National Republicans
Political Disconnect
Politicians in Raleigh and Washington are spending their time and energy debating an issue that, I suspect, few Americans spend much time and energy worrying about: the budget deficit. Yes, the average person probably would say something has to be done about the deficit. But the real concern is the economy: jobs, paying the…
Read MoreDoing the Impossible
After pouring millions into campaigns to elect Democrats from Chris Dodd to local Congressman Bob Etheridge, the Wall Street Banks are now rubbing their hands together and purring over the prospect of the new Republican Majority repealing the President’s new banking regulations – like the legislation the Democrats passed that cut debit card fees for…
Read MoreWOWW, Part 3
WOWW: Where Obama Went Wrong So here’s my theory, keeping in mind that when you’re a hammer, everything is a nail. I’m a political media guy, so I see a political-media answer. Yes, Obama should have done a better job explaining what he was doing. Yes, he made a mistake letting Pelosi,…
Read MoreTransition Trials
First Carter and Renee Ellmers go to war with Washington Republicans over funding her recount fight. Then Republicans begin jockeying for legislative leadership positions. It proves the truth of James Carville’s old age: “Transitions are when you stop fighting your enemies and start fighting your friends.” Except he used a more colorful…
Read MoreAn Education in Washington Politics
Election night, after the ten counties in her district reported their votes, Renee Ellmers led incumbent Congressman Bob Etheridge by 2,100 votes. (That number is crucial because under North Carolina law Congressman Etheridge is not entitled to an ‘automatic recount’ if he trails by more than 1% – or 1,888 votes.) Then the afternoon…
Read MoreElection Eve
Perhaps the essential truth about election days is their ambiguity. Today, of course, we Republicans are asking each other if the 2nd Coming, politically, is at hand. But even on Election Day the imponderables offer no answers. Realizing how we humans hate ambiguity the cable TV networks have fed us a steady diet of…
Read MorePoll Spin
Lo and behold, Art Pope’s Civitas Institute did a poll that found that North Carolina voters agree with – wait for it, yes, Art Pope! – on who is to blame for the recession: government, not business, by 64-22. But curb your enthusiasm. Look deeper. Last week, the New York Times did a…
Read MoreAmericans are United…on One Thing
WRAL released a new poll the other day. Senator Richard Burr leads Elaine Marshall by fifteen points but Marshall shouldn’t take it personally as the reason Burr leads has little to do with her. 54% of the voters are Unfavorable to President Obama – and it’s no coincidence Senator Burr is getting 53% of…
Read MoreThey’re Back
In North Carolina, the most in-demand Democrat on the campaign trail is my old boss Governor Jim Hunt. Nationally, the most in-demand Democrat is President Obama’s old nemesis Bill Clinton. In California, the next governor may be Jerry Brown, who was elected California’s youngest governor ever in 1974. In Iowa, the next…
Read MoreThe Obama Mystery
Time’s Joe Klein puts his finger on President Obama’s problem in an engrossing essay “Encountering Anguish and Anxiety Across America:” “Even among his most passionate supporters, Obama is something of a political mystery. He doesn’t challenge the Republicans; he doesn’t fight back; he doesn’t even tout his accomplishments….The Obama mystery is compounded by the…
Read More