National Republicans
The Key
Polymorphous America enjoyed a boom week last week. The Senate passed a bill to show any fellow who doesn’t cotton to hiring transgenders, bisexuals or gay people the error of his ways. And, overjoyed, the President announced a more tolerant America goes hand in hand with a more prosperous America – as if…
Read MoreAn Old Subject
The way the Tea Partiers see it, to save the country they have to do to the Washington Republicans what General Sheridan did to the Indians during the Indian Wars. Because when the Tea Partiers say, We can’t vote to raise the Debt Ceiling unless Obama cuts spending – the Republican Bosses say back,…
Read MoreStill Champ
My grandmother, years ago, would regularly tell me, Carter, you’ve got your wants and your needs confused. It turns out reporters have the same problem. What reporters need, just about every day, is a story. And what they want is a crisis to make it an interesting story. Take the newspaper headlines…
Read MoreElection Takeaways
The Republican civil war takes off, Obamacare takes a hit, Virginia is still purple, a big GOP personality wins big in blue New Jersey, public pollsters lose big and a new generation of Democratic leaders rises across North Carolina. Let’s run it all down. GOP civil war: The skirmishes are over, and the real…
Read MoreFrom Bush to Cruz
Remember when George W. Bush ran as a “compassionate conservative” in 2000? Ted Cruz could run in 2016 as a “cruel conservative.” The distance between the two Texans shows how far right the Republican Party has gone, thanks to the Tea Party. It’s a hell of a thing when Bush looks good in hindsight.…
Read MoreGreased Pigs and Jaguars
The poor Tea Partiers are finding the Republican Establishment in Washington harder to keep ahold of than a greased pig – they cornered the elusive rascals, trying to defund Obamacare, but then the wily Pachyderms slipped through their fingers and now Ted Cruz and the Tea Partiers are taking a pounding, being called pouty children…
Read MoreBear Hunting
Any Southerner worth his salt, at some point, has come face to face with William Faulkner’s story “The Bear” – about a mammoth, faster than a locomotive bear who roams and rules the last 100 square miles of pure wilderness in Mississippi where the final vestiges of ancient virtues like endurance and sacrifice have not…
Read MoreMoney Talks in Virginia
If Terry McAuliffe wins the Virginia governor’s race, Democrats might want to rethink this campaign finance thing. Public Policy Polling’s final poll shows McAuliffe winning 50-43. But here are the numbers that caught my eye: McAuliffe leads in fundraising $34.4 million to $19.7 million. The New York Times reported, “Armed with a much…
Read MoreDriving Republicans Crazy
Whatever else it does, Obamacare drives Republicans into a frenzy of hype, hypocrisy, irrationality and overreaction. Exhibit A: Republicans in Congress are outraged that website glitches prevent Americans from signing up for a program Republicans compare to slavery. Why are they complaining? They should take a cue from George Holding, take a nap and…
Read MoreBailing Out the Enemy
Carter likes to say that politics is an exercise in human folly and error. Both parties seem set on proving it in Washington. A few weeks ago, President Obama’s job ratings fell when the news was focused on Syria. But Washington Republicans came to his rescue. They shut down the government. Everybody forgot about…
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