The Bullseye State
February 2, 2011 - by
Governor Perdue called the choice of Charlotte
As Carter told Rob Christensen in today’s N&O, “It says loud and clear this is a key state.”
It’s no overstatement to say that the road to the White House goes through North Carolina North Carolina
It’s a sign of how much politics has – and hasn’t – changed here.
Think about an election 40 years before 2012: 1972. That was the year the Democratic dam broke in North Carolina
That was the year Republicans elected their first governor (Jim Holshouser) and U.S. Senator (Jesse Helms).
Now Democrats are ecstatic that Obama will be renominated here and – apparently – compete hard here.
Here’s what hasn’t changed: the role race plays in our politics.
The 1972 revolution came, in part, because Southern whites didn’t like where the national Democratic Party had gone on civil rights.
In 2008, Obama mobilized a surge of new voters, in part, because he was the first African-American candidate for president. On the other side, of course, were some whites who couldn’t accept that.
The question in 2012 is whether Obama can rekindle the same flames – or whether his dominance of the Democratic ticket takes the party here down in flames.
The Bullseye State
February 2, 2011/
Governor Perdue called the choice of Charlotte
As Carter told Rob Christensen in today’s N&O, “It says loud and clear this is a key state.”
It’s no overstatement to say that the road to the White House goes through North Carolina North Carolina
It’s a sign of how much politics has – and hasn’t – changed here.
Think about an election 40 years before 2012: 1972. That was the year the Democratic dam broke in North Carolina
That was the year Republicans elected their first governor (Jim Holshouser) and U.S. Senator (Jesse Helms).
Now Democrats are ecstatic that Obama will be renominated here and – apparently – compete hard here.
Here’s what hasn’t changed: the role race plays in our politics.
The 1972 revolution came, in part, because Southern whites didn’t like where the national Democratic Party had gone on civil rights.
In 2008, Obama mobilized a surge of new voters, in part, because he was the first African-American candidate for president. On the other side, of course, were some whites who couldn’t accept that.
The question in 2012 is whether Obama can rekindle the same flames – or whether his dominance of the Democratic ticket takes the party here down in flames.