Polls Apart

The News & Observer says its poll with WRAL shows that voters are “leaning against” the Wake school bond issue. It looks more like a tsunami to me. Only 35 percent of the voters said they’ll vote for the bond issue. The result could be nearly 2-to-1 against. School bond supporters sound like George Bush…

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New Scandal on Easley’s Doorstep?

Two years ago, when Governor Easley was campaigning hard for reelection the state paid $21.5 million for 5,600 acres of land in Caldwell County. Three weeks later, the Governor’s campaign received $40,000 from ten people with ties to the land owner. Later, three more donors gave $16,000. Two of the donors were nineteen and twenty…

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School Bond Crossfire

The School Bond Referendum is caught in a crossfire. The opponents of the billion-dollar bond referendum seem to agree on one thing: Defeating it is the best way to send the School Board a message that it is headed in the wrong direction. But they differ on the right direction. (News and Observer; 10-22-06). Americans…

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Foley Questions: Who Knew What When?

The question in the Foley scandal is not what former Congressman Tom Foley did but when House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders knew about it. Foley’s former aide, Kirk Fordham, says he told the Speaker’s Chief of Staff “about Foley’s approaches to male pages” three years ago. (News and Observer; 10-13-06). Hastert and…

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Dick Morris Suggests An Ad…

Last week, in his newsletter, Dick Morris described the tidal wave impact the Foley scandal has had on Republican base voters. This week he proposes an imaginary ad for Republican to run before the elections. He describes the ad this way: “We see and hear a wiretapped conversation, with a terrorist revealing his worst plans…

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Black’s Legal Defense Fund

No one outside of House Speaker Jim Black’s inner circle knows how much money corporations have given to the Speaker’s Legal Defense Fund. But the Charlotte Observer (10-16-06) has reported the name of one donor: The Teamster’s Union. According to the Federal Elections Commission, the Teamster’s PAC gave $5,000 to Black. The union didn’t offer…

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Scandals and Gay Marriages

Last session, State House and Senate Democrats passed legislation to prohibit lobbyists giving money to candidates; then, in a political flim-flam, they proclaimed they’d cleaned up the ‘pay to play’ scandal. The Democrats eliminated the, say, 5% of the money lobbyists, personally, give them. But left in place the 95% lobbyists raise for them (mostly…

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Base Politics

Two weeks from today, Democrats either win their biggest landslide in three decades (since Watergate) or Republicans celebrate the biggest upset since Truman-Dewey. Either way, both parties will quickly see a war between their respective bases and everybody else. Here are the scenarios: Win or lose, Democrats will start debating What It All Means for…

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A Growing Problem – or Solution?

America’s population – now 300 million – could top 400 million by the time my children start thinking about retiring (around 2040). I believe that’s a good thing for our country. Given today’s hostility toward immigrants, that probably wouldn’t be a popular political position. But here’s why I say it: Population growth means economic growth…

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Mayor Meeker and the Garbage Truck

For the last couple of weeks Mayor Meeker’s been meeting with unhappy city garbage workers. Last week, in a show of bonhomie and empathy the Mayor spent the morning riding a garbage truck. He told the News and Observer (10-14-06) he “wanted to learn about the job as sanitation workers protest for better pay and…

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