North Carolina – Republicans
Don’t do it, Dennis!
I’m appealing to my old friend and comrade-in-arms Dennis Wicker: Don’t solve the HB2 crisis. It’s helping Democrats! Now, I feel bad saying this. Dennis is one of the finest and most public-spirited people in North Carolina. We lost out big time when we didn’t elect him Governor in 2000. Now he – and Art…
Read MoreBrought to you by Koch
A sensible Republican legislator (there is such a thing!) was asked why Senate Republicans want to regulate wind and solar energy to death. After all, don’t these people despise government regulation? His answer – more accurately, his suspicion – was: “The Koch Brothers.” The Koch fortune relies heavily on extracting fossil fuels and fouling the…
Read MoreCooper’s coup on HB2
Now Roy Cooper can say he’s protected more jobs against HB2 fallout than Governor Potty McCrory has. After Cooper met with the CEO, New Jersey-based Braeburn Pharmaceuticals decided to proceed with a $20 million, 50-job manufacturing and research facility in Durham County. The company had been reevaluating its plans because of HB2. Cooper can say,…
Read MoreCapital bullying
Republican leaders in Raleigh look like a cross between the Nixon White House and North Korea. Nixon: “Make an enemies list. We’ll screw ‘em!” North Korea: “All Facebook and Twitter posts will be monitored. There will be no deviations from the party line.” WRAL’s Laura Leslie exposed the tawdry mess in a story (“Lobbyists: Lawmakers…
Read MoreGeorge and Renee — End of Round 1
Renee Ellmers was being clever. She thought. By telling voters George Holding had opposed ‘the U.S. Army.’ But it turned out to not be clever at all. Because when Holding explained that Ellmers was claiming he’d voted against the Army because he’d voted against Obama’s Omnibus Budget Deal – the earth shifted beneath Ellmers’ feet.…
Read MoreRenee and George
Today Renee aired a new radio ad – on top of her TV ad. In her radio ad Renee repeats her attacks saying George voted against farmers and against the U.S. Army. In her TV ad she says she’s out there fighting for conservative values, for the right to life, for less spending, for a…
Read MoreA Shortage of Truth All Around
Here’s a recap of George’s race with Renee so far: Renee came out swinging saying (on Facebook) how deeply she cared for the voters in her district while George Holding had voted against farmers and highways. George set that straight by explaining what had really happened: That what he had voted against was increasing Food…
Read MoreThe Old South State
A TAPster sent this satire (I think it’s satire): Things got so bad on Jones Street today that legislative leaders asked staff to research steps necessary for the state to secede from the Union. “We might as well,” said Senate leader Phil Berger. “The federal government is cutting off our money and services. We have…
Read MoreDown the river we go
When Carter and I speak to groups, we often compare politicians to ants on a log floating down a river. The ant thinks: “I’ve got this log going good!” But the river is running things. So it is this election. A year ago, everybody thought it would Jeb Bush vs. Hillary. In North Carolina, we…
Read MoreThe Second District: Food Stamps
In George Holding’s race with Renee Ellmers there’re two issues that no one’s talked much about and which haven’t received a lot of attention. But they should. The first, and most important, more or less defines the difference between George Holding and Renee Ellmers. And the political sleight of hand going on in this…
Read More