North Carolina – Democrats
Mulling Over Moldova
Was there much mystification among the Moldovan (Moldavian? Moldovar?) muckedy-mucks who mustered last month to meet the American Secretary of State, only to find that instead of Hillary Clinton it was Elaine Marshall? A cynical, but funny, TAPster took aim at Secretary Marshall’s “laughable idiocy” for her visit to Moldova, where she met with…
Read MoreRedistricting and Ruin
You can draw a straight line connecting the big political stories in Raleigh and Washington this week: redistricting in Raleigh and the debt stalemate in Washington. Itâs a cliché â but itâs nonetheless true â that under todayâs redistricting system voters donât pick their politicians; politicians pick their voters. And, yes, both Democrats and…
Read MoreOverriding Politics
This is going to be fun. North Carolina joins the states that have “veto override sessions.” It’s uncharted territory. Nobody here has much experience with this kind of thing. We’ll learn fast. And move fast if, as Speaker Tillis promised, the session lasts only four days. Last I saw, Governor Perdue had…
Read MoreThe Republican Years?
Seeing the Republicans’ gerrymandered redistricting scheme reminds me of the rueful comment made by a wise old Democrat right after the 2010 elections: “We picked a bad year to have a meltdown.” If this was a “normal” year – i.e., not a redistricting year – Democrats could be confident the Republicans blew their chance.…
Read MoreFrivolous Lawsuits
Senate Chieftain Phil Berger reared up on his hind legs last week and, ripping into lawyers, said one way or the other he’s going to pass his bill to end ‘frivolous lawsuits.’ Only there’s one problem. The bill Senator Berger’s dead set on passing isn’t really about ending frivolous lawsuits. Instead, the Medical…
Read MoreCan the GOP Stand Pat?
Everybody assumes there will be a governor’s race next year between Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory. Hold the mayo. Some conservative Republicans (and I’m not talking about Carter; I haven’t asked him) aren’t excited about McCrory. They don’t see much difference between him and Perdue. They’re casting around for a real conservative…
Read MoreRoad Rage
Governor Perdue has another State Highway Patrol mess on her hands. This time, it looks like a trooper picked the wrong people to treat the wrong way. If you haven’t read Hoyt Tessener’s letter relating what he says happened to his wife Gina, do so. It is extremely disturbing. Fair or not, since…
Read MoreA Job-Killing Budget
Maybe it’s congenital. Democrats love complexity – and loathe simplicity. So it is with state Democrats’ message about the Republican budget. Yes, Governor Perdue has pulled up her polling numbers by standing up to the legislature – and saying the Republican budget hurts education. But it’s hard to prove: that education was…
Read MoreNo Holds Barred
Before it went home the legislature passed Representative George Cleveland’s bill to require employers to use the federal government’s E-verify program to avoid hiring illegal immigrants. Which sounded fine. Until I figured out I’ll have to use E-Verify. Which I’m guessing (since this is the government) may be like figuring out hieroglyphics. Irritated, I thought,…
Read MoreThe Winners
A friend asked who the winners were in the legislature: Governor Perdue or the Republicans? My answer: both. Thanks to the legislature, Perdue got herself back in the reelection game. By taking on the legislature and wielding some big vetoes, she put some steel into what had been her mushy public image. …
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