North Carolina – Republicans
Looking Back: The Master of the Deal
When George Holding took his final poll on the Wednesday before the election he led Renee Ellmers by almost 30 points. Then, three days later, on Saturday Donald Trump jumped into the primary with both feet – and endorsed Ellmers. In a way Trump’s move was a surprise: Ellmers had initially supported John Kasich and,…
Read MoreLooking Back: A Myth is Born
Since the election reporters have been writing stories explaining why George Holding won and Renee Ellmers lost – one of the first to weigh in was the News and Observer saying Ellmers lost because powerful conservative groups decided to make an example of her. The Club for Growth alone, the N&O reported, “spent nearly $790,000…
Read MoreLooking Back: The Mastermind
I imagine it happened this way: After the Republican Leaders in Congress went down to the White House and made the ‘Omnibus Budget Deal’ with President Obama they then called a caucus of Republican Congressmen to get the votes to pass it. The Leaders explained to the rows of Congressmen how the deal was not…
Read MoreConfusion reigns supreme
Nobody who does politics knows what’s up with politics now. Republicans can’t explain why Trump is winning. Democrats can’t explain why Clinton isn’t winning. Ask candidates, consultants, commentators and the media crowd for explanations, and they all mumble, fumble and stumble. A month ago, everybody thought Republicans were headed for a deadlocked convention and Democrats…
Read MoreDon’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…
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