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Entries for 'Gary Pearce'
Gary Pearce posted on May 24, 2013 10:08
Someone asked the obvious question: “Why do Democrats elect fools like David Parker and Randy Voller chairman?”
It’s a “governance crisis,” said one thoughtful Democrat and former statewide candidate. “The chairman is selected by 600 people on the executive committee, most of whom know nothing about getting elected statewide.”
There always has been tension between Democratic activists and Democratic elected officials. Party people blasted Governor Hunt for his “keys” organization, built around people who were leaders in their cities and communities, but not necessarily party activists.
Back in 1992, one of his opponents thought that would be a real vulnerability when Hunt was making his comeback to the governor’s office. The opponent promised that he would restore the 100 county party chairs to their rightful place at the head of the table. He learned how effective the chairs were: he got 30 percent of the vote in the primary.
Today, many party activists are idealistic and ideological. They are true believers. Like the Republican right-wingers, they are determined to root out any deviancy from the True Faith – which is far more liberal than North Carolina’s voting population. Many of them got involved in the party through the Howard Dean movement in 2004. Remember when Dean jump-started his campaign by pledging to represent “the Democratic wing of the Democratic party”?
Jerry Meek, who emerged from that group, gets credit for nevertheless bridging the gap between activists and elected officials. Then came David Parker, who exploited the split to keep himself in the chairmanship.
The national Democratic Party has made this mistake before. After the 1968 Chicago convention, activists threw the old bosses out of the temple. A lot of that was healthy. But they also ignored people who knew something about how to get elected, which is what political parties are supposed to do.
Over time – through a Commission on Presidential Nominations that Hunt chaired and the Democratic Leadership Council that Bill Clinton led – the party rebalanced itself. And it started winning again.
It’s easy for an idealistic activist to criticize a Governor or legislator – or President – for compromising and moderating and tacking and doing all the things politicians do to get the ship of state headed the right way.
It’s hard work to win an election and govern. You have to marry idealism with political reality. You have to mix energy with experience. You sometimes have to take a half-step ahead instead of a great leap forward.
If you don’t, you’ll stay where Democrats are today: getting repeatedly run over on the field of play, helpless to stop the Republican blitzkrieg.
To paraphrase a noted Republican, Barry Goldwater: “Grow up, Democrats.”
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Gary Pearce posted on May 23, 2013 10:13
Attention must be paid when the Republican legislator who wants to roll back ethics laws questions Speaker Tillis’ ethics.
It could just be sour grapes. But someone needs to pursue Rep. Robert Brawley’s written statement about Tillis “slamming my office door shut, standing in front of me and stating that you have a business relationship with Time Warner and wanting to know what the bill is about.”
Brawley had filed a bill that Tillis and Time Warner apparently didn’t like. The Charlotte Observer-N&O story noted drily: “It’s unclear what relationship Tillis might have to Time Warner.”
If these two guys were Democrats, Republicans would be demanding an investigation of that “relationship.” Democrats should now.
Republican ethics are coming quickly into focus. Their desire to roll back every Democratic idea of the last 100 years apparently is matched only by their desire to cash in on their new power and access.
Democrats will tell you: Ethics shortcuts are a quick road to ruin.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 22, 2013 10:08
Michael Biesecker with AP reported that Randy Voller “said he believes a portion of the Vegas charges, including a $557 dinner at a restaurant within the casino, were justified because he asked friends from across the country to give to the party and was therefore networking with potential political donors.”
Of course. Las Vegas is the perfect place for “networking with potential political donors.”
Or maybe you could just put all the party’s money on red and hope for the best. Or buy Powerball tickets. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Here is Voller’s record so far: He didn’t pay his taxes. He was widely quoted – and rightly excoriated – for saying Republicans are “raping” the state. He apparently has dumped interim ED Tammi Brunner, whom I know, have worked with and respect. He named himself interim ED. He hired a $7,000-a-month national fundraising consultant, which is fine so long as you raise one hell of a lot of money. He and the consultant went to Vegas together for an annual March Madness trip he makes with his college buddies, who he suggests will “throw a fundraiser in their hometowns of San Francisco, Chicago, New York and so forth.”
And, by the way, he promises to investigate $800,000 in prior party expenses. Just the man to do it, obviously.
One Democratic TAPster noted the irony: people of conscience submitting to arrest at the legislature, while Voller and his friends party in Vegas.
And you ask if the Democratic Party can come back?
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Gary Pearce posted on May 21, 2013 10:32
A veteran business lobbyist takes aim at both The N&O and the legislature – and makes a noteworthy point about how government in Raleigh today works – or doesn’t:
“The reality is that the influence of nearly all the usual political heavyweights -- not just BCBS -- has waned. Two factors contribute to this phenomenon. First, there's the arrogant, know-it-all attitude of most of the new crop of legislators who believe they're on a mission and don't have to listen to anybody. They make policy choices based on instinct and their personal experiences. They also believe that getting facts from a lobbyist somehow compromises their independence. This is a dangerous mindset when dealing with complex issues that are beyond the comprehension of most legislators.
“Second, ethics laws have created a unfortunate structural separation between those with knowledge and those who desperately need to know. It's harder than ever for lobbyists to share information, and the result is a poorly informed legislature that's making bad choices that are not limited to the insurance industry.”
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Gary Pearce posted on May 20, 2013 09:51
One word can say a lot. So it was with last week’s heated meeting between the Wake County commissioners and school board.
That “victory” was Senate passage of a bill taking control of building schools away from the Democratic-majority school board and giving it to the Republican-led commissioners.
First, Bryan was giving himself a lot of credit: “the victory we had.” Given the partisan lineup of the Senate, it wasn’t much of a contest.
Second, the comment betrays an underlying theme in this legislature. It’s not about good public policy. It’s not about good ideas. It’s not even about ideological consistency.
It’s about payback. Political revenge. It’s about: “We’re going to undo everything Democrats did, just because we can.”
Wake County voters will have a chance to ponder whether Republicans are putting their party’s interest above the public interest. What does Bryan’s quote tell them?
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Gary Pearce posted on May 16, 2013 15:17
A TAPster and long-time legislative lobbyist notes that, in politics, you must sometimes rise above principle:
“A pair of current debates in the General Assembly – when studied together – demonstrate that lofty political principles and high-minded ideals are quickly abandoned when they conflict with the reality of local politics.
“Tesla, the maker of electric autos, is tangled in a scrum to determine if it can sell its high-end vehicles directly to NC consumers rather than through dealerships. This fundamental free-market issue, which ought to resonate with free-market, less-government Republicans, is opposed by auto dealers, of course. Tesla’s plan to sell cars directly to consumers will make dealers irrelevant and obsolete.
“Who will win the fight? Local auto dealers, of course. They’ve played the political game at the local level for decades, collectively and individually contributing plenty of money (and perhaps a car or two) to legislators, who will happily allow government to continue to pick winners and losers in this business. Tesla probably has contributed nothing. End of game.
“Meanwhile, some legislators want to end the state’s renewable energy program because, in their view, the program injects government into the free market system and determines winners and losers in this industry. The free-market theory of this argument – and what looked like a legislative slam-dunk – is being confronted by a solar industry with enough employees and projects around the state that local legislators are spooked about pulling the plug. The renewable industry isn’t capable of making political contributions and its voice is largely unheard now that its Democrat champions are out of power, but local payrolls and investments trump free market theory every day.
“These choices make legislators look confused and disingenuous when they’re simply reacting to the oldest axiom in the business: all politics is local.”
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Gary Pearce posted on May 15, 2013 09:55
You can easily flick aside a Republican witch hunt on Benghazi. After all, they’ve been at it since Mitt Romney popped off the first day.
You can manage a controversy about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups – so long as, unlike Nixon, the White House wasn’t involved.
But your Justice Department subpoenaed AP reporters’ phone records? Now you’ve got a real problem.
Now you’ve made reporters and editors mad. Now they’ll plunge into an orgy of Nixon comparisons and “second-term jinx” stories. Now they’ll cover all the congressional investigations and hearings into all of the above.
This too, you can manage. But you may have to chop off some heads. And you must keep calm and carry on.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 14, 2013 08:58
Americans have a fine tradition of demonstrating, protesting, sitting-in and getting arrested when their government does something they don’t like. And we always have a great debate about whether the tactics help or hurt.
Do they? Look at what we’ve seen over the years: suffragettes, civil rights, anti-Vietnam, gay rights. And the Tea Party, whose protests took a different form but were the same loud and visible outpouring of discontent.
In the end, their causes all won – or at least their protests presaged later success at the ballot box or in public policy.
So don’t dismiss the Moral Mondays that seem to be gathering steam in Raleigh.
No, they won’t affect the Republican majority. The protests may, instead, just spur the legislature on to even more draconian actions.
And, no, demonstrating and getting arrested may not suit everyone’s personal preferences. (“I just don’t look good in an orange jumpsuit,” said one sympathizer. Not every young person needs or wants an arrest on their record, no matter how well-intended.)
But the tactics get attention. Like front-page, evening news attention. They get people wondering what the fuss is about. They bring a tighter focus on what the legislature is doing.
Most of all, they tell us where the passion is in today’s politics. And passion often is a prelude to progress.
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Gary Pearce posted on May 13, 2013 09:28
When the Raleigh City Council abruptly and mysteriously fired City Manager Russell Allen, you knew there had to be some major urban policy matter involved. Yep: parking places.
Now, politicians will put up with a lot. You can attack them, smear them, call them names, criticize their ideas and vote against them. That’s all part of the game. But you’ve got a war on your hands if you mess with two things: their offices and their parking places.
According to the N&O story by Colin Campbell, frustrations had built up for months among some “councilors,” as they call themselves. (When I was a cub reporter back in the dark ages, we called them “councilmen” and “councilwomen.” I guess “councilors” sounds somewhat British, lofty even.)
The “councilors,” like all politicians, thought they could do the professionals’ jobs best – and the manager’s job best of all.
The final straw apparently came when Allen didn’t respond quickly and forcefully enough to Councilor Randall Stagner’s complaint about people parking in the Councilors’ Reserved Parking Spaces.
Clearly, this was an outrage. Allen should have dropped everything. He should have personally addressed the matter. Failing to do so, he was invited to find a parking place in another city.
We trust that the new manager will get the message. How can Raleigh hope to be a truly world-class city if citizens feel free to park in City Councilors’ parking spaces?
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Gary Pearce posted on May 10, 2013 14:33
As a wise Raleigh vet observed over breakfast, the plan won’t pass. Too many special interests gored, too many lobbyists working and too much campaign money in play.
So don’t worry about how you’ll do under the plan. (Generally, if you don’t need a tax cut, you’d get one. If you and your family could desperately use some relief, you’d pay more taxes.)
Mainly, the proposal gives Berger a chance to tell Republican primary voters, “I proposed the biggest tax cut in North Carolina history.” And maybe: “Thom Tillis stopped it.”
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