Raleigh
Why Fool Around…with Lt. Governor
Talk about manna from heaven, Linda Coleman must be thanking her lucky stars – the State Employees’ Union just announced it’s going to spend $1.8 million to elect her and defeat Eric Mansfield in the Democratic Primary for Lt. Governor. The State Employees’ Union has charged into Super PAC land with a passion but…
Read MoreTata Tantrum
Tony Tata is the Karl Hess of school superintendents: a click too sensitive to criticism. (Memo to all – and self: The next time you get mad at somebody, feel free to compose a blistering e-mail to them. Then immediately hit “Delete.” You won’t regret it.) Tata had won over a lot of…
Read MoreImmunity
Last year when I decided to work with the trial lawyers I took a fair amount of razzing from my Republican friends – among Republicans, lawyers are not as unpopular as the Huns but it’s close. As best as I can tell the last lawyer Republicans admired was Cicero. Anyhow, last year there were two…
Read MoreNewton’s 3rd Law
The Democrats in Raleigh haven’t looked this befuddled in years – redistricting is one source of their bewilderment but the roots of their disorder run deeper: In every state election for two decades the Raleigh Democrats have outraised Republicans by millions – this year the Democrats are staring at empty coffers and Phil Berger has…
Read MorePR 101 – for Refs, Too
Listen up, ACC execs and refs: Any Big Shot today has to be open, honest and accountable. No comment and not answering questions won’t cut it. Full disclosure: I was at the State game Saturday, and I’m a big fan of the Pack. But I pride myself on never getting after the refs (they’re…
Read MoreClick Button, File Form
A Republican filed to run for State House and no sooner had he filed than he was told he had to fill out a second form called a Financial Disclosure Report – so he went to the State Ethics Commission’s website and found the form then ran head on into a bureaucratic maze. When…
Read MorePlay that Video
I’m old-fashioned enough not to have much faith in these new ‘automated telephone polls’ that the Democrats at Public Policy Polling do, but you have to give them credit – those polls have turned their company into a P.R. juggernaut. They’re in the newspaper just about every day. Their latest poll on the Democratic…
Read MoreCharging for the Exits
The exodus of Democratic legislators stampeding out of Raleigh multiplied again Tuesday when three more Democrats (Linda Garrou, Jennifer Weiss and Edith Warren) announced they’re not running for reelection. Granted, Democratic House and Senate candidates face plenty of tough challenges – new districts, empty campaign coffers, befuddled leaders. Plus, over the past year they’ve…
Read MoreSince 1953
Congresswoman Sue Myrick generated a bit of excitement Monday in Charlotte, saying she’s not running for reelection; — excitement for Democrats as this time it’s a Republican (instead of Governor Perdue or Speaker Hackney and two Democratic Congressmen) who’s not running. Excitement for Republicans because now there’s an open seat in a district that has…
Read MoreBob Etheridge and Reason
Last week when former-Congressman and newly-announced-candidate-for-Governor Bob Etheridge was asked if he would support the Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage he said that decision was in the people’s hands and he was 100% for whatever the people decided because the people were always right. Yesterday, Etheridge lost his faith in the people. He announced…
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