Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
As Hurricane Helene ravaged the mountains, my wife and I were thousands of miles away, on a two-week trip to Turkey and Greece. We followed news of the devastation as we toured historic sites in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Ephesus, Rhodes, Crete, Athens, Mycenae and Delphi. We walked on the stones of ancient empires that rose and…
Read MoreFrom Walter Mondale to Obama Democrat politicians preached the same gospel: Government was the way to solve problems – the way they saw it the more money and power government held in its hands the more problems they’d solve. The way Republicans saw it was different: Government didn’t solve problems – it made them worse.…
Read MoreAt the end of the Vance–Walz debate I thought, I wish those two were the ones running for president. Their debate was like a flashback to an earlier time – both men threw punches, got punched, but did it in a courteous way. Without meanness. An old niceness we haven’t seen for a while in…
Read MoreIn 1984, Carter hired me to work for the Helms campaign. While my primary assignment was to travel with the candidate, Carter occasionally sent me to speak for the campaign. In September of 1984, he dispatched me to the campus of NCSU for a Q&A with Fraternity Leaders. He didn’t bother to tell me that…
Read MoreBob Windsor owned a small newspaper The Landmark – all in for Jesse Helms back in 1984 he called Jim Hunt a ‘Sissy, prissy and effeminate.’ The first line in his newspaper article claimed Hunt was gay. It was a smear. Pure and simple. Not a word of truth in it. Jesse denounced the smear.…
Read MoreHaitians ‘eating cats’ – a rumor born on the internet. Trump heard it. Repeated it. Kamala Harris wore pearl earrings at the debate – another rumor was born: They weren’t earrings they were disguised earpieces. Harris was cheating. Trump heard that rumor too. Repeated it. At a rally Trump quipped, ‘She’s already talking about bringing…
Read MoreVance’s Plan I read Hillbilly Elegy years ago. Liked it lot. So I’ve been watching J.D. Vance. The other day he did an interview. About the Ukraine war. Trump, Vance said, would sit down with the Russians and Ukrainians and tell them to work out a peaceful settlement, end the war. Vance went on to…
Read MoreWe’ve never seen anything quite like this before – it’s all over the news not just here but around the country: Stories about how Mark Robinson dove into a porn site, posted checkered comments for four years. It’s either the worst smear ever – or it’s true and just plain shocking. Robinson, himself, said it’s…
Read MoreRepublicans love Trump. Democrats hate Trump. Both groups’ votes are set in stone. Swing voters usually decide who to vote for based on issues. But this election they’re heading down a different road. A lot of swing voters side with Trump on the border but, at the same time, vote for Harris. They see Trump…
Read MoreWatergate sunk Nixon. Jimmy Carter was elected. Two years later Jesse Helms ran for reelection. In…
Read MoreWe Americans are angry this Christmas. 77 million voters were so angry they elected Trump. 75…
Read More‘You tell a lot of good stories about Reagan, like his saying a prayer for the…
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