North Carolina – Republicans
That Was Then, This Is Now
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You can rationalize doing what you said you’d never do, but it’s still hypocrisy. To wit, this from Bruce Siceloff in Under the Dome: “During his first campaign for governor in 2008, Republican Pat McCrory hammered his opponent, Bev Perdue, on…
Read MoreWild and Crazy Guys
A TAPster and Jones Street veteran urges us to remain calm: “Democrats and other doomsayers who believe our state is on the brink of a GOP-led apocalypse should be reassured by encouraging signs from Jones Street. “House leaders used good judgment by making it clear that legislation to establish a state religion was…
Read MoreLegislature vs. Cities
A TAPster offers these observations on “the nasty civil war between the legislature and cities, now manifesting itself in high-profile fisticuffs over the Charlotte airport authority and the fate of the Dix property in Raleigh,” as follows: “First, there have been other disputes like this over the years. Charlotte leaders (including the former mayor…
Read MoreDirty Money
Not once, not twice, but three times now, Governor McCrory has given money to charity that his campaign took from people facing criminal charges related to sweepstakes cafes. That’s $18,000 so far, AP reports. Which raises the question: Why did he take all that money in the first place? Surely his campaign…
Read MoreImmoderate Pat
Governor McCrory desperately wants to look moderate. He wants to distance himself from the right-wing red-hots in the legislature. If he doesn’t, he’s on the road to one term. So he went to great lengths to soften his budget proposal. The News & Observer editorialized: “State employees, teachers, Democrats and others unnerved by…
Read MorePacification Therapy
With much fanfare just before she left office Governor Perdue announced she’d made a grand deal to lease Raleigh all of the land at Dix Hospital for 99 years. When the deal landed in the newspapers, a friend, who’s spent a good part of his life buying and selling real estate, called, laughed and said,…
Read MoreFast Forward
Has public opinion – and politicians – ever shifted so fast on an issue as on gay marriage? A year ago, 60 percent of North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Yesterday, a U.S. Senator in a tough reelection fight endorsed gay marriage. Yes, Kay Hagan is one of a…
Read MoreGOP to Raleigh: Drop Dead
When President Gerald Ford nixed financial aid for New York City back in the 1970s, the front page of a brassy Big Apple tabloid blared: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” Which brings us to the Republican bill undoing the Dix deal. Which brings us to two GOP Senators from Wake County who cut and…
Read MoreThe Democrats’ Leaked Plan – Summary
A pair of ‘grassroots organizers,’ Jessica Laurenz and Sean Kosofsky, took a poll, found three issues, and wrote a plan. Neither had ever run a major statewide campaign and they lacked money and a voice but they had passion and zeal and sailed into uncharted waters to breathe life back into the moribund Democratic Party…
Read MorePolitics 101
The vote is a powerful thing. In less than a year, it has taken immigrants from pariah to power in American politics. This week, Tea Party centerfold Rand Paul softened his position on immigration. (Remember when Mitt Romney called for “self-deportation”?) Paul’s 2016 rival Marco Rubio – and other Republicans – had already beat…
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