North Carolina – Republicans
A Plague on Both Their Houses
The devil never sleeps; for four years the Republican powers-that-be in Raleigh worked and strained to have Pat McCrory appoint their sons, cousins, friends and contributors to patronage jobs – then Roy Cooper defeated Pat and, a moment later, temptation whispered, Protect your friends. And loved ones. If you don’t they’ll lose their jobs. Only…
Read MoreThe Christmas Coup D’état
My old boss Governor Hunt should be proud. Forty years after he first took office and 16 years after he last left, he still drives Republicans nuts. Governor-elect Roy Cooper should be proud. He hasn’t even taken office and he’s driving them nuts. All Democrats should grab the Christmas gift the GOP has given us.…
Read MoreNot Enough Glory
There were a lot of folks patting themselves on the back in the newspaper the other morning: The head of the LGBT Human Rights Committee sat down with the editors of the News and Observer and told them, ‘HB2 doomed McCrory.’ However, the Reverend William Barber, head of the NAACP, didn’t see it the same…
Read MoreThe Unraveling
At an ‘Open House’ years ago at our school I listened as Eric talked with a parent I barely knew – then as the parent walked away I said, He sounds like a reasonable man. He mistreats his wife, Eric said. Physically? Eric nodded. I looked back at the parent and saw a different man.…
Read MoreWarning: Rumors Ahead
On Election Day Republicans lost their majority on the State Supreme Court, but this morning the newspaper reported – when the General Assembly returns to town next week – Republicans may try to ‘pack’ the State Supreme Court by adding two new Republican Justices. Since the election there’s been a story – more of a…
Read MoreHelping storm victims – or politicians?
Will next week’s legislative session be about hurricane and fire relief – or political relief? Will the legislature help people who lost loved ones, homes and property – or help Republicans who lost elections? And will Republicans give Roy Cooper a nuclear weapon to use against them in 2017, one that dwarfs HB2? Senate Republicans are…
Read MoreKlansmen for Trump, Again
A troop of determined anti-Klan demonstrators, who’d probably read the News and Observer’s story – based on an Internet website – about a ‘Klansmen for Trump’ rally in Pelham, showed up at 9am to protest. The same day – last Saturday – anti-Klan protestors gathered in Moore Square in Raleigh and across the state. There…
Read MoreCaesar’s Wife and Smelly
An ally of the Governor’s – The Civitas Institute – sued to stop the State Board of Elections counting 90,000 ballots cast by people who’d registered and voted on the same day; normally the State Justice Department would have defended the Board but, since those voters cast ballots in Attorney General Roy Cooper’s race against…
Read MoreAlas, Poor Pat
As his hopes and his days dwindle down to a precious few, you almost feel sorry for Pat McCrory. Almost. It has to be hard being the first North Carolina Governor to lose a reelection race. He couldn’t do what Jim Hunt, Jim Martin, Jim Hunt again and Mike Easley did. Bev Perdue was a…
Read MoreElections 2017?
This ball game may have just changed big-league, as Trump would say. The referees in federal court threw the penalty flag on the Republican legislature for unconstitutional gerrymandering. This means loss of down, possible loss of possession and maybe a replay in just 12 months. No doubt candidates and contributors, still exhausted from this year,…
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