Trump Up

How is this possible? How can this poll be right? How can Donald Trump be leading the Republican presidential race in North Carolina with 16 percent of the vote? Why isn’t his lead much bigger? How can Republicans not support the self-described “most successful person ever to run for President”? A “really rich man.” A…

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Playing with Fire

Like him or not, Phil Berger’s about the most powerful politician around; last year, just so no one got confused about who rules the roost in Raleigh, he and the Senate Bull Mooses put the kibosh on the Governor’s pet ‘puppy mills’ bill and, this year, they’re creatively discovering ways to expand their power no…

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Dump Grant?

After Rob Christensen and I engaged in a high-toned debate on whether Alexander Hamilton should be on the $10 bill and I proposed that we instead dump Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill, a TAPster had a terse reply: “Hell no. Dump Grant, who was responsible for killing thousands of Americans and was a half-ass…

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Not so fast, Rob

Rob Christensen is right that Alexander Hamilton did much to create today’s America. But there’s another side to Hamilton’s coin – er, $10 bill. Yes, Hamilton’s contributions were remarkable. He became one of George Washington’s most effective combat commanders in the Revolution. He became President Washington’s most trusted counselor. He became the son that the…

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How Obama’s Whipping ISIS

The Kurds are about the only folks around who’ve whipped ISIS on a battlefield and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf States want to send them guns so they can whip ISIS some more but President Obama says No. He says the arms ought to be sent to Baghdad which, theoretically, in turn, will send…

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House Vs. Senate

First the House got its arms twisted by the Senate and cried uncle. WRAL’s Mark Binker described what happened last week after even Republicans in the House couldn’t swallow the Greensboro gerrymandering scheme: “House lawmakers weren’t smiling as they filed back into their chamber at 12:48 p.m. Thursday. Only 40 minutes ago they had rejected…

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A Transformation President

President Obama’s Commander-in-Chief but he has an unusual way of fighting wars. No soldier marches near a battlefield. Three out of four airstrikes return to base without dropping a bomb. And if you’re a general who thinks using overwhelming force makes sense, well, forget about it. It also looks like the President’s negotiating strategy is…

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Crazy Dust, Democratic Style

Carter blogged that, with Donald Trump polling in second place in the Republican race for President, some of his opponents might wonder whether “some evil genie popped out of a bottle and spewed crazy-dust all over Republican voters.” Well, Democrats take second place to none when it comes to crazy dust. How else do you…

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The Jewel in the Crown

When the scandal broke five years ago – after a ‘tweet’ by a tackle on the football team – the wise men at UNC faced a choice: Fess-up or cover-up. They covered-up. And eight media organizations sued because they wouldn’t make public records available to the press. Three months later, skating on thinner and thinner…

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Crazy Dust

Good Lord – in three new polls Donald Trump is in second place in the Republican primary for President. Trump trails only Bush in New Hampshire; only Walker in Iowa; and only Bush nationally (Bush 19%; Trump 12%). Imagine standing in Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or Rand Paul’s shoes: You’ve sweated and strained and sacrificed…

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