North Carolina – Democrats – Page 59

The Future Is Now

By Gary Pearce | March 31, 2014 |

“A change is coming, and it’s blue.” That’s the conclusion of an op-ed that looked at why more young Americans are voting Democratic. And it was my conclusion after several hours at the College Democrats/Young Democrats convention in Greenville Saturday. I found an impressive group of smart, dedicated and determined Democrats who are getting…

Green Paint Balls

By Carter Wrenn | March 28, 2014 |

About a month ago Greg Brannon, dead-set on getting elected to the Senate, was trying to build momentum and gain ground on front-runner Thom Tillis then, out of a clear blue sky, two investors sued Brannon for flamoozling them out of $250,000 and a jury ruled he had to repay the money. That opened…

Addicted to Koch

By Gary Pearce | March 27, 2014 |

Thomas Mills at PoliticsNC riled up some Democrats when he questioned the strategy of going after the Koch brothers. I have the same question. Is this a classic case of chasing the cape and missing the matador? A national poll this week showed that half of all Americans don’t even know who the…

A Better Way

By Carter Wrenn | March 26, 2014 |

Charlotte minister Mark Harris, who’s running for Senate, hit a rough patch when he released a poll showing him trailing Thom Tillis by 11 points – an inconvenient fact his political aide, Tom Perdue, brushed aside by saying, “The fact that we are down actually means we are way up.” Saying down is up…

Wake Up

By Gary Pearce | March 25, 2014 |

You couldn’t design a more perfect Democratic candidate for Wake County in 2014 than Sarah Crawford. Proven success in a professional career and in community service – check. Attended public schools and college here – check. Young mother with children in public schools – check. Energy, smarts, savvy and a fiendishly hard worker – check,…

Spill=One Term for McCrory?

By Gary Pearce | March 14, 2014 |

Without Duke Energy, Pat McCrory wouldn’t be Governor. Now, with Duke’s coal-ash spill, he may very well be a one-term Governor. Get some popcorn and get a comfortable chair, because this movie is going to run for a long time. At least through the 2016 election. And it will dominate the rest of McCrory’s…

A Side-Step

By Carter Wrenn | March 10, 2014 |

It’s tough to stay a step ahead of a smart bureaucrat. About a week ago I wrote an article explaining how what a bureaucrat wants (for himself) and what’s best for public education isn’t always the same thing – and used Senator Phil Berger’s ‘Read to Achieve’ bill as an example. What…

Homeless

By Gary Pearce | March 10, 2014 |

Will Randy Voller leave the Democratic Party homeless? What a tribute to his leadership. WRAL reports: “An Executive Council member…said embattled party Chairman Randy Voller told members the party is ‘broke,’ with only $60,000 in the bank. According to the attendee, Voller told party members he may have to let some staffers go, and…

Mountain Man Martin Nesbitt

By Gary Pearce | March 7, 2014 |

This tribute was penned by Gene Upchurch, a veteran executive and lobbyist for CP&L and Progress Energy: “For those of us who have toiled in the Raleigh political gig the last 30 years, Martin Nesbitt has always been there. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, he was there, usually bigger than life.…

Thank You, Robert Holding

By Gary Pearce | March 6, 2014 |

He helped answer two questions that I get a lot: Why are you helping Clay Aiken? And, of course: What’s he like? When Holding said he was considering running against Renee Ellmers in the Republican primary (he didn’t, in the end), he said she “has gone Washington.” He added, “Do not underestimate Clay Aiken.…