Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
I avoid political events. Been there, done that. But last night I dragged myself out in the rain and cold to hear Eric Mansfield, who’s running for Democratic Party chair. I don’t pretend to understand internal party politics. But here’s my opinion: A party with Mansfield as chair will be a party to be…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Republicans are stepping out on a political high-wire. Surely, most people love the idea of not paying personal or corporate income taxes. But then you start looking at the details. Every business would pay a receipts tax. Everybody would pay (and businesses bill and pay) a tax on services – medical…
Read MoreAs Carter notes in his blog below, the boom in outside political groups is eclipsing the traditional parties. You can see three recent examples in Raleigh. The big event Inaugural weekend wasn’t the traditional Junior League Ball or a Republican Party event. It was the Foundation for North Carolina (“F”-NC) fundraiser. Last week,…
Read MoreThe Democrats in Raleigh are grumpy because Speaker Thom Tillis has set up a new nonprofit to be the ‘Voice of House Republicans.’ Now, like ‘em or not, Super PACs, IE’s, and 527’s are the new political reality – Obama had ‘em, Romney had ‘em, and now Speaker Tillis has one. The more curious…
Read MoreRaleigh was electric Saturday. The crowd was huge and enthusiastic. The stars outdid all their fans’ hopes. Not the inaugural. The State-Duke game. (Go Pack!) Governor McCrory’s early-season performance is like a basketball team that makes a brilliant play on one end, then commits a bonehead turnover. His speech and its “Main Street”…
Read MoreBaseball statistician Nate Silver suddenly became famous by writing articles for the New York Times – putting statistical models (like the models he used in baseball) to work predicting who’d win the Presidential Election. Then, the other day in an interview, Mr. Silver was asked which he found most frustrating – analyzing sports or politics?…
Read MoreWhen I read that Richard Ben Cramer died this week, I pulled down my dog-eared copy of “What It Takes” and started to read it. Again. If you’ve never heard of Cramer or his book, get it. Read it. You’ll thank me. It’s about the 1988 presidential campaign, but it’s timeless. Through 1,000-plus…
Read MoreA TAPster inside state government sends an intriguing follow-up to my blog about Governor McCrory calling Art Pope “deputy” budget director. That struck me as a bit defensive. (See “McCrory’s Picks.”) The TAPster saw a January 7 memo to all department heads and chief fiscal officers in state government. It was from “Art Pope,…
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