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North Carolina - Democrats
Gary Pearce posted on August 23, 2012 12:28
I had just seen “The Campaign,” which appears loosely based on Fayetteville and the 7th District, when I saw a commercial for the real Democratic incumbent, Mike McIntyre.
In the movie, Cam Brady (Will Ferrell, looking spookily like John Edwards) stands proudly for “America, Jesus and freedom.”
McIntyre’s ad, which lasts an interminable minute, has just about as much substance. It’s Exhibit A for why voters really shouldn’t hope that candidates drop the negative ads and “just say what they believe.”
According to his ad, McIntyre believes we should:
“Respect hard work and honor a soldier’s sacrifice.”
“Encourage our children.”
“Strengthen our spirit of accomplishment.”
“Make life better for our families.”
“That’s why I work so hard for our farmers.”
“Protect Social security and Medicare for our seniors.”
“Bring good paying jobs to our area.”
“Honor those who wear our nation’s uniform.”
“Help our kids learn values like teamwork and responsibility – the same values I taught as a Little League coach and Sunday school teacher.”
“For southeastern North Carolina, faith and family always come first.”
“I want to continue serving…this wonderful place we all call home.”
If he missed one, I don’t know it. Give him the Oscar for Most Content-Free Political Spot.
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Carter Wrenn posted on August 21, 2012 15:43
The other day Gary wrote “Why They Lie” about the election in 1984 when Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms were duking it out and how elbow throwing was acceptable in that campaign but outright lying was taboo – that was one line both Helms and Hunt feared to cross. Because they’d pay a price.
That line was still there twenty-four years later when Liddy Dole called Kay Hagan an ‘atheist’ – and paid a price.
But the line has vanished this year, as if the whole country’s chosen sides and made up its mind it’s fine to say anything to win.
On one side we’ve got Mitt Romney supporters saying Barack Obama was never an American citizen and the other side we’ve got Barack Obama supporters saying Mitt Romney is to blame for a woman dying of cancer and it all has Gary shaking his head, wondering, “Does it go on and on like this? Or is there a breaking point?”
Well, we’ve landed in a very old political swamp.
I’ve been reading William Shirer’s The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940.
On September 1st, 1939 in Berlin the German politicians announced Poland had attacked Germany in twelve places – then added, ‘Polish bombs are falling on German soil.’ Before the Germans the Greeks, Romans, French and Russians all had Caesars, Napoleons and Commissars who had no qualms about crossing lines and, in the end, the swamp consumed them all.
So, yes, there is a breaking point.
The question is do we want to reach it?
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Carter Wrenn posted on August 20, 2012 10:17
It doesn’t take a great deal to turn a fellow’s head – a blonde whispering in his ear, unexpected praise from a stranger, a new sports car. Humility’s hard to come by and harder still to hold onto which, I guess, is one reason the Good Lord made the world such a difficult place to live in.
When it comes to humility, we Republicans have had a couple of head-turning years. Obama’s been unpopular. The 2010 election was a blessing beyond our wildest dreams. We’ve had veto overrides in the state legislature. Pat McCrory’s been ahead in the Governor’s race. And Republicans draw the new legislative districts so the future looks bright.
So, maybe, it’s just waywardness to think, It looks too good to be true.
But, that said, I’m beginning to have an uneasy feeling that in subterranean caverns political tides are turning in a not good way and since our hopes this election rest on the single political fact of President Obama’s unpopularity we Republicans may be a bit too blissful.
Anyhow, there is an antidote: I’ve taken to reading about Harry Truman and the election of 1948 that Republicans were sure to win.
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Gary Pearce posted on August 16, 2012 11:10
Over the last six years, the state’s graduation rate has gone up nearly 12 percentage points –from at 68.3 percent in 2006 to 80.2 percent.
It’s laughable for Republicans, who have been in power for two years, to claim credit. It’s more logical for Governor Perdue and Superintendent June Atkinson to credit investments and programs put in place during the last decade.
But think about this: Students graduating last year are 19 years old now. They were born in 1993. That’s the first year of Jim Hunt’s third term as governor. It’s the year he started putting Smart Start in place – stronger early-childhood programs for all pre-school children, not just poor kids. It’s the year he put in the ABCs standards and accountability program. In 1997, when these students were four years old, he pushed through the Excellent Schools Act. That committed North Carolina to raising teacher pay to above the national average, which we did.
When Hunt left office in 2001, the students whose graduation rate would top 80 percent were eight years old – about to enter third grade. For the next 10 years, they enjoyed the benefits of the programs Hunt put into place.
Obviously, I’m no unbiased source here. But too often in politics, we fail to consider the long haul. It’s an instant-gratification business. Education is a long haul.
Twenty years ago, Jim Hunt planted seeds. The crop is coming in.
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Gary Pearce posted on August 15, 2012 09:15
Forget the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Forget the attacks on Erskine Bowles when he ran for Senate. Republicans now desperately embrace Bubba and Bowles.
Why? Because they can’t find a respected Republican to cite. Certainly not George W. Bush, who blew up the Clinton-Bowles balanced budget and gave us this recession.
Instead, they slobber over Clinton’s welfare reform. And (mis)quote Bowles to bolster the Romney-Ryan budget. Never mind the facts: do anything to make it look like we’re just like our buddies Bill and Erskine.
Clearly, Republicans realize they’re in danger of going too far right. So they reach for a centrist lifeboat and – behold – find two Southern Democrats.
“This month, Romney said that his tax reform proposal is ‘very similar to the Simpson-Bowles plan.’ How I wish it were. I will be the first to cheer if Romney decides to embrace our plan. Unfortunately, the numbers say otherwise: His reform plan leaves too many tax breaks in place and, as a result, does nothing to reduce the debt.
“The ‘zero plan’ our commission recommended offered both parties an appealing bargain: lower tax rates for everyone in return for sweeping reduction in tax loopholes of every stripe. Taxpayers and the economy would benefit from a vastly simpler Tax Code, and getting rid of loopholes would produce more than $1 trillion of the $4 trillion needed in deficit reduction. Our commission produced an alternative plan showing how much individual rates would need to go up, and who would have to pay for them, if lawmakers decided to preserve certain tax expenditures.
“The most important lesson Al [Simpson] and I learned on the commission is that to fix the debt, everything must be on the table. Americans everywhere have told us that as long as the sacrifice is shared, they are ready to do their part. The surest way to doom deficit reduction is to play favorites by taking things off the table.
“So although I give Romney credit for pledging to reform the Tax Code to reduce loopholes, his current proposal will not take us to the promised land. Our commission’s tax plan broadens the base, simplifies the code, reduces tax expenditures and generates $1 trillion for deficit reduction while making the Tax Code more progressive. The Romney plan, by sticking to revenue-neutrality and leaving in place tax breaks, would raise taxes on the middle class and do nothing to shrink the deficit….
“Obama hasn’t gone as far in cutting spending, particularly in health care, as is necessary to stabilize the debt at a reasonable level and keep it on a downward path as a percentage of the gross domestic product. But in contrast to Romney, the president — like the ‘Gang of Six’ and other like-minded members of both parties — has embraced the central principle of Simpson-Bowles: that America will turn the corner on its debt only if Republicans and Democrats come together to support a balanced deficit-reduction plan. For the numbers to work, both parties need to put aside partisanship.”
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Gary Pearce posted on August 14, 2012 13:01
A veteran legislative hand and former lobbyist offers this perspective on how Raleigh has changed:
“If you want to really understand today's political world, understand how the politicians view the role of lobbyists.
“Democrats see lobbyists as a source of information to help them make a decision.
“Republicans see lobbyists as a source of funding to help them win the next election.
“It's as simple as that.”
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Carter Wrenn posted on August 09, 2012 10:13
Whenever the question of how to improve education in North Carolina comes up the Democrats are a paragon of consistency: The solution, they say, is to spend more money.
Now, right or wrong, the Democrats are dead serious and whenever Republicans (who have a different idea about solutions to problems) don’t spend more on education the Democrats are just naturally confounded.
But the other day a puzzling fact, for Democrats, surfaced.
Democratic House Leader Joe Hackney announced he was shocked, just shocked that the Republicans in the State House were taking credit for an increase in high school graduation rates: Hackney said the Republicans had cut education spending and fired 6,000 educators – so it just wasn’t possible that they accomplished one bit of good. The real credit, Hackney continued, belonged to Democrats who, in years past, had spent millions for programs that are at last bearing fruit.
Now it’s possible Joe Hackney may be correct but, then again, there’s no escaping that odd fact: After Republicans cut education spending high school graduation rates did go up.
So, maybe, Republicans have a point too – money isn’t the solution to everything
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Luther Snyder posted on August 08, 2012 13:28
**Gary is taking a break from blogging and he asked a few Tapsters to post a few blogs. Here is another one a Tapster sent in:
The biggest day of the 2012 political calendar is August 10.
No, that’s not the start of the much-ballyhooed and underfunded Democratic National Convention, nor is it the first day of the Republican National Convention or even election day in this great country.
It’s premiere day for the new movie “The Campaign”!
Lobbyists, politicos, pundits and others are eager to see the new Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis comedy flick about a fictional North Carolina congressional campaign.
For a change, we can laugh at somebody besides our state’s real-life political comedians who spent much of the last decade in courtrooms, handcuffs and prison cells creating drama and spectacle beyond even Hollywood's imagination.
Bring on the popcorn! Can’t wait!
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Luther Snyder posted on August 07, 2012 15:51
**Gary is taking a break from blogging and he asked a few Tapsters to post a few blogs. Here is one a Tapster sent in:
The rankings of the allegedly most influential lobbyists were released last week by the NC Center for Public Policy Research. This biennial joke was greeted by the usual laughter and derisive snorts from knowledgeable insiders who see the list for the pitiful sham that it is.
Most pros concede that top-ranked lobbyist Dana Simpson probably deserves his spot, as do some of those in the top 10. After that, it’s pretty sketchy. The top half of the list includes a handful of nice people who couldn’t pass or kill a bill if they had to, and includes some treacherous backstabbers who spend more time lobbying for their spot on the list than on issues for their clients. Some folks in the bottom half of the rankings are complete nobodies.
So, here’s a sincere call to Center boss Ran Coble to come clean. Be transparent! Tell us how many votes each lobbyist received from legislators, lobbyists and the media.
Ran, you really need to do this. The 2012 fantasy list hurts the credibility of your organization. It’s simply not believable that the list published by the Center reflects the actual outcome of the vote. It looks contrived and manipulated.
If you are unwilling to be transparent, then quit doing the poll and leave the comedy lists to Letterman.
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Carter Wrenn posted on August 02, 2012 10:36
It started four years ago as an uneven fight: Five rural County Commissioners against a multi-national conglomerate with plants from Iceland to Arabia – so, losing ground, the Commissioners who’re Republicans turned to the Democratic Governor for help and got it in an odd way: The Governor helped but, at the same time, her Department of Natural Resources joined hands with Alcoa in a lawsuit against the Commissioners. Alcoa even flew in a lawyer from Los Angeles to try the state’s case and it turned out he was the same lawyer who’d defended the nefarious power company in the movie Erin Brockovich.
Toward the end of the trial the discouraged County Commissioners were on the ropes but then, unexpectedly, manna fell from heaven – Alcoa’s executives admitted under oath they’d been misleading their state allies about the pollution at their dams.
The Commissioners got a reprieve but after that the fight dragged on and on as the Commissioners watched their treasury get emptier and emptier until they were on the ropes again – then, out of a clear blue sky, manna fell from heaven a second time.
The Commissioners got a call from a company they’d never heard of – AltaGas – which was interested in buying Alcoa’s hydroelectric dams;– – better still, AltaGas was willing to share profits from the dams with a local commission (to help create jobs) and, in time, the commission would be able to buy the dams for a reasonable price then use all the hydroelectricity to create jobs.
Thanking their lucky stars the Commissioners announced they were ready to end their long hard battle with Alcoa – if Alcoa would agree to sell its dams to Alta Gas.
Alcoa said No.
And that sounds like a hard blow to the Commissioners but, on the other hand, a little bit of unexpected salvation goes a long way and those Commissioners have now been saved twice when they didn’t expect it.
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