Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
You can’t help but be intrigued – if by nothing else – by the irrationality of local politics. The last three elections Mayor Meeker has swept himself, and his allies, into office as no-growth, anti-evil developer, pro-sugar plum fairy candidates. But now we learn – from a charter-member of the Mayor’s anti-growth club – liberal…
Since Claude Sitton retired from The News & Observer, North Carolina editors have been an invisible lot. John Drescher may be changing that pattern. Drescher, who recently became executive editor at The N&O, publicly called out Governor Easley twice this weekend. In his column and on the air, Drescher challenged Easley to answer questions about…
The New York Times, conservative pundits are arguing, duplicitously helped John McCain win Republican primaries then cut him off at the knees once he had the nomination all but sewed up. They say The Times endorsed McCain in the New York primary, withheld a damaging story while he fought for his political life in New…
Ann Coulter says – given their stands on issues – she might as well vote for Hillary as John McCain. Rush Limbaugh says he thinks we’re out of luck this election – there is no conservative choice. And Laura Ingram says, Amen. Equally vociferous, on the other side of the equation, Jack Kemp – who…
Here’s an unusual political twist: Ten weeks before the Democratic primary the North Carolina State Employees Association, a politically powerful, mostly-Democratic group spent $30,000 on a newspaper ads attacking State Treasurer Richard Moore – a Democratic candidate for Governor. SEANC has a bone to pick with Treasurer Moore – who manages their $75 billion pension…
The debate on Raleigh’s City Council’s to stop people inside the beltline from tearing down older homes and building new ones has turned a bit goofy. For instance, consider the latest broadside from Mayor Meeker’s close ally and amigo Roger Koopman. Councilman Koopman says that building newer homes – he calls them ‘monstrous McMansions’ –…
Hillary Clinton did not turn the tide in Thursday night’s debate. Bill Clinton says she has to win both Texas and Ohio to win the nomination. Her campaign advisers are divided. Her spending and strategy are being criticized. So here is one more piece of bad news, looking back to Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin: Obama…
John McCain has enjoyed laudatory Mainstream Media coverage for so long it’s understandable he’s mad at The New York Times. The Times finally broke a story – which apparently has been an open secret among insiders for two months – about a potentially unethical relationship between McCain and a lobbyist eight years ago. The story…
Last election Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and Rodger Koopman and Nancy McFarlane pummeled their opponents in North Raleigh for being cozy with developers. They said mushrooming growth was out of hand, the developer-villains were out of hand, and Council members Jessie Taliafero and Tommy Craven were bosom buddies with developers – they scared the willies…
A new nationwide poll shows that, if they could run against each other in 2028, Barack…
Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the…
A reassuring lesson from our trip to Germany and Czechia is that dictators, despots and tyrants…