Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
They may be the Republican nominees, but Mitt Romney and Pat McCrory seem out of tune with the party in Tampa. That party loves the hard-edged, right-wing rhetoric of Paul Ryan and – before his bellyflop Tuesday night – Chris Christie. The conventioneers celebrate Romney, but their hearts don’t seem to be in it.…
Read MoreOne minute you’re standing on solid ground and the next the trap door springs open and you’re falling through mid-air. Last week, the New York Times reported Republican political consultants made a startling discovery: They discovered swing voters have a stubborn affinity for Barack Obama and President Obama’s economic failure is not enough to elect…
Read MorePolitical junkies like me and you pay attention to what convention speakers say. We get into the issues, the rhetoric, the charges, claims and counterclaims. But that’s not what matters. Voters watch conventions for what they say about the candidates and the party. They watch it like just another TV show, and they look…
Read MoreIsaac busted up the Republican convention schedule. It’s competing for TV coverage. Therein lies another danger to the GOP: Is it good to bash government when a lot of people may need government help? One story said the federal government spent $10 billion building levees to protect New Orleans. Did Governor Bobby Jindal reject…
Read MoreUnless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreUnless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreA TAPster who is no fan of the party conventions offers this: “Two thoughts as we enter two tedious weeks of convention blather: “First, the hurricane harassing the Republican National Convention is further proof that Southern small-town wind-blown burgs like Tampa and Charlotte have no business hosting big-time conventions. What self-respecting convention city…
Read MoreSince he picked Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has been talking about: Medicaid cuts, budget cuts, taxes (his and ours), Bain Capital, Obamacare, abortion and, now, birth certificates. None of which address undecided voters’ number-one concern: jobs and the economy. There seems to be a simple message for Romney in this campaign: “The economy is…
Read MoreBucky Waters may be a great basketball analyst, but he should stay away from politics. And Coach K should ignore him. Waters recently opined that Mike Krzyzewski had achieved everything he could in sports and should move on to politics: “I’d like to see him go to Washington. We desperately need leaders. Desperately.” The…
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