North Carolina – Republicans
Elevator Queen
Mandy Locke’s series in the N&O pretty well tells us Cherie Berry’s approach as Commissioner of Labor: She gets her name on elevators, and workers get the shaft.
Read MoreThe Intangible
The political powers that be up in Washington are telling everyone who’ll listen that Deborah Ross is too liberal to defeat Richard Burr but, still, Deborah Ross on a tear is a wonder to behold. Senator Richard Burr is steady as it goes. He’s genial and laid back and accommodating to a fault while Deborah…
Read MoreMoney grab
Exhibit A: The feds launch a grand jury investigation into no-bid, sweetheart contracts at DHHS. Exhibit B: Republicans ram through a law enabling politicians to raise unlimited money from unlimited special interests and spend it in unlimited ways. From the Grant Administration to Teapot Dome to Watergate to Jim Black, history teaches us where this…
Read MoreThe 60-year war on public schools
This didn’t start when the Republicans took over the legislature in 2010. It dates back to the US Supreme Court decision outlawing segregated schools in 1954. Now, a toxic crew of racists, right-wingers and private-school profiteers smell victory. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Governors, legislators and school boards across the South pulled out every…
Read MoreA Tough Question
Ole Ned Barnett, the Editorial-Writing-Chief down at the News and Observer, is a fine fellow though like many Editorial-Chiefs he’s a bone deep liberal who frets over the vices of sexism and the virtues of gay rights and seldom finds an encouraging word to say about Republicans. Which is fine. The N&O’s spending its own…
Read MoreElections Where Issues Don’t Matter
Arthur walked through the door, dropped a four inch thick poll on the table with a thud, sat down, and said, If you don’t want to lose this election, you have to learn something new. That was in December of 1983 when Jesse Helms was fighting for survival against Jim Hunt and Arthur – who’d…
Read MoreWebs
It usually begins with an evasion which leads to another evasion and soon, like a hapless fly, even for a Brigadier General (who was a paratrooper) the silken webs are inescapable: Tony Tata, explaining to the News and Observer about three affairs, an out of wedlock child, a forged court order, an army investigation and…
Read MoreNC Republicans waving white flag on taxes
The blog below is written by TAPster Daniel Gilligan, a policy consultant from Raleigh who has a keen eye for legislative follies: “New taxes shouldn’t be considered tax increases. That was the message from Republican legislators after they unveiled a state budget that includes over $200 million of new sales taxes over the next two…
Read MoreRoy Cooper’s Lucky Day
Manna doesn’t fall from heaven often and falls on politicians least often of all but after Roy Cooper said he was dead-set against letting Duke Energy add the costs of cleaning up its coal ash ponds to its customers’ electric bills, Governor McCrory pounced – and it was ole Roy’s lucky day. Last fall, in…
Read MoreLeft out
At least Democrats left out of the budget process have company: Governor McCrory. Lobbyists report that, just like them, McCrory was calling around last weekend trying to find out what was in the budget. It wasn’t just that he had no impact. He had no information. Never has a Governor had so little clout with…
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