Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Like Billy Flynn in a Chicago courtroom Obama’s speech to Congress was all razzle-dazzle. It takes a silver tongue to spend a trillion dollars then say you’re against big government and get away with it. I don’t know who else could have done it. Surely not Bobby Jindal. Politics is pretty discouraging these days –…
Once upon a time North Carolina was considered the most anti-union state in the country; back then, nobody ever heard of a Democrat like Jim Hunt or Bob Scott supporting legislation to create more unions – but that’s exactly what Senator Kay Hagan is doing. So, what changed? It’s simple: Today Democratic voters see corporations…
It’s time to round up the usual suspects. Because Washington is headed into the same old battle over raising taxes. But this time the stakes are bigger, the faces are different and the outcome may be surprising. Since Ronald Reagan, the Republican formula has been a simple one. As Mary Matalin put it on MSNBC…
President Obama made a crucial strategic, rhetorical and political pivot in his speech to Congress last night. He shifted from warnings of “catastrophe” to an assertion of confidence: “We will rebuild, we will recover.” More than with most politicians, Obama’s words are worth paying attention to. Because, as a writer, he pays attention to words.…
Here is, perhaps, the ultimate irony: Former KGB head and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is warning the United States against socialism. Quote: The U.S. should take a lesson from Russian history and not put its faith in “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence because socialism doesn’t work.” “In…
As a nation turns its lonely eyes to President Obama tonight, I’m reminded of the plaintive question Casey Stengel asked about the sad-sack Mets: “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Does anybody in Washington know what they’re doing? Do they know how to stop the Great Recession – and prevent a “Lost Decade”? Surely, the…
Tony Rand rolled out a sure-fire crowd-pleaser last week: limit the number of days legislators can collect their expenses. Voters love it. Good-government types extol it. Legislators can hardly vote against it. But some people question – privately – the wisdom behind it. Are shorter legislative sessions by definition better? In whatever your line of…
Gene Conti’s pick of N&O veteran Ted Vaden as deputy DOT secretary for communications revealed three things: Conti (caveat: a good friend) will be a good secretary. He understands that DOT will benefit from some disinfectant and sunshine. The N&O, like many daily papers, looks like a sinking ship. The age-old media suspicion of “flacks”…
Yesterday, reading a report in the paper about all the bills introduced I got the impression the state legislature is a hotbed of activity – so last night at dinner with a state representative I said, It looks like you all have been pretty busy. He frowned, I don’t know where you got that idea…
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…
Jim Hunt would like James Talarico winning the Democratic primary in Texas. Like Talarico, the late…