North Carolina – Republicans
Moral Monday Quarterbacking
Ah, the old “outsider” shibboleth rears its head. Shades of George Wallace’s “outside agitators.” But it’s not outsiders that Republicans should worry about; it’s the changing electorate inside North Carolina. The Republican overreaction to Moral Mondays looks shaky and out of synch. Especially when you see this photo of a policeman hauling off a…
Read MoreMcCrory: The Un-Easley
Governor McCrory’s style reminds me of Mike Easley: as in, the exact opposite. Easley was notoriously private. He hated being out in public and going to events. Which is bizarre in a politician. But Easley had real beliefs and convictions that he stood up for: smaller class sizes, early-childhood education, economic development in rural…
Read MoreNew Dogs, Old Tricks
Daniel Gilligan, a bright young Democratic policy consultant from Raleigh, offers an analysis of Republican and taxes: “Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have got themselves all worked up over a humdinger of a ‘new’ idea. They want to get rid of that ‘antiquated’ and ‘Depression era’ tax code we got lying around,…
Read MoreWe Have a Weiner
Every session, some legislator does something astoundingly bone-headed. This year we have Rep. Bryan Holloway, R-Stokes. Holloway told WRAL’s Laura Leslie and Mark Binker that he had nothing to do with the embarrassingly sophomoric and allegedly sexist preppy-fantasy blog “Wasp 101.” Leslie and Binker listed the coincidences between Stokes and blog author, “Richard.”…
Read MoreMoral Monday Momentum
Maybe it was the front-page photo of the white-coated female doctor, stethoscope around her neck, being arrested. Maybe it’s the growing number of protesters and arrests. Maybe it’s the broad range of people and interests involved. Whatever the reason, the Moral Monday protests are rolling downhill, picking up speed and making an impact. …
Read MoreGeorge Holding’s Hypocrisy
Congressman George Holding – probably thanks to Carter – had a clear message in his campaign: “Cut Spending Now.” But not now, it turns out. And not for himself. Holding’s ads said: “Cut Spending Now.” His yard signs said: “Cut Spending Now.” In his speeches and debates, he said: “Cut Spending Now.” By George,…
Read MoreHow Did We Come to This?
There’re some strange doings going on over in the General Assembly. For decades, free markets have been an article of faith with Republicans. We don’t like government manipulating markets to pick ‘winners and losers.’ But when Tesla Motors sold eighty fancy electric cars over the Internet in North Carolina, the Automobile Dealers Association…
Read MoreSqueal Like a Pig
Thirty-four years ago, in 1979, I tagged along on Governor Jim Hunt’s trade mission to China – the first for a North Carolina governor. The goal: get the Chinese to buy more North Carolina products, like pork. Now, we’re selling them more than pork; we’re selling them Smithfield Foods. “We’ve gone whole-hog,” Ferrel Guillory…
Read MoreIt’s the Education, Stupid
In today’s superheated politics, a bit of understatement can be a powerful thing. Exaggeration and overstatement get you headlines, but they don’t necessarily win the hearts and minds of swing voters. Democrats might remember that as they rail at the Republican-run state government. Crying wolf at every outrage – and there’s a new one every…
Read MoreThe Democrats Awaken – Round 2
The same day the Democrats tore into Crime Control Secretary Kieran Shanahan they also let fly at Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Aldana Wos. Now doctors are a complex group of highly intelligent people who labor under a singular handicap: They’ve mastered one incredibly complex subject (say, neurosurgery) no one else can…
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