Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
A TAPster raises a question about Governor Perdue and the state plane: “Everyone was relieved to hear that catastrophe was averted last week when Governor Perdue’s state-owned aircraft had a mechanical problem and made an emergency landing at RDU. “But, here are some questions: “Why in the hell was she taking a…
I think I’m going to start writing columns about reporters who write columns telling folks what’s true and untrue in political ads. After all, the reporters are setting themselves up as referees so why not fact-check the fact-checkers? For instance: A respected reporter here in Raleigh recently wrote a fact-check about the American Foundations…
Yesterday morning the phone rang and when I picked it up a friend said, Did you read Gary’s blog about David Parker? and I said, No;―I’d been scrupulously avoiding reading one word about Mr. Parker’s foibles on the theory no one cared except a dozen crazed political hacks at Democratic Headquarters and another dozen hacks…
Character is destiny, especially in politics. The pressures and the spotlight inevitably show the world exactly who you are. So it was with David Parker yesterday. The N&O called it “an extraordinary act of political theater.” John Frank described Parker as “assured.” Those who know him use another word: “arrogant.” He has a…
My wife is a remarkable woman with an eerily perfect sense of timing – for instance, she went into labor with our first child while sitting in her doctor’s waiting room. After that, things got more hectic. When we got to the hospital and the doctor walked into Page’s hospital room he looked so…
It’s said that “academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” So it is with internal party politics. David Parker has been inside the Democratic Party long enough to know what happens when you stumble: All the old feuds, jealousies and resentments – and the sharp knives – come out.…
Most political people are word people. We pay enormous attention to the words we read and hear from politicians and the media, to facts, rhetoric and arguments. But much of human communication is non-verbal. It’s visual and physical clues: Does this person look trustworthy or sneaky, hostile or well-intentioned, strong or weak? So…
A TAPster takes a calmer view of the scandal enveloping the state Democratic Party with these “thoughts on the Big Mess at North Carolina’s Democratic headquarters:” “This isn’t really a “scandal,” for goodness sakes. It’s breath-taking management incompetence. The clumsy Democratic leadership gave a clinic in how to turn a one-day personnel matter into a…
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…