Archive for March 2012
Vote NO
Public Policy Polling has found that people are confused about the marriage amendment: “Oh, it covers civil unions, too?” Plus, it’s so badly worded it could end up hurting widowed seniors and even victims of domestic abuse. Let’s simplify this message. Just tell people to vote NO. A no vote is always easier…
Read MoreFamily and Friends
Sometimes politicians are just plain silly. This morning it appears Paul Coble woke up in a pique and right off ripped off an email lighting into George Holding. “George Holding” Coble wrote, “doesn’t smile much. But $214,000 in hard, cold special interest cash has him smiling like the Cheshire car – ear to…
Read MoreGetting Real on Reading
Pat McCroryâs much-ballyhooed education platform reads like a compilation of every cliché and buzzword of the last three decades. This tweet from the McCrory campaign especially struck me: â3rd grade is a critical year for reading. We are not doing our children favors by socially promoting them to 4th grade.â Right you are,…
Read MoreObamaScare
Win or lose in the Supreme Court, President Obama has already lost in the court of public opinion. Polls show that two-thirds of Americans want at least some of Obamacare repealed. If he loses the election in November, he’ll always wonder why he staked his presidency on an idea he opposed in 2008: the…
Read MoreMitt Tillis
There’s a whiff of Mitt Romney about Thom Tillis. Witness his prediction that the gay-marriage amendment, which he supports, will be repealed in 20 years. Was he playing to a college crowd? Once again signaling he’s not really comfortable with the right-wing social issues? Or was it a classic political gaffe – when you…
Read MoreShould Bob Get Out?
The TAPster who wrote the blog below reflects what several Democrats have said privately about Bob Etheridge. If Bob’s campaign or a supporter will respond, I’ll post it. “For the sake of Democrats everywhere in North Carolina, Bobby Etheridge must step aside. “He needs to leave the governor’s race to someone who has…
Read MoreNew Political Site
Check out this new website for political junkies: ncpol.com. It’s run by Raleigh lawyer Hart Miles. Its greatest virtue is that it’s fun. Its greatest drawback is an interview with me. But you can also see a terrific video with a dead-on Dick Vitale impersonator, Gerry Jacobs of Raleigh. Watch “Dickie V” break…
Read MoreThe Ironies of ObamaCare
A gun store in eastern North Carolina uses its electronic billboard to run a mix of hard-right political messages and gun-sale pitches. One message reads: “Work harder. Millions on welfare depend on you.” When it comes to health care, the billboard could read: “Work harder. Millions without insurance depend on you.” But therein lies…
Read MoreIn Praise of Negative Ads
Carter and I were doing our dog-and-pony show for a real-estate group – telling them what happens inside campaigns, taking potshots at each other and generally trying to lighten up a crowd that had just endured speeches from the gubernatorial candidates. During the Q&A, we got a familiar question: “Why can’t candidates be positive…
Read MoreContemplating Your Navel
Back in 1976 when Ronald Reagan was running in the North Carolina Primary, Arthur Finkelstein (Reagan’s pollster) hammered into my head the importance of time in campaigns, saying a hundred times, Campaigns have three resources: People, money and time. You can hire more people and raise more money but you can’t make one second more…
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