“MAGA Fascists” vs Democracy

Adrian Fontes doesn’t mince words. He calls election-deniers “MAGA fascists.” Fontes, Arizona’s newly elected secretary of state, was the keynote speaker at the state Democratic Party’s Unity Dinner Saturday night. The big, burly ex-Marine with a booming voice and commanding presence delivered the most powerful and inspiring speech I’ve heard since Barack Obama in 2008.…

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Dining With Democrats

I’m doing something Saturday I haven’t done in years: go to a Democratic Party dinner. There, I’ll remember a man who is little known to Democrats, but meant a lot to me – and to North Carolina. The occasion is the state party Unity Dinner. I’ve done my time at these things. I’ve half-eaten too…

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“Deeply Sad” Abortion Ad?

A right-wing blog took a swing this week at Rachel Hunt’s abortion ad – and at her father, former Governor Jim Hunt. In a blog headlined “Rachel Hunt releases deeply sad campaign video,” Andrew Dunn wrote in Longleaf Politics: “State Sen. Rachel Hunt is making the abortion issue the centerpiece of her campaign for lieutenant…

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Rachel Hunt Sets the Stakes

Rachel Hunt’s first ad in the lieutenant governor’s race is a striking statement about the power of the abortion issue in 2024 – and the stakes for women in North Carolina. It begins, “When Roe v Wade came to rural America, women woke up to a different world, a world with a bit more time.…

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Is Bipartisanship Dead?

At breakfast, a friend who has worked with the legislature for many years wondered if there is any hope for bipartisanship. “There are so many leadership-development groups in North Carolina,” he said. “Could they all come together and develop a new cohort of leaders and legislators who can work across party lines?” Given how toxic,…

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Selling NC ‘24

North Carolina Democrats have a big selling job to do for 2024, and Anderson Clayton is selling hard. The state party chair was on ABC News’ GMA3 last week (link below) selling the idea that President Biden and other Democrats can win her state next year – and telling how to do it: “I really…

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Cooper Drops the Mic – Twice

Just before we left for a European cruise (more on that later), Governor Roy Cooper held a boisterous Veto Rally that highlighted Republican legislators’ extreme abortion bill. The day we came back, he declared a “State of Emergency for public education” in a five-minute video that highlighted Republican legislators’ extreme anti-education budget. Supermajority-sotted Republicans called…

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Dem Blues

While the media obsesses over Anderson Clayton’s age, Democrats should focus on her message. The state Democratic party chair told The New York Times: “People with me all the time are like, ‘I wish you’d stop saying we’ve left Democrats behind.’ I’m like: ‘We have. We’ve left people behind’.” She’s right. Democrats have lost touch…

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Abortion 2024

MAGA Mark Robinson said he’s “tired” of talking about abortion. Maybe he’d rather make fun of school-shooting survivors (see link below). North Carolina Republicans hope the abortion issue will go away by next year’s elections. Democrats won’t let it go. Governor Cooper’s veto will put heat on Republican legislators who promised not to do this.…

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