Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Whoever heard of a Washington politician voting to shut down the government? A bone-deep Washington politician, Chuck Schumer tore into Trump’s ‘continuing budget resolution,’ called it a bad bill then voted for it – to keep the government open. Trump thanked Schumer. Democrats howled. Tap-dancing Schumer threw up a smoke screen. Back when Trump first…
A dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, locked down during COVID, he called, surprised me asking: ‘Ford beat Reagan in the first 5 primaries in ‘76 – how on earth did Reagan beat Ford in North Carolina?’ The day we lost the Vietnam War mothers and fathers who’d lived through World War II, watching Russian tanks roll into Saigon,…
I have hope – despite what Trump is doing. I have hope because of what he’s doing – and what he promised to do but isn’t doing. I have hope because, in politics, the pendulum always swings back. I’ve seen it all my life. We had JFK and LBJ, then Nixon, then Carter, then Reagan…
With a better General Assembly, Josh Stein could join Jim Hunt and Terry Sanford on North Carolina’s Mount Rushmore of Education Governors. While the Governor set a bipartisan tone in his State of the State speech last night, he set out a clear challenge on education to Republicans who control the legislature. He challenged them…
Once upon a time, there was a great and powerful newspaper: The News & Observer. Everybody from the Governor on down read it every morning. It covered everything that moved in state government and politics. Its investigations took down crooks, incompetents and corrupt politicians. Its editorial pages stood up for the little guy and stuck…
The shouting, sign-waving and cane-wielding by congressional Democrats at the State of the Union isn’t a winning strategy. Senator Elissa Slotkin’s serious, substantive and straightforward response is. Put her on the list for President in 2028. Democrats need to be disciplined in our messaging. We need to put forward our best messengers, not the loudest…
Curmudgeonly Cajun James Carville says Democrats just need to “roll over and play dead” and wait for Trump’s inevitable collapse in the polls. Curmudgeonly Senator Bernie Sanders vehemently disagrees: “Democrats have been playing dead for too many years.” He’s waging war on “the oligarchy.” Curmudgeonly me thinks Rep. Deborah Ross of Raleigh has a better way:…
Trump raised tariffs. Said tariffs are beautiful. The next day, about facing, said automakers didn’t have to pay the tariffs. A day after that suspended tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month. If those tariffs are beautiful – why do that? And if those tariffs are not beautiful, why didn’t Trump know that in…
A legend in politics, with a sneaky streak but a kind heart, Paddy sat down in my office – clear-eyed, practical, thinning black hair, he sees Trump’s flaws but the moment he hears Trump’s voice a kind of supernatural power grips his heart and values he’s cherished for years fly out the window. Poking him,…
How do you get your news? Our statewide poll asked North Carolina voters what their primary…
Thom Tillis and Phil Berger fed the MAGA alligator. Then it ate them. Thomas Mills wrote…
Exactly 80 years ago, in 1946, Republicans took control of Congress with a simple message: “Had…