North Carolina – Republicans
Green Paint Balls
About a month ago Greg Brannon, dead-set on getting elected to the Senate, was trying to build momentum and gain ground on front-runner Thom Tillis then, out of a clear blue sky, two investors sued Brannon for flamoozling them out of $250,000 and a jury ruled he had to repay the money. That opened…
Read MoreAddicted to Koch
Thomas Mills at PoliticsNC riled up some Democrats when he questioned the strategy of going after the Koch brothers. I have the same question. Is this a classic case of chasing the cape and missing the matador? A national poll this week showed that half of all Americans don’t even know who the…
Read MoreA Better Way
Charlotte minister Mark Harris, who’s running for Senate, hit a rough patch when he released a poll showing him trailing Thom Tillis by 11 points – an inconvenient fact his political aide, Tom Perdue, brushed aside by saying, “The fact that we are down actually means we are way up.” Saying down is up…
Read MoreWake Up
You couldn’t design a more perfect Democratic candidate for Wake County in 2014 than Sarah Crawford. Proven success in a professional career and in community service – check. Attended public schools and college here – check. Young mother with children in public schools – check. Energy, smarts, savvy and a fiendishly hard worker – check,…
Read MoreSpill=One Term for McCrory?
Without Duke Energy, Pat McCrory wouldn’t be Governor. Now, with Duke’s coal-ash spill, he may very well be a one-term Governor. Get some popcorn and get a comfortable chair, because this movie is going to run for a long time. At least through the 2016 election. And it will dominate the rest of McCrory’s…
Read MoreIt’s the Schools, Stupid
Governor McCrory may have coal ash on his hands, but I bet most voters have education on their minds. So, does focusing on the Dan River disaster distract Democrats from a stronger issue? The spill is a tempting target. There’s the McCrory-Duke tie. You can tell the Governor is sensitive about it. When he…
Read MoreA Side-Step
It’s tough to stay a step ahead of a smart bureaucrat. About a week ago I wrote an article explaining how what a bureaucrat wants (for himself) and what’s best for public education isn’t always the same thing – and used Senator Phil Berger’s ‘Read to Achieve’ bill as an example. What…
Read MoreThank You, Robert Holding
He helped answer two questions that I get a lot: Why are you helping Clay Aiken? And, of course: What’s he like? When Holding said he was considering running against Renee Ellmers in the Republican primary (he didn’t, in the end), he said she “has gone Washington.” He added, “Do not underestimate Clay Aiken.…
Read MoreRunning in Circles
These days just about every politician in Raleigh is saying (as often as he can) how he wants to spend more money on schools and give teachers raises. But what if the root of the problem with schools isn’t money. This is a bit simple but the prime movers in public education are:…
Read MoreA Little Patience
The other day I was feeling a little down and blue about Republicans’ foibles then thanks to Democratic Chairman Randy Vollmer the sun broke through the clouds. Awhile back, the Democratic Party had to replace its Executive Director after he was accused of sexual harassment. Last week, Chairman Randy Vollmer fired the replacement and…
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