Archive for February 2011
Trial Lawyers
To my chagrin I haven’t written a syllable in weeks but at least the reason makes a curious story; – for a month I’ve been camped out with a tribe of trial lawyers, trying to explain the foibles of politicians in general and Republican politicians in particular. I’d like to say how I came…
Read MoreRecipe For Trouble
You can see this ad coming: “Unemployment is at double-digits. The state has a $3 billion budget deficit. North Carolinians have a hard time making ends meet. What did Governor Perdue do? She hired a new chef for the Executive Mansion. Salary; $76,000.” Gulp. Yes, the Governor must entertain. Dignitaries must be…
Read MorePie in the Sky
The most recent Elon Poll showed why politics is hard. Asked whether they support higher taxes or job cuts to balance the state budget, a majority of North Carolinians just said no. They don’t want either. No, that’s not logical. But voters don’t have to be logical. This dilemma was captured recently…
Read MoreNot Cairo
Overheated and over-caffeinated cable blowhards have been blowing hard about the amazing parallels they see between protests in Madison, Wisconsin and protests in the Middle East. From the right: dangerous anarchists on both continents are threatening the very foundations and stability of society. From the left: courageous patriots are standing up for their…
Read MoreA Stunning Stat
Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at the UNC J-School, gave me a stunning statistic from a report he worked on. It sums up how suddenly and dramatically the 2008 economic crisis hit North Carolina: “From April, 2008 to February, 2009 (a ten-month period), the state unemployment rate rose from 5…
Read MoreThe “Pryor Punch”
Last week, a reader – clearly crazed by alcohol or the legislature, or both – suggested a new cocktail named for the Governor: the “Bevtini.” (See Gov on Ice, below.) Now he submits a libation in honor of intense, energetic, often frenetic Rep. Pryor Gibson, who is leaving the House to work for Perdue:…
Read MoreThe Voters’ View
A focus group this week brought into clear focus the opportunities and challenges facing North Carolina Democrats and Republicans. A couple of participants said they’re feeling more optimistic about the direction of the state. Why? “For the first time in a hundred years, we have a legislature that understands where the revenue comes…
Read MorePower Plays
These aren’t lofty matters of principle. They’re raw, partisan power politics. In Wisconsin and New Jersey, the battles are between Republican governors and public employee unions. In North Carolina, the battles are over voter IDs and – soon – redistricting. Even Democrats who don’t like public employee unions see unions – and…
Read MoreThis Year’s Tea Party?
The seeds for the 2010 election were sown in August 2009 by the raucous public protests that morphed into the Tea Party movement. Will the public employee protests in Wisconsin sow the seeds for the 2012 election? Democrats hope so. Public employees are a big part of the party’s constituency. Democratic office-holders around…
Read MoreA Healthy Debate
Set aside the predictable posturing and apocalyptic doom-saying from both sides. North Carolina’s budget debate is a debate we need. Governor Perdue’s proposed budget is a classic North Carolina Democratic progressive budget. It’s a balance of program cuts, higher revenues and protection for education. It’s essentially the same approach that Democratic governors and legislators…
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