North Carolina – Republicans
Shut up, Gene?
Some North Carolina Democrats agree with Republican legislators on one thing: Gene Nichol should shut up. Or at least tone it down and turn down the volume. Ted Vaden writes in The Assembly that Nichol is “back in the spotlight, hurling his supercharged invective in a new book that surveys the changes that have occurred…
Read MoreGOP Control Freaks
How did the party of freedom, individual responsibility and limited government become the party of censorship, Big Brother and government control? Republican legislators in North Carolina, like their colleagues in other states and like Republican governors Ron DeSantis in Florida and Greg Abbott in Texas, want to control many things in our lives. Control what…
Read MoreTrading Bad for Worse
A born showman running for Lt. Governor Mark Robinson boasted, ‘I am North Carolina…’ After he got elected, rolling on, he slammed foes, got cheers, but also stepped on land mines. Robinson started running for governor, changing directions posted bromides on Facebook: ‘I love the police…I love our veterans…My mother’s my hero…’. The showman vanished.…
Read MoreCooper Drops the Mic – Twice
Just before we left for a European cruise (more on that later), Governor Roy Cooper held a boisterous Veto Rally that highlighted Republican legislators’ extreme abortion bill. The day we came back, he declared a “State of Emergency for public education” in a five-minute video that highlighted Republican legislators’ extreme anti-education budget. Supermajority-sotted Republicans called…
Read MoreMy Memoir
Back during coronavirus shutdowns my office telephone rang – a friend asked: ‘You’re not locked down?’ ‘I’m here alone.’ ‘I just read Jesse Helms’ pollster was Arthur Finkelstein.’ I told him about Arthur’s first poll for Jesse, about the first time I heard Jesse make a speech. He asked, ‘Why did Reagan lose to Gerald…
Read More“Republicans have made the greatest political mistake in our lifetimes”
That’s how political analyst Simon Rosenberg sees SB 20, the draconian abortion bill that was rammed though the state legislature by Republicans. Rosenberg spoke Tuesday night on a Zoom call with about 200 N.C. Democrats, organized by Carolina Forward. He cited a poll released this week by Carolina Forward and Change Research showing that voters…
Read MoreAbortion 2024
MAGA Mark Robinson said he’s “tired” of talking about abortion. Maybe he’d rather make fun of school-shooting survivors (see link below). North Carolina Republicans hope the abortion issue will go away by next year’s elections. Democrats won’t let it go. Governor Cooper’s veto will put heat on Republican legislators who promised not to do this.…
Read MoreSowing the Wind
Politicians with too much power always go too far. In less than 24 hours, North Carolina House Republicans rammed through a far-reaching abortion ban. It’s 46 pages long, and we barely grasp its consequences. It’s a radical, right-wing assault on women. It criminalizes health-care professionals. It outlaws safe, sound and responsible medical care. Thank Tricia…
Read MoreNo Small Thing
My doctor used to be in a family practice owned by doctors. Then, I’m not sure how, the practice became part of UNC Health Care. It was like they told my doctor, You have to see a patient every twenty minutes. Now, wham, bam, thank you ma’am – you’re in and out. I told a…
Read MoreDefund the Schools?
The legislature’s expansion of private-school vouchers fulfills a nearly 70-year-old dream of North Carolina’s far-right. Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional in 1954, ultra-conservatives here have wanted to replace integrated public schools with all-white private schools. Leading the charge back then were avowed segregationists I. Beverly Lake (pictured) and Tom Ellis.…
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