North Carolina – Republicans
Dalton’s Hope
Watching the Dalton and McCrory TV ads, you see the opening that Dalton could exploit if he has enough time and money. McCrory’s ads are content-free. Apparently, he’s going to solve unemployment and $4 gas by drilling everywhere under our feet and off the coast. And he’s responsible for Charlotte’s success. How would he…
Read MoreMr. Bowles Goes to Washington
Here’s betting that, whoever wins the presidential race, Erskine Bowles ends up in Washington. He’s being mentioned as Obama’s Secretary of Treasury. And wouldn’t Mitt Romney be smart to put Bowles – a Southern, Clinton Democrat – in a top position? Maybe Treasury, Budget Director or something out of the box like Defense? …
Read MoreDalton on the Job
Walter Dalton put out a strong, thoughtful and comprehensive jobs plan this week. It was long on good ideas, but – unfortunately – short on political punch. It illustrates the challenge Democrats face in a short-attention span age. Republicans have the virtue of brevity and simplicity, if not quality. Pat McCrory has a bumper-sticker…
Read MoreThe Swing Voter
This blog is also posted on The Charlotte Observer’s DNC blog site. In case you missed it there’re two new polls this week but nothing’s changed. Republicans are still voting rocklike for Romney, Democrats are still rocklike for Obama, and if you want a portrait of a swing voter she’s a mother with young…
Read MorePicking – and Picking On – Charlotte
This blog is also posted on The Charlotte Observer’s DNC blog site. Over the past few weeks, a stream of state and national reporters asked essentially the same question: “Was it a mistake for Democrats to come to Charlotte?” Let’s set aside the existential question of whether it’s ever a mistake to come…
Read MoreCloset Centrists
They may be the Republican nominees, but Mitt Romney and Pat McCrory seem out of tune with the party in Tampa. That party loves the hard-edged, right-wing rhetoric of Paul Ryan and – before his bellyflop Tuesday night – Chris Christie. The conventioneers celebrate Romney, but their hearts don’t seem to be in it.…
Read MoreThe Breaking Point
The other day Gary wrote “Why They Lie” about the election in 1984 when Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms were duking it out and how elbow throwing was acceptable in that campaign but outright lying was taboo – that was one line both Helms and Hunt feared to cross. Because they’d pay a price. …
Read MoreToo Good to be True?
It doesn’t take a great deal to turn a fellow’s head – a blonde whispering in his ear, unexpected praise from a stranger, a new sports car. Humility’s hard to come by and harder still to hold onto which, I guess, is one reason the Good Lord made the world such a difficult place to…
Read MoreJim Hunt and the Dropout Rate
I had to laugh when Republicans claimed credit for North Carolina’s high-school graduation rate topping 80 percent. And I have to stake a claim for Jim Hunt’s role. Over the last six years, the state’s graduation rate has gone up nearly 12 percentage points –from at 68.3 percent in 2006 to 80.2 percent. …
Read MoreLegislators and Lobbyists
A veteran legislative hand and former lobbyist offers this perspective on how Raleigh has changed: “If you want to really understand today’s political world, understand how the politicians view the role of lobbyists. “Democrats see lobbyists as a source of information to help them make a decision. “Republicans see lobbyists as a…
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