Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Fooling Voters
Leading Jesse Helms’ campaign back in 1990 Tom Ellis asked pollster John McLaughlin: ‘Who do we want to win the Democratic primary?’ John opened his poll. Turned pages. Looked straight at Tom Ellis. ‘You want Harvey Gantt – not Mike Easley.’ Gantt would be easier for Jesse to beat in the General Election. Jesse’s campaign…
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Back to Even: The Latest Polls
There’re not many media polls you can trust these days – media polls are done to give newspapers a reason to write stories their readers like. But there are a few reliable polls still around – and they’re showing a strange change in the race between Trump and Biden. For months, Trump’s been leading Biden.…
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Mark Robinson is Wrong
Every time Mark Robinson speaks, he shows he’s unqualified, unprepared and too uninformed to be governor of North Carolina. The News & Observer got a tape of the Republican candidate telling the East Wake Republican Club in December that “it has already been proven that school systems get better results on less money.” Wrong, Mr.…
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A Hard Fight to Win
Grinning Trump said he would make a deal on abortion that would make both sides happy. This week he put his deal on the table, said he’d leave limits on abortion up to the states. Both sides erupted. Angry. Unless you have faith in the wisdom of Washington politicians, leaving abortion in the hands of…
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Politics Today: One Example
Running for Congress, to win the primary Kelly Daughtry spent millions out of her own pocket – but landed in a runoff. In the blink of an eye reaching deeper into her pocket she blanketed the airwaves with ads, filled mailboxes with mailings, telling voters her opponent’s: A Never-Trumpster puppet bankrolled by Democrats, Worked for…
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Distract and Divide
It’s the oldest trick in the right-wing playbook: distract us by dividing us. Jim Blaine, a UNC-Chapel Hill trustee and Republican political operative, says the Republican-run legislature or the Republican-appointed Board of Governors will take action this year – an election year – against diversity programs in the University system. “It’s my belief that it…
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Hoops Joy – and Fear
I’m as passionate about NC State basketball as I am about Democratic Party politics. So, I’m celebrating the men AND women making the Final Four. I also have a nagging fear about college basketball this year. It stems from the explosion of sports gambling, which came to North Carolina the same time as March Madness.…
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American Trauma
An American history textbook published in 2050 might call the first quarter of the 21st Century “Time of Trauma.” “Trauma” explains a lot about our politics today. It started with 9/11, a shocking attack on the homeland. Briefly, we rallied and came together. Then we embarked on two misguided, misbegotten and ill-fated overseas wars that…
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A Simple Question
Hamas stormed into Israel, killed men, women, and children. Shocked Israelis thought, We’re no longer safe. We can’t live in the same world with Hamas. Hamas must be destroyed – invaded Gaza to crush Hamas. Biden said he was 100% behind Israel but, before Israel crushed Hamas, tap dancing, Biden told Israel, Stop. Make peace.…
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