Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Politics is odd but Elizabeth Dole must feel the world turned upside down in the three weeks after the election. The Sunday before the election she was on TV defending Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, saying he didn’t need to resign. Three days later President Bush fired Rumsfeld. Senator Dole was also Chairman of the Republican…
People used to say, I don’t care which party straightens out our country as long as one does. But times have changed. The Charlotte Observer (11-13-06) reports “straight ticket voting” increased 20% in Mecklenburg County this election. Of course, it’s possible that every, say, Democratic candidate in every race was more qualified than his Republican…
We may be about to get another glimpse into “backstage politics.” Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed House Speaker Pro-Tem Richard Morgan to testify before the grand jury. They want to ask Morgan about is a $100,000 donation “a small cigarette manufacturer” gave “a political group” he created in 2004 – a year after Morgan stopped legislation…
I’m singing one of my favorite songs again: Winning campaigns spend money on media, not turnout. And I have judicial proof in this year’s elections. There appeared to be little pattern in who won the judicial races, which are now officially nonpartisan. Democrat Sarah Parker won big. But Republican Donna Stroud edged Linda Stephens. Here’s…
A recent story in The New York Times asked: “Is the South Truly a Dead Zone for Democrats?” You’d have to be politically brain dead to believe that. Look at North Carolina after the November elections: We’re one of only 15 states with a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature;…
Will Democrat-turned-Republican Congressman Walter Jones turn back to the party of his father? That’s the rumor in Raleigh this week. Jones was a Democratic member of the State House and a Democratic Congressional candidate before he became a Republican and won his U.S. House seat in 1994. Before that, Jones worked for Governor Jim Hunt.…
The war between James Carville and Howard Dean reflects a long-running divide inside the Democratic Party. I suspect Republicans suffer it, too. Carville speaks for the political pros – the consultants, pollsters and media mavens. Dean speaks for the grassroots – the state chairs, county chairs and precinct chairs. The battle is over money. The…
Now that House Democrats saved Nancy Pelosi from the self-inflicted wound of John Murtha, it’s time to take up real ethics reform. Nobody has made that case better Bruce Thompson, who I think is one of Raleigh’s best lawyer-lobbyists. He’s also a good Democrat, I should add. Bruce wrote an op-ed in Monday’s Charlotte Observer…
I hereby declare a Democratic victory in the much-hyped Pelosi/Murtha affair. Here’s why: Pelosi stuck by Murtha because he helped her and stood up to Bush on Iraq. Loyalty is good. But the Democratic caucus rejected Murtha because he’s not good on ethics. Ethics are good. And the Democrats showed they’re independent, not beaten-down sheep…
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…