North Carolina – Republicans
It’s Odd…
Decorating the walls with gold filigree, lining the mantle with gold ornaments, Trump set the stage for ‘Live from the White House.’ The cabinet met, cameras rolled, around the table, somber, differential, smiling, Bondi, Hegseth, Noem lauded Trump. Zelensky walked onto stage – it was like watching a wrestling bout, Trump, Vance pounding, Zelensky dodging.…
Read MoreCooper Must Run
“It’s not that Roy Cooper should run for Senate,” my friend Sam said over lunch. “He has to run.” He’s right. America’s house is on fire, and we all have to pick up a hose or a bucket. Governor Cooper has the best chance to unseat Senator Thom Tillis next year and become the decisive…
Read MoreAchilles Heel
Last week, opening a poll, turning pages I read about voters in a NC district: Trump’s approval rating was Approve 51%, Disapprove 47% – not bad. But buried between the lines was a subtle hitch: The voters who approved of Trump split into two groups – 70% liked both Trump’s policies and his character. But…
Read MoreCheering the Lesser Sin
Leaning back smiling, a devout Christian, Chris praised Trump for stopping wokeness – I asked how he saw Trump’s religion. He paused, said thoughtfully, Getting wounded probably deepened Trump’s faith but he grew up in New York as a real estate tycoon. He’s got religion. But he’s got a ways to go. He laughed, then…
Read MoreM-O-N-E-Y
The billionaire head of Amazon paid $40 million to buy the rights to a film about Trump’s wife – Melania Trump stands to make a $28 million profit. Of course, politicians using their power to make money is an old story. For years Joe Biden did it to help his son Hunter make money. But…
Read MoreRecant or You’re Fired
Back in 1988, Floyd Brown’s Citizens United superpac ran an ad attacking Michael Dukakas for pardoning Willie Horton. The ad helped George H. W. Bush but Brown got a lot of heat for it. Fast forward forty-seven years: After Trump took over The Kennedy Center, Brown agreed to go to work at the center raising…
Read MoreHealing Wounds
Instead of going to college Joe Kent joined the army at 18; a Ranger, Green Beret, did 11 combat tours. Stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia he met Shannon Smith, also a soldier – they married, had two children. Five years later on a street in Syria an Isis terrorist walked toward four soldiers, ignited a…
Read MoreGood Start
Governor Josh Stein has changed the climate in Raleigh. And brighter days may be ahead for North Carolina – especially for public schools and teachers. At Stein’s encouragement, House Democrats voted last night – by 27-20 – to approve House Republicans’ proposed budget. The Governor believes the final budget that comes out of a House-Senate…
Read MoreOff-Year Elections
Chariots of Fire won the Best Picture Oscar…Joe Montana and the 49ers won the Super Bowl …Dallas was the top TV show…and, back in 1982, I ran head-on into my first off-year election. By then I’d worked in 3 campaigns – each ended well. In 1982, with Reagan in the White House, we set out…
Read MoreQuite a Day
Trump had quite a day yesterday. Qatar offered a posh new jet to replace Air Force 1 – Trump said it’d be ‘stupid’ to say no. Next Trump said we’d stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. When he’d imposed tariffs, Trump whacked China. Got whacked back. Blinked. Yesterday announced he’d cut a big…
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