North Carolina – Democrats
Beer, Politics, a Quick Death
Years ago, around the time of Prohibition, the politicians in Raleigh passed a law that said, A brewer can’t deliver his own beer. And with that one law the politicians created a new industry which blossomed: The Beer Wholesalers (or Beer Distributors). Eighty-odd years passed and that old law, still on the books, put hand-cuffs…
Read MoreSellout or Step Forward?
Governor Cooper’s office calls the HB2 repeal “an important step forward for LGBT rights” even though it “wasn’t a perfect compromise or the Governor’s preferred solution.” LGBT leaders call it a “sellout” and an “insult.” This is the oldest debate in politics. Not liberal/conservative. Or Democrat/Republican. But “compromise” versus “all or nothing.” The Governor had…
Read MoreSports and HB2
Roy Williams won another NCAA title. And Roy Cooper may have won us more NCAAs. Which highlights the big part that sports played in the HB2 repeal. Give the NCAA and ACC credit for an assist. Point to them. They stood up and spoke out against HB2 from the start. For that they got grief…
Read MoreHB2 courage
Governor Cooper and Democratic legislators showed something last week that is so rare in America today we hardly know it when we see it. Political courage. Political courage is when you do what you believe is right. Even if it disappoints your strongest supporters. Even if it could cost you an election. Name another politician…
Read MoreHB2 bracket busters
Predicting politics is like filling out NCAA brackets: Your predictions and your brackets will get busted. EG: Who predicted the Republican debacle on health care? Nobody. Which explains why Republicans and Democrats alike are thrashing on an HB2 compromise. Republicans already were wrong about it once. When they rushed it through last March, they thought…
Read MoreRolling Downhill
It’s peculiar: My memory is far from perfect but I can’t recall either Jesse Helms or Jim Hunt spending taxpayers’ money to sue another politician – but these days it happens all the time: We’ve got packed courtrooms where one group of government lawyers are battling another group of government lawyers in front of judges…
Read More122 Professors
It’s one of the oldest temptations walking around on two legs: A man will try most anything to get his hands on a dollar – and the other morning 122 professors proved they’re no exception. Over in Chapel Hill at a Board of Governors meeting one of the trustees stood up and said it was…
Read MoreRoy vs Phil
Phil Berger can take away Roy Cooper’s powers. But he can’t take away his microphone. And he can’t match the Governor on TV. Democrats will happily take the contrast every day through the 2018 and 2020 elections. Last night, the Governor was smiling, positive and optimistic. The unshaven Senate boss was dark, negative and partisan.…
Read MoreThanks, Josh
Politics has been so bad that for four months – ever since Election Day – I’ve meant to write about something good. But never got to it. Thanks, Trump. So now the good news: Attorney General Josh Stein. After the carnage of Election Day, one veteran Democrat said, “If you’re going to win just three…
Read MoreThree Don Quixotes
There’re a lot of odd things going on in politics: Democrats are holding anti-Republican protests and calling them Town Hall Meetings; Republicans have been tweeting about Saturday Night Live and Meryl Streep – but even when they’re angry the people hollering on Facebook or Twitter seem to be enjoying themselves. But, last week, a new…
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