Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Should the legislature merge and cut Smart Start and More At Four? As the Geico guy might ask: “Is stirring up Jim Hunt a good idea?” Republican legislators apparently are hearing an earful from Hunt already. Those who weren’t around when he was Governor will learn what one legislator back then told one of…
The Wilmington Star News has branded the unkind words ‘pay to play’ on Senate Republican Leader Harry Brown, who’s put his political clout behind ‘groin-building’ to help wealthy homeowners who need seawalls (groins) to keep the beaches in front of their vacation homes from vanishing. The Star News attack on Brown was straightforward: It…
Watching television coverage of the nuclear-plant crisis in Japan is a classic case of TMI. Not Three Mile Island: Too Much Information. Too much confusing, alarmist, over-heated and incomprehensible information, to be precise. The coverage also reflects the trend toward anchors and correspondents being drama kings and queens rather than Walter Cronkite. The New York…
Last year, the state received $10.5 billion in ‘Stimulus Funds’ from the Obama administration – a staggering number equal to one-half the state budget. This year, the state faces a $2.7 billion dollar budget deficit. Does that sound a bit like fiscal mismanagement? The state gets a $10 billion windfall from Washington last…
Tony Tata obviously learned something about politics in the military, as well as good offensive strategy. When he started as Wake schools superintendent, he disarmed critics by meeting with them. Now he has proposed a budget that is austere, but avoids classroom cuts. In other words, the same political strategy as Governor Perdue.…
Well, the legislative freight train called ‘Legal Reform’ has barreled out of the State Senate and over into the State House: The other day a passer-by spotted a parade of lobbyists (from Insurance Companies, the Medical Society, the Hospital Association, the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Chamber of Commerce) sauntering into Speaker Thom Tillis’ office beaming…
Speaker Thom Tillis’ quote rang familiar: “You are looking at people who are members of a party that will lead this state for a decade, if not a generation. I’m not sure the Democrats can ever take it back,” he told the Nash County Republican Convention last week, according to the Rocky Mount Telegram.…
In thirty years in politics I’ve only seen a handful of problems with no solutions. None at all. For example once during Steve Forbes first Presidential campaign we got trapped in a corner in Iowa – and there was no way out. None. But, then, as usually happens in politics the tides shifted and…
UPS – The Governor’s up for somehow convincing House and Senate Republican leaders to attack her for juggling the state’s books to send out $300 million in tax refunds. The Republicans are up for raiding (or trying to raid because they failed) the Governor’s Golden Leaf pork-barrel fund to use the money to pay…
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…