North Carolina – Republicans
Obama Tops McCrory
This poll result caught the eye: “Obama at 42 percent approval in NC, McCrory at 36 percent.” Yes, the Governor’s approval rating was lower than the President’s in a High Point University poll. Now, a big caveat: The poll was of all adults, not just voters. The results might be different among voters alone.…
Read MoreMcCrory Jumps Back Into the Frying Pan
Even Governor McCrory’s critics were ready to move on, but he won’t, for reasons that are unfathomable. Instead, he takes time out of his (we assume) busy schedule to write a letter to the Charlotte Observer about his now-famous encounter with a cook at a gourmet food store. The letter tells us a lot more than…
Read MoreCrappy PR
When you’ve got bad news, get it out. It only gets worse with age. Pat McCrory’s new-look DENR failed that test last week, at a time when people were watching closely how the administration would react to its first environmental crisis. When three million-plus gallons of untreated sewage spewed into the Haw River, DENR…
Read MoreIn the Line of Fire
Politics 101 used to say that getting in the news was good for politicians. Not today. The new rule is: If you’re in the spotlight, you’re losing. The more you’re in the news, the lower your poll ratings. When the government shutdown dominated Page 1, Republicans plummeted in the polls. When Obamacare took…
Read MoreMcCrory Jumps Back Into the Frying Pan
Even Governor McCrory’s critics were ready to move on, but he won’t, for reasons that are unfathomable. Instead, he takes time out of his (we assume) busy schedule to write a letter to the Charlotte Observer about his now-famous encounter with a cook at a gourmet food store. The letter tells us a lot…
Read More580,834
The number floated up off the page and hung shimmering in the air in front of my eyes: 580,834. Surprised, and curious, I clicked on the computer, then stared at another number that looked dreary in comparison: 345. 580,834: The number of people who have watched Clay Aiken’s video since he announced for…
Read MoreStuff Happens
Governor McCrory was checking off his 2014 Reset List. Teacher pay plan: check. Televised command presence in snowstorm: check. National face time on Face the Nation: check. New communications director: check. Then a river of sludge called coal ash starts gushing out of a facility owned by his employer of 28 years. Then a…
Read MoreOle Joe Hunt
Governor McCrory walked into Reid’s Fine Food and ran head on into a cook who proceeded to tell him what he thought of the Governor’s politics; then, the way the cook tells it, the Governor started yelling, saying he was a customer and shouldn’t be treated that way – then the Governor’s security detail complained…
Read MoreA Mighty Horde?
The other day down at the News and Observer ole Rob Christensen wrote about how Republicans in Raleigh are cocksure there’s not a chance they’ll lose their majorities in the State House and State Senate – because of redistricting. Then he pointed out a not-so-good thing: When politicians get the idea they’re so powerful they’re invulnerable it…
Read MoreGovernor Takes Down Cook
North Carolina’s unemployment rate apparently went up by one person this weekend following an encounter between Governor McCrory and a cook at a Charlotte gourmet food store. The Charlotte Observer reports that the cook was fired after making a critical comment to the Governor. The Observer said: “On Sunday afternoon, McCrory was shopping at Reid’s Fine…
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