Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
If Bev Perdue had a few more Cabinet Secretaries like Lanier Cansler she’d never have to cut spending a penny – no matter what Republican legislators said. Last summer the Republicans told Cansler to cut the state’s $12.9 billion Medicaid budget by $350 million. The other day a team of legislators came back to…
Judging by the Las Vegas debate, the seven guys and the one lady running for President in the Republican Primaries are getting testy. Right off, with no pleasantries, everyone lit into Herman Cain – which seems to be the paradigm for Republican Presidential campaigns. The pundits and bloggers and Fox News anoint a flavor…
Taxes are to politicians as zappers are to bugs. They can’t resist the temptation, and they end up getting fried. Latest example: Herman Cain. Or, as he would say, “Herman Cain!” In their debate this week, his Republican rivals pretty well ripped apart his 999 tax plan. Turns out it would raise taxes…
Here’s an unusual experiment in ethics: Is Citibank guilty or innocent of bilking investors by selling home mortgage bond packages? The answer, the bank says, is neither. It’s neither innocent nor guilty. In fact, it’s neutral on the issue. But, the bank adds, it will pay a $285 million fine to put the past behind…
A Republican TAPster sends along this N&O blog with the observation: “Looks like the Democrats might have found their version of an Art Pope.” Keung Hui, in a blog headed, “Dean Debnam’s group gives Common Sense Matters another $25,000,” wrote: “It looks like we should expect another flurry of mailers from Common Sense…
One industry in North Carolina is guaranteed to get a big boost next year: the political industry. President Obama’s two-day bus tour this week gave a glimpse of what’s to come. You’re going to see a lot of him the next 13 months – and a lot of the Republican candidate. And they’re all…
Some ne’er-do-well over in Johnston County got himself arrested, thrown into jail, hired a bail bondsman, then skipped town leaving the bondsman holding the bag. Which left the bondsman with 20 days to file a motion to get his money back – if he could show the bail jumper had died unexpectedly or been locked…
There’s fall in the air and, suddenly, there’s spring in the step of Democrats. Part of it was last week’s elections, especially the prospect of capturing the Wake school board. Part of it is the natural joy Democrats feel when Obama pillories Republicans and big, bad bankers. Part of it is seeing Herman Cain…
Back in the old days hardly anyone noticed when a Governor took a stand. But times have changed. Just look at the newspaper headline: Perdue Announces She Will Take a Stand. From there the process gets more puzzling. Before she would announce whether she was for or against the Constitutional Amendment banning gay…
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…