North Carolina – Republicans
McCrory’s Road Map
Give Governor McCrory credit for proposing something big and bold, a $1 billion transportation bond issue. It sounds like a stimulus program, but that would be the kiss of death in the Republican legislature. He may find himself needing some Democratic allies. He and Secretary Tata will have to answer a lot of questions:…
Read MoreDebating Debates
Carter and I were on News14’s Capital Tonight this week, talking with Tim Boyum about debates today and the Hunt-Helms debates 30 years ago. You can watch our segment here. Tim was struck by how free-flowing and wide-open the 1984 debates were. As we talked with him, we realized that we had happened onto…
Read MoreVoter Irony
The Old Wise Leader (OWL) chuckled over coffee about Republicans’ voter-suppression drive: “They should beware the Law of Unintended Consequences.” I enjoy talking with OWL. He reads a lot, and he thinks. Two things caught his eye: The story about Senator Berger’s voter-confusion ad and a mailing that a friend got. The mailer…
Read MoreNo Love Lost Here
First Governor McCrory compared Senator Phil Berger to Tony Rand, Marc Basnight and Harry Reid. Then, McCrory said he wouldn’t call the legislature back into session because “after a lengthy session they need a break, and frankly I need a break from them” – a sentiment heartily endorsed by many North Carolinians. This week…
Read MoreWomen and Men
More telling than Kay Hagan’s overall lead in the polls may be her overwhelming lead with women. According to a Rasmussen Poll last week, Hagan leads Thom Tillis by six points, 45-39. But then it gets confusing. The poll said Hagan leads among women by 21 points, while Tillis leads among men by nine…
Read MoreSimple Math
When it comes to teacher pay, Republicans must feel like they’re pushing a truck up a hill with a rope. Thom Tillis claims the legislature passed a 7 percent pay raise. Then Governor McCrory sends teachers a letter telling them it’s a 5.5 percent average pay raise. Then teachers like Michelle Pettey in Wake…
Read MoreNow THAT Was a Debate
A TAPster unimpressed by the Hagan-Tillis debate says, “If you want to see a real debate, watch Jim Hunt debate Jesse Helms in 1984. That was like Ali and Frazier.” Ah, take me back to those thrilling days 30 years ago. Here’s a link so you can watch two heavyweight champs. (This is the…
Read More‘Kay’ and ‘Speaker Tillis’
Candidates and their advisers spend a lot of time during debate prep thinking about how to address their opponent, so it was no happenstance that Tillis called Hagan “Kay” and she called him “Speaker Tillis.” Tillis didn’t want to give her the benefit of incumbency, so he took the risk of looking sexist and…
Read MoreHe Said, She Said
The Senate race is all about sex. It is Supportive Mommy against Stern Daddy. And the debate may make me amend my rule about how the most comfortable, confident and commanding person in the room always wins: Except when it’s a man against a woman and his “commanding” slips over into “condescending.” Thom…
Read MoreDebate Prep
Several reporters have called to explore “what’s at stake” in tonight’s U.S. Senate debate and “what Hagan and Tillis have to do.” Well, the answer is a lot simpler than we make it sometimes in politics. The media will bravely try to focus on substance and whether either candidate “said something new.” (The…
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