North Carolina – Democrats – Page 39

Odd and Odder

By Carter Wrenn | 2014-10-14 |

If you think about it DENR’s proposal was pretty odd. Last winter, when tons of water from a coal ash pond poured into the Dan River, there was consternation and gnashing of teeth. The U.S. Attorney started investigating. The Governor ordered every coal ash pond cleaned up. The legislature said Amen. Then, with…

October Surprises

By Gary Pearce | 2014-10-13 |

First ISIS. Then Ebola. Now men marring men and women marrying women. What’s next? “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”? More to the point, will video and big Page One pictures of newlywed men kissing each other sway this election? Consider three things here. First, yes, Amendment One passed…

Debating Debates

By Gary Pearce | 2014-10-08 |

The after-debate on who won is more interesting than the debates themselves. You can rely on the partisans to declare victory. The media focuses on substance, issues and fact checks, none of which anybody is interested in. The stories are predictable: Candidates “clashed…traded jabs… repeated talking points…didn’t say anything new…etc.” This year the…

Another Debate

By Carter Wrenn | 2014-10-07 |

Here’re the three tartest comments I heard about the Ellmers-Aiken debate. “He has the silliest pompadour since Jim Hunt.” “She was catty.” “The person on stage most qualified to serve in Congress was David Crabtree.”

Media Scandals

By Gary Pearce | 2014-10-03 |

When the media covers a scandal involving a politician, the coverage can be as big an issue as the politician. Take two stories this week – one national and one in-state. The state Senate race in Fayetteville between incumbent Wesley Meredith and challenger Billy Richardson blew up over allegations that Meredith and his ex-wife…

The R-Word

By Gary Pearce | 2014-10-02 |

How toxic is the Republican brand in Wake County? Just listen to Republican politicians. Gary Pendleton (House 49) boasts of his “Democrat (sic) friends.” (Note: Democrats hate it when Republicans use “Democrat” as an adjective. It’s “Democratic.”) Tom Murry (House 41) says he’s “independent” and “stood up to his own party.” You…

Why Hagan Won

By Gary Pearce | 2014-10-01 |

Yes, there’s still five weeks to go. Yes, anything can happen. But the story of this race is likely to be that Thom Tillis lost it when he stayed Speaker in this year’s legislative session. Apparently Tillis stayed on so he could raise money. But he didn’t, and he’s at a big financial disadvantage…

Cooking Numbers at Civitas

By Gary Pearce | 2014-09-26 |

Maybe Thom Tillis should give Civitas’ pollster math lessons. Thursday morning, Civitas put out this release: “Democrat Tom Bradshaw leads Republican John Alexander by 16 percentage points in the NC Senate District 15 race, according to a new Civitas Flash Poll….” The poll, conducted last Monday and Tuesday, showed Bradshaw ahead 52-36 percent. …

McCrory’s Road Map

By Gary Pearce | 2014-09-25 |

Give Governor McCrory credit for proposing something big and bold, a $1 billion transportation bond issue. It sounds like a stimulus program, but that would be the kiss of death in the Republican legislature. He may find himself needing some Democratic allies. He and Secretary Tata will have to answer a lot of questions:…

Debating Debates

By Gary Pearce | 2014-09-19 |

Carter and I were on News14’s Capital Tonight this week, talking with Tim Boyum about debates today and the Hunt-Helms debates 30 years ago. You can watch our segment here. Tim was struck by how free-flowing and wide-open the 1984 debates were. As we talked with him, we realized that we had happened onto…