Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
A wise Raleigh hand told me about a capital-city event this week that was unique in all his years: a show of real bipartisanship. Two veteran House members – Republican Danny McComas and Democrat Pryor Gibson – cohosted a reception in the Capitol for new legislators. Most people came, of course, to see…
Read MoreA friend wondered why Elizabeth Edwards’ life and death transfixed so many people. Maybe it’s the American fascination with the lives of the rich and famous – especially when they are marked by so many triumphs and tragedies. For her they were, in order: the death of a child, her husband’s meteoric rise in…
Read MoreTwenty-seven year old Jeremiah Love – who’s schizophrenic – was murdered in a Rest Home by another schizophrenic who attacked him swinging a metal cane at his head like a baseball bat. In another Rest Home across the state a forty-three year old schizophrenic beat a sixty-seven year old patient to death in an argument…
Read MorePresident Obama sent two signals about 2012 on today’s front page. First, he’s going to contest North Carolina. Second, he’s going to run the same way he ran the first time, even if it drives die-hard Democrats crazy: as an adult trying to rise above a Washington filled with immature partisans. Despite…
Read MoreBy not indicting Governor Easley, Joe Cheshire says, District Attorney William Kenerly proved Easley’s innocent and not just innocent but a victim too. The Governor, Cheshire says, has been ‘trashed’ by the villains in the press. And he has a case: The newspapers report the Governor’s done everything from swapping developers permits in exchange…
Read MoreErskine Bowles said his deficit-commission’s recommendations would help start an adult conversation in Washington. So the first thing the Senate does is extend tax cuts, which we can’t afford, and unemployment benefits, which we also can’t afford. Both make wonderful sense. But voting for popular things without paying for them is what got…
Read MoreIn the next few weeks, Governor Perdue will make a decision that could determine whether she is reelected in two years. She can go either of two ways in handling the budget and the new Republican legislature. She could work with the Republicans to cut nearly $4 billion. The political goal there would…
Read MoreThe other day Governor Perdue climbed on a jet airliner and flew to New York and drove straight to billionaire Ron Perelman’s Manhattan office and held a campaign fundraiser. Now why is a Wall Street tycoon raising money in Manhattan for the Governor? Well, the News and Observer points out Mr. Perelman sits on…
Read MoreTransitions are when winners strive to show they’re ready to take over. As Senator Richard Stevens of Cary, co-chairman of the Senate transition team, told the N&O, “The goal is to be ready day one.” Rob Christensen reported that “Republicans are hiring staff, choosing committees and committee chairmen.” They set up eight…
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