Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
The head of the Optometrist PAC, who gave former speaker Jim Black blank checks, which Black in turn gave Representative Michael Decker (some says as a bribe for Decker’s vote) entered an ‘Alford Plea’ in court last week. The News and Observer described how an ‘Alford Plea’ works in another case, involving a school teacher…
Barack Obama is out to steal the mantle of optimism from John Edwards. In 2004, Edwards ran with a smile. He positioned himself as the positive, uplifting, optimistic candidate. He has even called his political committee the New American Optimists. But the stagecraft and tone of Obama’s announcement hit the very note that served Edwards…
State and local government have made a deal to give Google $260 million to put 210 jobs (with average salaries of $48,000) in Caldwell County. Do the math: $260,000,000 in ‘incentives’ is greater than the total salaries Google will pay over the next 24 years. Supporters of these deals say that government subsidizing corporations is…
The Air Force jet former Speaker Dennis Hastert used can’t fly all the way to California without stopping to refuel, so Speaker Pelosi wants a bigger plane. The Air Force said no. The Speaker shot back, “I’m not saying that I am being discriminated against because I am a woman. I’m just saying as the…
Like children, presidential candidates can get into trouble on the Internet. Ask John Edwards. His campaign spent several days dealing with a contretemps over two campaign bloggers who – on their personal blogs – had said unkind things about the Catholic Church. The story made it to the front page of The New York Times…
For decades Democrats have lived by two rules of political survival: Support the death penalty. Don’t raise taxes. So now Lieutenant Governor – and would-be Governor – Beverly Perdue calls for a death penalty moratorium. Though she hastens to say she still supports capital punishment. And John Edwards says he’ll raise taxes to pay for…
Senator Claire McCaskill, the newly elected (with a boost from Michael J. Fox) Missouri Democrat, won “election last year with a populist campaign bashing special interest and corporate lobbyists.” (News and Observer; 1-29-07). That was before the election. After the election Senator McCaskill invited dozens of those same lobbyists “to a fundraiser: $1,000 per political…
The News & Observer published a story last week about how blogs are changing local politics. It’s by Jesse James DeConto (you gotta love his name), and we point it out because it quotes me and mentions our blog. Click here to read it: http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/538855.html Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other…
Why does Mike Easley do it? Why – with all his communications skills – does he work so hard at not communicating? As Governor, he commands a big microphone. But Mike won’t use the mike. Two recent examples: He spoke out publicly against the Duke lacrosse DA. But it turns out he spoke out last…
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…
Gwyn and I just returned from a 12-day journey through 1,000 years of history in Germany…