North Carolina – Republicans
Come again?
What’s up with Pat McCrory’s ad strategy? Under the Dome reported that he has a new ad “boasting of North Carolina’s economic gains.” In it, McCrory says: “When I entered office North Carolina had record unemployment, high taxes and huge budget shortfalls; it had been that way for years. Now, we have one of the…
Read MorePhil Berger and the Professors
It’s hard to find a more bull-headed fellow walking the earth than a UNC professor dead-set on upholding the virtues of political correctness: He’s 100% for diversity and 100% against discrimination right up to the moment someone disagrees with him. The other day the UNC Faculty Council gave the legislature and Senator Phil Berger down…
Read MoreAll That Mattered
A Washington Post reporter asked whether Republican legislators passed election laws to require voter I.D.s and limit early voting to keep African Americans from voting. Back in 2010, before Republicans redrew the State House and Senate districts, there were 98 Democrats in the State Legislature. After redistricting, there were 60. Before redistricting, 33 African-Americans…
Read MoreThe Great HB2 Train Wreck
“Is HB2 the worst self-inflicted wound in the history of North Carolina politics?” That’s what a young whippersnapper asked at breakfast the other day. (When you’re my age, you get a lot of questions about history.) I couldn’t think of a worse one. Terry Sanford’s food tax? It hurt him politically, but Sanford didn’t push…
Read MoreRiots and Campaigns
Yesterday two reporters asked me if the riots in Charlotte were going to have a ‘political impact.’ On the radio, while driving to work, I’d heard about the riots but hadn’t read any news reports and didn’t know the answer—then last night at home I turned on the television and the second night of riots…
Read MoreCorrecting Mistakes
One poll question asked, Should transgender men be allowed to use women’s bathrooms? and another question asked, Do you support HB2? and the answer to both questions was ‘No’ which sounds like a contradiction but isn’t: It’s a paradox – a case of voters saying to Republicans, We agree with what you set out to…
Read More50 days minus 1
Carter and I were interviewed by The Charlotte Observer Monday about the election outlook. So, instead of having to organize our thoughts and actually write something, we’ll just post the following story by the Observer’s editorial board, “50 days out, here’s what political experts think (and predict!) about N.C.’s biggest races”: We’re less than 50…
Read MoreYou’re news, you lose
Here’s the harsh reality of 2016 politics, as demonstrated by Hillary Clinton last week and Pat McCrory over the past many weeks: If you lead the news, you lose in the polls. You’re news, you lose. In an angry, negative political environment, more media attention translates directly into more negative feelings from voters. The ongoing…
Read MoreApocalypse Soon
Pat McCrory just got slam-dunked by the ACC. His teammates are starting to switch sides. Tamara Barringer was the first legislator to undergo a deathbed conversion. More will surely follow. But a long-time veteran of the legislative sausage-making machine doesn’t expect much from the Jones Street crowd: “The latest HB2 shame on North Carolina will…
Read MoreWTF, Pat?
Now HB2 has gone too far. It’s interfering with our state religion: NCAA basketball. It’s one thing to lose the NBA All-Star Game or PayPal. But March Madness? And Potty Pat McCrory wonders why we’re still talking about this. Maybe because he keeps talking about it. He’s lurching. Defending HB2 one day, dropping it the…
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