North Carolina – Republicans
Coble Heaves a Mudball
Yesterday, Paul Coble reared up on his hind legs and brayed like a mule and hurled a mudball straight at George Holding – which is a sure sign Coble’s campaign is in trouble. The rhubarb began Saturday at the debate – Coble rolled through a homily to himself then Bill Randall asked, What about…
Read MoreBurn the Heretics!
After all these years, I find out that Carter Wrenn is a liberal. He had me fooled â working for Jesse Helms, where he ran ads calling Jim Hunt a âMondale liberal.â Even after we became friends and worked together on some non-political projects, he maintained the façade of a crusty conservative. Now…
Read MoreDemocracy in Action in the State House
The News and Observer headline read, Thom Tillis pushed bill for donors. And the first line claimed Tillis had “muscled through” a bill so his donors could charge folks (who’re near the bottom of the 99%) 36% interest on loans. But here’s an odd fact: Not one Democratic legislator had a critical word…
Read MoreCousins
Last week when I was standing in the back of the bookstore my cousin Winifred, who’s past eighty and pure steel magnolia, walked through the doorway and made a beeline straight to me and snapped, Were you at that convention? Last week at the Republican convention the Chairman, Susan Bryant, called Bev Perdue was…
Read MoreMore on Ayn Rand Grant
The John William Pope Foundation took issue with my recent blog “Reading Ayn Rand.” I’m always flattered that the Pope people read my blogs and think they’re important enough to take issue with, so I’m happy to post their comments. Note, however, that there is nothing here to change my basic point: The best way…
Read MoreWill NC Decide GOP Race?
I hope North Carolina Republicans get to do this year what North Carolina Democrats did in 2008: decide their party’s presidential race. Obama clinched the nomination when he won North Carolina’s primary, according to none less than the late Tim Russert of NBC. So I’m pulling for Rick Santorum to win tonight –…
Read MoreSantorum’s Contraception Obsession
Rick Santorum, who wants to take America back to 1900, takes me back to 1984. That was the year of the Hunt-Helms race. In the dying days, we were behind in the polls – and desperate. With the help of (believe it or not) Dick Morris, we came up with a bomb to blow…
Read MoreDemocrats and 2012
There’s good news for Democrats looking ahead to the fall elections. But then there is really, really bad news. The good news is that Obama can carry the state again. He will play hard – and spend heavy – here. That will turn out votes for the entire ticket. Also good: the bitter…
Read MoreImmunity
Last year when I decided to work with the trial lawyers I took a fair amount of razzing from my Republican friends – among Republicans, lawyers are not as unpopular as the Huns but it’s close. As best as I can tell the last lawyer Republicans admired was Cicero. Anyhow, last year there were two…
Read MoreNewton’s 3rd Law
The Democrats in Raleigh haven’t looked this befuddled in years – redistricting is one source of their bewilderment but the roots of their disorder run deeper: In every state election for two decades the Raleigh Democrats have outraised Republicans by millions – this year the Democrats are staring at empty coffers and Phil Berger has…
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