
Carter Wrenn

Gary Pearce
Why was North Carolina a bright spot in an otherwise dark day for Republicans nationally? Were my Republican consultant friends – Carter, Luther Snyder, Tom Fetzer, Paul Shumaker and Jack Hawke – that much smarter than their colleagues across the country? Or was it just a weird confluence of circumstances: a governor’s race…
Read MoreBack in the enlightened 1970âs when I was in college the powers-that-be at UNC gave me a hard choice: They told me I could take either a foreign language or math, but I had to learn one or the other. It was a choice between two poisons. I took foreign language and promptly failed French,…
Read MoreYesterday I wrote nice things about Governor-elect McCrory. But his entrance onto the Raleigh stage this week wasn’t a good one. Look at it this way: McCrory has a strong brand in North Carolina right now. He just won big. He gets the benefit of the winner’s glow. He should milk that political capital.…
Read MoreDemocrats lived through about their worst election ever Tuesday night: Republicans whipped them in the races for Governor, Lt. Governor, elected three new Congressmen and gained seats in the State House and Senate – so how, post election, are Democratic pundits explaining their world falling apart? Here’s what they’re saying: ‘That darn Art Pope…
Read MorePat McCrory may not like this, but he reminds me a bit of Jim Hunt. His speech Tuesday night talked about North Carolina’s reaching and exceeding “their full potential.” Since then he has talked about reaching out to Republicans and Democrats. During the campaign he boasted about working across party lines in Charlotte. He even…
Read MoreOn the day after, we’re as split emotionally as we are politically. Democrats celebrate President Obama’s historic reelection. America has now twice elected a black man to the highest office. His win validates his policies: the stimulus, auto bailout and financial reform. Health care reform will survive. He will fill Supreme Court vacancies. He…
Read MoreAlbert, arguing, said, You’re wrong. Folks don’t care if politicians lie and steal – they expect them to do that. What’s more, they’ll vote for a crook who can fix the potholes in their street over a bungling saint every time. I chalked that up to an otherwise garrulous man’s streak of skepticism but…
Read MoreI woke up yesterday feeling Romney would win but after a dozen calls from people asking about polls in Ohio (not one of which shows Romney leading) I went to bed thinking, Every single poll can’t be wrong. This morning, at the crack of dawn, I got Dick Morris’ predictions saying all the polls…
Read MoreThe baffling question is how Mitt Romney lost. If ever this was a challenger’s race to win, this was it. The economy is bad. Obama is an activist in an anti-government age. He has never done a good job of selling his record. He was not a great candidate this year. He bombed in the…
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