National Republicans
2024 Might-Have-Beens
Kamala Harris could have won. She could have overcome President Biden’s poor polls, voters’ discontent and her campaign’s short timeline. That’s what I take from 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America – by three newspaper reporters, Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf. Their reporting shows that campaigns matter;…
Read MoreHarmony
I always thought of Trump and MAGA as one living breathing creature, like a chorus of voices singing one harmony, one song. But when Pam Bondi dropped a match on the Epstein fire something surprising happened: Harmony faded. Voices in the choir – like Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene – were singing a different…
Read MoreStrange Times
I was sitting in my sixth-grade classroom, surrounded by boys and girls I grew up with, when the principal walked through the door and, voice somber, told us President Kennedy had just been shot. One boy – whose parents disliked Kennedy – clapped, cheering. It was goofy. Everyone in the room stared at him shocked.…
Read MoreSitting in a Hard Place
Things are heating up here in North Carolina. Lara Trump’s out, not running for Senate. Michael Whatley’s in, with President Trump backing him. And it looks like Roy Cooper’s going to announce next week. With no real primary in either party the general election is probably going to heat up pretty quickly. Last week, in…
Read MoreWho’s Running Things?
The same day Hitler rolled tanks into Poland, starting World War II, Franklin Roosevelt chose a rare man – George Marshall – to lead the army. Fast forward, take a look at who’s leading our army today: Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Trump also made Fox News guest host Tulsi Gabbard leader of National Intelligence,…
Read MoreUgly
Democrats naturally are enjoying watching Trump, MAGA and congressional Republicans tear each other apart over the Epstein files. It’s ugly. But what’s truly ugly is the Big Ugly Bill that Trump rammed through Congress and nearly every Republican rubber-stamped. It is the most disastrous, most dangerous and most immoral legislation passed by Congress in more…
Read MoreAn Uphill Climb
I read Gary’s column about Roy Cooper – I’ve only met Roy a couple of times but, even though we disagreed on issues, he was always polite, courteous. And that’s rare in politics these days. Trump unending Senator Thom Tillis came as a shock – most folks figured Tillis would work out a deal with…
Read MoreThe Pilgrim – Part 1
Seven years old, in 1933, waking up in a strange bed, staring into the semidarkness, he thought he was in Grand Central Railroad Station in New York. He wasn’t. He was in a hospital in his hometown near the border of Wales. He’d never set foot in New York City. Turning his head he saw…
Read MoreMAGA World
Let’s talk about the MAGA world. Trump tells a Republican Congressman ‘Vote for this’ and even though the Congressman thinks it’s a bad bill he votes the way Trump wants. How did Trump get that kind of power? Let’s take a look at North Carolina: We have 10 Republican Congressmen, all elected in ruby-red Republican…
Read MoreTrump Disasters
While deadly floods hit Texas and North Carolina, Trump is gutting the National Weather Service, gutting FEMA and aggravating climate change, which causes more calamitous storms. He golfs while Americans drown. A headline in the Guardian said, “Deadly floods could be new normal as Trump guts federal agencies, experts warn.” Talking about the Texas disaster…
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