National Republicans
Too Good to be True?
It doesn’t take a great deal to turn a fellow’s head – a blonde whispering in his ear, unexpected praise from a stranger, a new sports car. Humility’s hard to come by and harder still to hold onto which, I guess, is one reason the Good Lord made the world such a difficult place to…
Read MoreShirtless Debate
The author of a recent guest blog (“GOP Sex Change 2012”) was amused by the comments she provoked. She responds: “Your readers’ comments about my Shirtless Paul Ryan guest column demonstrate the depth at which the True Believers have their collective pointy little heads stuck in the sand. In no way was I implying…
Read MoreThe Right Size of Government, More or Less
Guest Tapster blogger Joe Stewart writes: People don’t want more government or less government, they want just enough government and no more. I heard then-president Bill Clinton say that during his visit to North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Fran in 1996, when I was legislative liaison in the NC Department Crime…
Read MoreWhy They Lie
When Carter and I were beating up on Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms, respectively, in 1984, we said some tough things. But we always stuck to some semblance of the truth. Not that we were all that noble; we feared the backlash from the media and the voters if we went too far. Something…
Read MoreRepublicans Embrace Clinton and Bowles
Forget the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Forget the attacks on Erskine Bowles when he ran for Senate. Republicans now desperately embrace Bubba and Bowles. Why? Because they can’t find a respected Republican to cite. Certainly not George W. Bush, who blew up the Clinton-Bowles balanced budget and gave us this recession. Instead, they…
Read MoreWorlds Colliding?
I live and breathe and walk in a middle-aged white male world and (except for Gary) I’ve hardly a friend who can even imagine Obama winning this election – in their bones they just know that can’t happen. My Republican friends have also been euphoric since the last election and they’ve had little or…
Read MoreRyan’s Express
Soon the media will stop hyperventilating about Paul Ryan and get back to Obama vs. Romney. It always happens, unless the VP choice is a disaster. Remember: Sarah Palin’s selection put the Republicans ahead four years ago, until…well, you know. For now, we sophisticated analysts ask: “What does the pick say” about the presidential…
Read MoreGOP Sex Change 2012
I can’t wait to weigh in on Paul Ryan as VP. Meantime, here’s a revealing guest blog from a female TAPster: Four years ago, the Brain Trust of the Republican Party decided the way to offset the Obama Change Machine was with an unknown female Governor from a far-flung, sparsely populated state. It was a…
Read MoreGovernment on the Cheap
As I ease back into the post-vacation routine, hereâs a guest submission from a TAPster: The recent crash of a Charlotte-based C-130 aircraft while fighting wildfires in the western US makes a sad, revealing point about the mindset of our government today. That aircraft was a cargo plane, but had been modified to…
Read MoreAn Unexpected Service
Until Saturday Mitt Romney’s road to the White House was straightforward – the election was a debate about Barack Obama’s failure to turn the economy around. That has now changed. The election will still be about Obama’s failure but it will also be about the Republicans’ cure for that failure: Paul Ryan’s budget. …
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