North Carolina – Republicans
Fast and Mean
Two months in, two things are striking about the Republican regime in Raleigh: how fast they move and how mean they seem. This is a recipe for a Democratic revival, if – and it’s a big if – Democrats get their act together. Too many politicos – Democrats and Republicans – assume that…
Read MoreIncentivized
Governor McCrory and Republican legislators were against incentives before they were for them. McCrory is clearly for them when he can bask in the announcement of 2,600 new jobs by MetLife. (Hello, Snoopy!) Or maybe he’s for them when they are negotiated by Moore & Van Allen, his old law firm. But…
Read MoreA Tale of Two States
While Governor McCrory prepares a “very, very tight budget” and blocks Medicaid expansion, the Republican governor of another purple Southern state is going in the opposite direction. Governor Rick Scott of Florida was a Tea Party poster boy when he got elected in 2010. Now a Miami Tea Party leader has sent the governor…
Read MoreCut Spending Now?
With Carter’s help, George Holding had a simple message last fall that boiled down the Republican mantra: “Cut spending now.” It’s the one message that unites Republicans as they splinter over immigration, gay marriage and guns in the wake of Mitt Romney’s loss. Here’s the challenge for Democrats: What’s your alternative? House…
Read MoreEarth to Buck
“I really don’t see it as an issue,” said Senator Buck Newton. “If it went from County A to County B, I’m not sure why County B would have a major objection to that.” “It” is waste brines and toxins from fracking, which – John Murawski reports in the N&O – could end up…
Read MoreHome Alone
A TAPster says this legislature is like a 15-year-old boy whose parents leave him home alone for the weekend. If a couple of friends come over and they drink a six-pack, he probably gets away with it. If he invites the whole high school to a drunken bash that wrecks the house, wakes…
Read MoreThe Problem with Spending Other People’s Money
It’s a fault of human nature: When you spend your own money you look at it one way but when you spend someone else’s money it’s a different story. Once, years ago, I served on a church-school board with a half dozen tight-fisted, hard-eyed businessmen who could squeeze a dollar out of a turnip.…
Read MoreWho’s Getting an Education?
What did we learn during the Republican legislature’s “Education Week”? That North Carolina ranks 48th in education spending. Legislative leaders bragged that this was the first time all school superintendents were invited to tell the legislature their concerns. The superintendents promptly warned against taking more money from the public schools and giving it to…
Read MoreLocal Politics
Two years ago, Republicans controlled the County Commissioners and the School Board and were happy. Then Democrats won the next School Board election – so they were happy and the Republican County Commissioners were unhappy. Next the Republican Commissioners decided to redraw the Democratic School Board members’ Districts to get them out of…
Read MoreThe Politics of Mean
Being mean is not a formula for success in politics, and Governor McCrory may learn that lesson the hard way. Hold on, you say. What about Jesse Helms? He made a 30-year career out of being mean and picking on politically weak victims. Glad you asked. Here’s the difference: What works for a…
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