North Carolina – Democrats
Blue Wolves, Red Wolves
Voice frail staring into TV cameras Democrat state legislator Tricia Cotham painted a grim picture of her fellow Democrats the day she switched parties: When she didn’t toe the party-line, she said, blue wolves attacked bullying her, branding her a traitor; when she posted memes of an American flag, a pair of folded praying hands,…
Read MoreNo Quit
State Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton clearly felt she needed to buck up morale. She tweeted on Friday, “I understand folks feeling defeated by the news cycle this week. But hold on. Just hold on. As my fellow Democracy Defenders, the #TenneseeThree have said — this is going to ignite and awaken the people. And our…
Read MoreOn Wisconsin!
“Fight, fight, fight, we’ll win this game.” – From “On Wisconsin,” school fight song. While North Carolina Democrats seethed over a party-switcher, Wisconsin Democrats celebrated a landmark election victory. They elected a progressive, Janet Protasiewicz, to the Supreme Court by a ten-point margin. She will dramatically shift the court’s rulings on abortion, gerrymandering and 2024…
Read MoreThe Edwards Case
The News & Observer ran a story headlined “Trump case recalls John Edwards’ scandal in NC.” Edwards’s prosecutor was a Republican, then-US Attorney George Holding. Holding later resigned to run for Congress, was elected and served four terms. In 2012, Politico reported, “Holding conceded that the facts in Edwards’s case—payments made by political backers to…
Read MoreNick
The Galifianakis most North Carolinians know today is actor-comedian Zach. For politicos of a certain age, Galifianakis is Nick, Zach’s uncle and a former congressman from Durham who lost a Senate race to Jesse Helms in 1972. Nick died this week, at age 94. Rob Christensen, long-time political reporter for The News & Observer, wrote…
Read MoreA Better Road
It used to be when we had a primary here in North Carolina and no candidate won 50% of the vote there was a runoff between the top 2 candidates. Politicians frowned on runoffs, changed the rule: If a candidate got 40% of the vote, and led, he won. Then politicians changed the rule again:…
Read MoreJeff Jackson’s Bank Shot
Congressman Jeff Jackson is the best political communicator in North Carolina. His social media posts yesterday on the banking situation are a master class in explaining volatile, complex issues in simple, plain-spoken terms. Last night, I saw that his video had been viewed over one million times. I’m a print guy, so I read his…
Read MoreCooper’s Big Win
State Senator Phil Berger and Speaker Tim Moore took a beaming star turn before the cameras when they announced their agreement on expanding Medicaid. They pointedly excluded Governor Roy Cooper. But make no mistake: This is Cooper’s victory. It is a signal accomplishment of his administration. It means 600,000 North Carolinians will get better health…
Read MoreDon’t Give Up
A Democratic legislator said something that struck me: “Feeling helpless is Democrats’ biggest problem in North Carolina.” Many Democrats are depressed and discouraged, or angry and frustrated, by 2022 – losing the US Senate and Supreme Court races and seeing Republicans get a near-supermajority in the legislature. Those feelings fueled the state party upheaval last…
Read MoreThe Goodwin House Gets a Shakeup
If Anderson Clayton can infuse North Carolina Democrats with the energy, optimism and aggressiveness of her insurgent campaign for state party chair, 2024 can be a good year. The first vice chair, former state Sen. Floyd McKissick, also was ousted, by Jonah Garson. Kimberly Hardy defeated incumbent second vice chair Matt Hughes. Garson and Hardy…
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