Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Everybody’s talking about the 99 percent and the 1 percent. I’m interested in the 9 percent: the percentage of Americans that polls say approve of Congress’ performance. Who are these people? What are thinking? And what will the percentage be when the congressional budget supercommittee, as appears inevitable, fails to reach a Grand…
The country’s up to our eyeballs in debt. Congress is on the verge of cutting defense spending $600 billion. And one way or another just about everybody in Washington is looking for ways to cut, cut, cut. Except one fellow. Barack Obama’s opening a new military base to defend… …in…
Want to see how important North Carolina will be in the 2012 presidential race? Read this New York Times dive into how the Obama Administration backed down on tougher smog-ozone standards. Especially this: “One of the strongest appeals (against tougher rules) came from North Carolina, a state Mr. Obama narrowly won in 2008. The…
Brutal jailers locked mentally ill prisoners in ‘isolation cells,’ took their clothes and mattresses, and left them to sleep naked on the concrete floor – it sounds like a prison in Bangkok or Rangoon only it didn’t happen in Bangkok it happened in Raleigh. The wardens at Central Prison called it “therapeutic seclusion.” Governor…
Democratic oppo researchers should be reveling in what Dome called Pat McCrory’s “shout out” to Heather Lusordo: “I just think unwarranted personal attacks against you hurt our democratic system. I feel for your and your family for what you had to go through. I commend you for the courage to stand up to it.…
Today’s N&O story (“Data show fewer state layoffs”) puts pressure on Governor Perdue and legislative Democrats to show they weren’t crying wolf about Republican budget cuts. Republicans sounded delighted with the report that 1,630 people have been laid off: “’The wild allegation has been that 30,000 state jobs were going to be eliminated,’ said…
Thanks to encouragement from my young mentors Nation Hahn and Luther Snyder – a Democrat and a Republican – I’m on Twitter now. Here’s the link. Follow me (I’m advised to say) @jgaryp. Follow Nathan and Luther, too. Follow all of my followers. Follow the yellow brick road. Twitter makes the highest use…
There’s something about Mitt Romney that Republicans just can’t love. Their nomination fight is a series of anti-Mitts rising in the polls, then self-destructing. First there was Michelle Bachmann. She scared everybody. Then Rick Perry. But he can’t even remember his own proposals. Then Herman Cain. But he allegedly can’t keep his hands off…
Here’s an interesting twist on the Wake school board outcome. A Republican friend (not the same one who contributed the item below; I actually have many Republican friends) says Ron Margiotta was an unintended victim of the Republican-run school board redistricting. Here’s the back story: Deborah Goldman demanded that the redistricting plan move…
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…