North Carolina – Republicans
Stirring the Hornets’ Nest
Judging from Sunday’s letters in the N&O, House Republicans certainly have stirred up the state’s teachers. And the NEA has this story about a 10-year teachers’ assistant from Moore County – a Republican herself – who is mad about how the House treated the NCAE and ready to seek revenge. She says: “The folks…
Read MoreTaking Credit
Here I was thinking that Tom Fetzer, Thom Tillis and Phil Berger were the brains behind the Republican victory in the 2010 legislative races. I find that – instead – it was a group of political consultants based in Florida. And they’re happy to tell you so. Click here to read how smart they say…
Read MoreBooing Bev
The “Smith Center Boos Bev” story is why my new-media guru Nation Hahn says: “If you’re not on Twitter, you’re not part of the conversation.” I was following the New Hampshire results on Twitter Tuesday night (the best way to do it) when John Frank of the N&O tweeted that the Smith Center crowd booed…
Read MoreLearning Moment for GOP?
A TAPster with years of experience around the legislature offers this take on the NCAE veto override: “The Republicans in the N.C. House have made a needless mess of their agenda with 1 am sessions to take potshots at their political enemies. It’s a mystery why the Rs made themselves look so weak and…
Read MoreTillis vs. Media
Speaker Thom Tillis has enjoyed pretty good press over the past year. Then he has one bad day – or, more accurately, late night/early morning – and he gets touchy: “Tomorrow will be the last day I receive the Charlotte Observer at home after nearly 14 years. I decided if the Charlotte Observer is…
Read MoreMcCrory Plays the Media
I havenât kept count, but I guess that so far Pat McCrory has âannouncedâ heâs running for Governor about â I donât know, say a bazillion times. So this tweet from Blair Miller, anchor-reporter at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, caught my eye: âAsked the McCrory camp (twice) when/where “official” announcement for his candidacy will…
Read MoreThe Republican War on Teachers
Here’s a good use for Bill Faison’s half-million dollars – or somebody’s: a super-PAC that hammers at the “legislature’s war on teachers.” Here’s the message (or narrative, as we say today): “First they slashed education budgets and forced layoffs of hundreds of teachers and teacher assistants. Then they took college scholarships away from aspiring…
Read MoreAfter Midnight
The legislature apparently is determined to help Governor Perdue win reelection. The worse the legislature looks, the better her chances in November look. Now she can bash them over a post-midnight power play that punishes teachers who dare to speak out against education budget cuts. (That’s how I’d explain it. It will make a…
Read MoreThe Democrats File a Dud
When the Democrats sued the Republicans over redistricting I thought we might be treated to see a bit of grand political theatre with Republicans arguing for the Voting Rights Act (which they hate) and Democrats arguing against it (even though they’ve been in love with it for four decades). It’s a disappointment but no…
Read MoreBurr for VP?
After Senator Richard Burr and former Senator Elizabeth Dole endorsed Mitt Romney, a reporter asked: Do endorsements matter? Answer: Not to voters, but definitely to politicians and reporters. No voter who is torn between, say, Romney and Newt Gingrich will think: “Gee, I don’t know who to vote for. So I’ll just vote for…
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