apartment with his Chief of Staff, who had an affair with a married lobbyist, and then resigned. And Tillis said he knew nothing. Then, a week later, another Tillis staffer resigned after having had…
Read MoreBe Careful What You Wish For …
A year ago when my health insurance went up I grumbled and blamed Blue Cross. Then, this year, my new bill arrived and the premium went up again even more. But this time I didn’t blame Blue Cross. I laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of one man: Barack Obama. In bygone days,…
Read MoreObamaCare: A New Ball Game?
Just as ObamaCare divides the nation politically, it divides Democrats strategically. Does it spell disaster in November, or can we score points with it? The President took the ball to the basket this week. His message: 7-plus million Americans signed up. Millions of Americans can now get health care. Republicans are just obstructionists and…
Read MoreVollermort
The internal politics of the North Carolina Democratic Party are a mystery to me, so I’m lost when people ask, essentially, “WTF is Randy Voller up to?” So I refer you to an insightful piece by an observer I trust: Bob Geary with Indy Week. Geary begins: “After a stormy year as state Democratic…
Read MoreMcCroryCare?
Your eyes may glaze over reading about the McCrory administration’s plan to reform Medicaid. But this may pop your pupils: It adopts a key feature of Obamacare. Like the Affordable Care Act, DHHS’ new and improved Medicaid plan depends on an animal called “Accountable Care Organizations.” One health expert describes ACOs this way:…
Read MoreKeep ‘em here, Send ‘em home
Immigration, the newspaper says, is ‘bedeviling” Congresswoman Renee Ellmers. It’s also bedeviling Speaker John Boehner. And half the Republicans in Washington. It’s a knotty problem. Part of the politicians have decided it’s best to send every single illegal immigrant back to where they came from – but no one’s quite sure how to…
Read MoreObama Tops McCrory
This poll result caught the eye: “Obama at 42 percent approval in NC, McCrory at 36 percent.” Yes, the Governor’s approval rating was lower than the President’s in a High Point University poll. Now, a big caveat: The poll was of all adults, not just voters. The results might be different among voters alone.…
Read MoreIn the Line of Fire
Politics 101 used to say that getting in the news was good for politicians. Not today. The new rule is: If you’re in the spotlight, you’re losing. The more you’re in the news, the lower your poll ratings. When the government shutdown dominated Page 1, Republicans plummeted in the polls. When Obamacare took…
Read MorePandora’s Box
It’s got to be a temptation – but it may not have a happy ending. Lately, President Obama’s taken to running the country by Executive Order – for instance, the other day he found a part of Obamacare wasn’t going to work so he simply announced he wouldn’t enforce that part of the law. …
Read More