North Carolina – Republicans
Layoff Numbers Game
Here’s a TAPster’s interesting talk on the flap about how many job layoffs the legislature caused: “Sometimes it’s hard to tell who has better aim at their feet these days, the Democrats or the Republicans — and whether there’s anyone out there holding them accountable for their poor politics or obfuscating rhetoric. The latest…
Read MoreFracked Up
For all my digital-media enthusiasm, I still have one foot firmly planted in the old media world. Especially when I can spend a fine Sunday morning perusing the N&O and New York Times. And especially when it leads to a realization like yesterday’s: North Carolina will have a war over fracking in 2012. …
Read MoreAttack Machine
Democratic oppo researchers should be reveling in what Dome called Pat McCrory’s “shout out” to Heather Lusordo: “I just think unwarranted personal attacks against you hurt our democratic system. I feel for your and your family for what you had to go through. I commend you for the courage to stand up to it.…
Read MoreLayoff Politics
Today’s N&O story (“Data show fewer state layoffs”) puts pressure on Governor Perdue and legislative Democrats to show they weren’t crying wolf about Republican budget cuts. Republicans sounded delighted with the report that 1,630 people have been laid off: “’The wild allegation has been that 30,000 state jobs were going to be eliminated,’ said…
Read MoreMargiotta Gerrymandered?
Here’s an interesting twist on the Wake school board outcome. A Republican friend (not the same one who contributed the item below; I actually have many Republican friends) says Ron Margiotta was an unintended victim of the Republican-run school board redistricting. Here’s the back story: Deborah Goldman demanded that the redistricting plan move…
Read MoreGOP Autopsy
A Republican friend in Wake County offers this take on last week’s election: “The Republicans were doomed from the start on this election for school board. It was over before it started. “Definitely they earned an ‘F’ in PR, Message, and Branding of their board. Us GOP’ers wished Tedesco would have just went…
Read More$139 Million Oops
A TAPster says Rep. Nelson Dollar this week in effect admitted that Governor Perdue was right about Medicaid: “Republicans in the General Assembly finally acknowledged their mistakes in the DHHS budget on Tuesday. Now they should reverse the damage their budget is doing to our schools too. “Their DHHS budget created a $139 million…
Read MoreA Strategy for Perdue
The Wake school board election blazes Governor Perdue’s best – and maybe only – path to reelection: Save our schools from the Tea Party. John Tedesco & Co. charge that Democrats somehow played dirty by airing Heather Losurdo’s stunning lack of credentials. They’re going for the cape and missing the bullfighter. Tedesco &…
Read MoreSchool Board Lessons
At breakfast this morning I asked my politically astute friend what the Wake school board outcome means. His response: “Democrats aren’t dead.” He added, “North Carolina isn’t a red state. And it’s not a blue state. It’s a 52-48 state” – exactly the margin of Kevin Hill’s victory. And, remember, in a district gerrymandered…
Read Moremajority-Minority Districts
Well, in a minor miracle, the Obama Justice Department said yes and put its seal of approval on the North Carolina Republicans’ new House and Senate Districts, then, before the ink was dry on the page, the North Carolina Democrats filed a lawsuit to stop the plan Obama had just approved. It’s an odd…
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