North Carolina – Democrats
What is Easley running for?
Governor Easley apparently gave an impressive speech to the Emerging Issues Forum this week. He talked about making North Carolina a leader in developing an advanced generation of electric cars. Energy was his topic, but it was his own energy that grabbed reporters’ attention. Jack Betts blogged about it. One capital reporter called around asking…
Read MoreThe Mind Reels
North Carolina’s Democratic politicos and media types are in a frenzy over the presidential primary. As Rob Christensen wrote Sunday, the circus is coming to town! So here’s what we’re working on, as they say on TV. Will North Carolina pick the nominee? Has our time come? Or will our moment be stolen from us?…
Read MoreA New Democratic Scandal
If the News & Observer is not careful pretty soon folks on Governor Easley’s Board of Transportation are going to be calling it a Republican newspaper. The N & O has grabbed a tiger by the tail. A few years ago the legislature passed a law requiring DOT Board members to report how much money…
Read MoreRun This Ad Tomorrow
The News & Observer reports how the candidates for governor are spending their money. Republican Fred Smith led the way spending the most, including $360,000 to publish his book, A Little Extra Effort, $100,000 for Lee Greenwood to write a song about him and $90,000 for barbecue. The second biggest spender, Bill Graham, spent $1.5…
Read MoreOn To North Carolina
Mark Johnson writes in today’s N&O and Charlotte Observer that it’s a mathematical certainty North Carolina’s presidential primary will count this year. But that doesn’t mean it will be decisive. Or that all Tar Heel Democrats will be happy about it. Take Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue. Suddenly, their calculus has a big X Factor.…
Read MoreMoore of the Same in Gov’s Race
Three recent developments in the Governor’s race sharpen the perception that Beverly Perdue’s campaign is not in the same league as Richard Moore’s. First was the Perdue debacle over Randy Parton. Then Moore came out against Duke’s Cliffside coal plant. Perdue panicked, then meekly took the same position. (But neither candidate, as The N&O pointed…
Read MoreCharacter Trumps Issues
The fall of John Edwards and the rise of John McCain prove that issues don’t matter that much in primary elections. Character counts. Now that Edwards is out, everybody says he drove the Democratic policy debate: poverty, universal health care, global warming and Iraq. He did. And he lost. Look at McCain. On issues, he…
Read MoreNC Loss and Gain for Edwards
North Carolina stands to both lose and gain from John Edwards dropping out. We lose a front-row seat in an exciting presidential race. The biggest losers are reporters like Rob Christensen and Mark Johnson. Now they have to stay home and cover dull races like Senate and Governor. But maybe – if things work out…
Read MoreImagine This
Imagine this. Two Democrats are arguing about John Edwards future. One says, ‘Why not? Why shouldn’t he do it? Here’s the scenario: Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid calls John Edwards, says, John, your running against Elizabeth Dole could mean Democrats keeping control of the Senate. Which could mean the end of the war in Iraq.…
Read MorePerdue Hits Sour Note on Parton
The worst wounds in politics are self-inflicted. Beverly Perdue was starting to draw blood by linking Richard Moore to the Randy Parton fiasco. Then The N&O got a copy of an email from one of her fundraisers soliciting $20,000 from the Parton crowd. It’s easy to say somebody should have seen this coming. As in:…
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