North Carolina – Democrats
TV Ads Still Work
The communications world has changed drastically since I started in politics, but 2024 proved that TV ads still are the best way to deliver a campaign message. Even in today’s fractured and fragmented information landscape – with cable networks, Facebook, X, TikTok, Blue Sky, podcasts and the rest – nothing carries more throw-weight than a…
Read MoreIt’s Easy to Point the Finger…
Turning on the TV, watching the first debate in the 2016 Iowa primary, I stared at a row of candidates standing on stage – they all talked, sounded like smooth-tongued Washington politicians – except one: Donald Trump. Trump beat Hillary. Covid struck. Biden beat Trump. Trump ran again. Biden got out. Trump called Kamala Harris…
Read MorePublished stories from my memoir in The Assembly
John Bolton: “Reagan lost the first five primaries to Gerald Ford in 1976 – then upset Ford in North Carolina. Carter Wrenn ran Reagan’s North Carolina campaign. He tells a compelling story about American politics, from Reagan to Trump.” Stephen Mansfield, New York Times bestselling author: “Our generation is awash in a sea of thin…
Read MoreMy Memoir
John Bolton: “Reagan lost the first five primaries to Gerald Ford in 1976 – then upset Ford in North Carolina. Carter Wrenn ran Reagan’s North Carolina campaign. He tells a compelling story about American politics, from Reagan to Trump.” Stephen Mansfield, New York Times bestselling author: “Our generation is awash in a sea of thin…
Read MoreTrumpenStein
Back in the last millennium, the paradox of North Carolina politics was: How can the same state elect Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms? Today, it’s: How can the same state elect Donald Trump and Josh Stein? They’re not just political opposites; they’re two of the most opposite people on planet Earth. Call us TrumpenStein. The…
Read MoreThe View from Iceland
If you seek political asylum the next four years, try Iceland. We went there last week and loved it. Yes, it’s cold, dark half the year and expensive. But it’s also beautiful and historic; the people are friendly, peace-loving and progressive-minded; and it’s a six-hour direct flight from RDU. Still, don’t give up on the…
Read MoreRecessional
The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, A humble and a contrite heart. Victoria ruled for 60 years, Great Britain was the most powerful nation on earth, but its strength was ebbing. Rudyard Kipling, in a short poem in 1897, wrote about battles the British…
Read MoreMistakes and Miss-Takes
Bert Bennett of Winston-Salem, the legendary political godfather to Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt, had a terse dismissal of election post-mortems: “When you win, everything you did was right. When you lose, everything you did was wrong.” Democrats can select from a lengthy list of excuses and explanations for Kamala Harris’ loss. Like, “It was…
Read MoreDon’t Give Up
This is bad. Bad for America and for the world. Bad for women, for immigrants, for LGBTQ+ people and for all marginalized people. Bad for the Democratic Party nationally. But North Carolina proved that Democrats and progressives can win. Good candidates who ran good campaigns won: Josh Stein, Rachel Hunt, Jeff Jackson, Mo Green and…
Read MoreWild Times
This election keeps getting crazier and crazier – we’ve now got China hacking Trump’s cell phone. And Russia spinning tales on the internet to help Trump. A New York Times headline howled Harris dropped an F-bomb on Trump – calling him a fascist. Trump fired back – calling her a communist. Elon Musk’s holding a…
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