From China With Love

Governor Perdue reached across the Pacific to Washington last week to make a point that signals her 2012 strategy: Republicans are hurting education.   While she was in China, her office sent a letter to Senators Hagan and Burr endorsing “The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act.”   She wrote that the bill,…

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Trial By Ordeal

In 1996 six months after Steve Forbes began his campaign for President his brother Tim told me, Here’s how Presidential campaigns work: They stand my brother up on stage then they strip all his clothes off and beat him to a pulp. But in a way it makes sense. Because, I guess, people figure if…

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Selective Credit

It was interesting watching Republicans react to the death of Gadhafi and the end of his regime. It pained them to give President Obama any credit.   They strained instead to find a way to give credit to President Bush.   Just like when Osama was killed. The Republicans were quick to credit Bush.  …

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The Vanishing Cuts

If Bev Perdue had a few more Cabinet Secretaries like Lanier Cansler she’d never have to cut spending a penny – no matter what Republican legislators said.   Last summer the Republicans told Cansler to cut the state’s $12.9 billion Medicaid budget by $350 million. The other day a team of legislators came back to…

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The Last Two Candidates?

Judging by the Las Vegas debate, the seven guys and the one lady running for President in the Republican Primaries are getting testy.   Right off, with no pleasantries, everyone lit into Herman Cain – which seems to be the paradigm for Republican Presidential campaigns. The pundits and bloggers and Fox News anoint a flavor…

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911 for 999

Taxes are to politicians as zappers are to bugs. They can’t resist the temptation, and they end up getting fried.   Latest example: Herman Cain. Or, as he would say, “Herman Cain!”   In their debate this week, his Republican rivals pretty well ripped apart his 999 tax plan. Turns out it would raise taxes…

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One Rip-off, Two Villains

Here’s an unusual experiment in ethics: Is Citibank guilty or innocent of bilking investors by selling home mortgage bond packages? The answer, the bank says, is neither. It’s neither innocent nor guilty. In fact, it’s neutral on the issue. But, the bank adds, it will pay a $285 million fine to put the past behind…

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A Democratic Pope?

A Republican TAPster sends along this N&O blog with the observation: “Looks like the Democrats might have found their version of an Art Pope.”   Keung Hui, in a blog headed, “Dean Debnam’s group gives Common Sense Matters another $25,000,” wrote:   “It looks like we should expect another flurry of mailers from Common Sense…

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The 2012 Stimulus

One industry in North Carolina is guaranteed to get a big boost next year: the political industry.   President Obama’s two-day bus tour this week gave a glimpse of what’s to come. You’re going to see a lot of him the next 13 months – and a lot of the Republican candidate.  And they’re all…

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Bail Bonding

Some ne’er-do-well over in Johnston County got himself arrested, thrown into jail, hired a bail bondsman, then skipped town leaving the bondsman holding the bag. Which left the bondsman with 20 days to file a motion to get his money back – if he could show the bail jumper had died unexpectedly or been locked…

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