National Republicans
Bedrock to Quicksand
One minute you’re standing on solid ground and the next the trap door springs open and you’re falling through mid-air. Last week, the New York Times reported Republican political consultants made a startling discovery: They discovered swing voters have a stubborn affinity for Barack Obama and President Obama’s economic failure is not enough to elect…
Read MoreWhat Do They See?
Political junkies like me and you pay attention to what convention speakers say. We get into the issues, the rhetoric, the charges, claims and counterclaims. But that’s not what matters. Voters watch conventions for what they say about the candidates and the party. They watch it like just another TV show, and they look…
Read MoreStorm Signals
Isaac busted up the Republican convention schedule. It’s competing for TV coverage. Therein lies another danger to the GOP: Is it good to bash government when a lot of people may need government help? One story said the federal government spent $10 billion building levees to protect New Orleans. Did Governor Bobby Jindal reject…
Read MoreA Bigger Swamp…
Unless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreA Bigger Swamp…
Unless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreNon-Conventional View
A TAPster who is no fan of the party conventions offers this: “Two thoughts as we enter two tedious weeks of convention blather: “First, the hurricane harassing the Republican National Convention is further proof that Southern small-town wind-blown burgs like Tampa and Charlotte have no business hosting big-time conventions. What self-respecting convention city…
Read MoreChanging the Subject
Since he picked Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has been talking about: Medicaid cuts, budget cuts, taxes (his and ours), Bain Capital, Obamacare, abortion and, now, birth certificates. None of which address undecided voters’ number-one concern: jobs and the economy. There seems to be a simple message for Romney in this campaign: “The economy is…
Read MoreStand Your Ground, Rep. Akin
Rep. Todd Akin shouldn’t pull out (pardon the expression) of the Missouri Senate race. First of all, he is the Democratic Party’s best bet to keep control of the United States Senate. So stand up to all those weaklings in the GOP, Todd! Stand up for what you believe! Second, Akin may have…
Read MoreThe Breaking Point
The other day Gary wrote “Why They Lie” about the election in 1984 when Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms were duking it out and how elbow throwing was acceptable in that campaign but outright lying was taboo – that was one line both Helms and Hunt feared to cross. Because they’d pay a price. …
Read MoreWalmart Shoppers
Rob Christensen’s column about “Walmart Moms” shows that this election is more about personalities and less about Medicare, the debt, competing budget plans, taxes or any of the issues that animate the media and political chatter. The focus groups Christensen went to focused not on “issues,” but on personal impressions of the candidates and…
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