Archive for 2007
In Defense of “Teardowns”
One of our frequent readers – and commentators on Raleigh issues – sent us the following email. It gives a sensible perspective on the teardown/infill fight now going on at the City Council. So here it is, in full: This Council has a solution in search of a problem. The solution is regulation to limit…
Read MoreThe More Things Change…
It is true that the presidential race – in both parties – has seen numerous twists, turns, surprises and swings in momentum. But it is also true that the fundamental dynamic of both races is the same today as a year ago. For Democrats, the question is still who will make it a two-person race…
Read MoreSledgehammer Time Again
Everybody who wants to know what’s next in the Raleigh Scandals can get the preview by reading the following email sent out this morning by Joe (the Sledgehammer) Sinsheimer. Inadvertently, I’m sure, Joe revealed the emails of everyone to whom he sent the statement. That makes interesting reading, but I’m not passing the list along,…
Read MoreWhat’s Wrong With the Highway Patrol?
I can save the State of North Carolina $98,000. The state has given a contract that size to a consulting company “to conduct an in-depth review of the state Highway Patrol’s policies for hiring, training and promoting troopers.” Governor Easley ordered the review after a series of embarrassing cases of trooper misconduct, including some titillating…
Read MoreThe Big O
Oprah Winfrey has shown she can make best-sellers out of books, fads out of diet plans and Dr. Phil out of Dr. Phil. But can she make a front-runner out of Obama? Mr. Conventional Wisdom says no: Celebrity endorsements don’t move voters. But that’s not what Oprah does. She creates The Buzz of The New.…
Read MoreHackney Steps Up
After I posted my blog yesterday calling on Speaker Joe Hackney to clean the House of Thomas Wright, the Speaker did the right thing. (I don’t have any illusion that my blog is responsible, by the way.) By speaking out quickly – calling for an ethics investigation and a special session – Hackney met the…
Read MoreWhen Campaigns Change Direction
In a campaign, the first rule when you change strategy is: Don’t admit you’re changing strategy. But when a campaign dramatically changes what it’s saying, it’s changing strategy. Witness John Edwards and Beverly Perdue this week. Edwards introduced a new stump speech in Iowa: “America Rising.” It’s a return to the positive, optimistic Edwards who…
Read MoreBlind Dumb Luck?
Here’s how Presidential campaigns work: We put a candidate on a pedestal, strip off his clothes and let anyone who wants to beat on him with a cudgel – then we see how he reacts. Like trial by ordeal it’s brutal but whoever survives is probably tough enough to be President. The only way a…
Read MoreThe Sledgehammer Falls Again
Whenever I’m asked about the impact of bloggers on politics, I point to Joe (The Sledgehammer) Sinsheimer. This week, largely because of Sinsheimer, another protruding legislative nail got pounded. A Wake County grand jury indicted state Rep. Thomas E. Wright, a Democrat, on five felony charges of swindling banks, corporations and campaign contributors out of…
Read MoreSenate Democrats
A political constant for years in Raleigh has been Democratic dominance of the state Senate. Maybe not so much now. Marc Basnight’s hold on the Senate has relied on a number of old Democratic bulls who kept their seats in tough districts. Now, one of them has announced he won’t run again: John Kerr. And…
Read More