Young Voices

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is closer to my age than to young voters, but he gets why Democrats should listen to them – and understand their life experiences. On our Zoom conversation last week with state Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton, Fontes said: “I didn’t grow up in a world where I had to…

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Our Better Angels

“If we’re ever going to find our better angels again, it has to start with us setting the example of how to disagree better.” – Utah Governor Spencer Cox Republicans and Democrats now live in separate worlds; each watches their own cable news network; they quarrel, bicker, every day in Congress; political wars are meaner…

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Go Young, Democrats

Last week, I moderated a Zoom conversation that turned to Democrats’ huge opportunity with voters under 35 – the later Millennials and Generation Z. I’m a Gen Geezer, and my generation should listen up. The conversation was with state party Chair Anderson Clayton and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who last month gave the…

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Wolfpack Howled, Too

A fellow N.C. State alum emailed that it wasn’t just UNC students who protested the infamous Speaker Ban Law in the 1960s – a precursor to today’s legislature squelching free speech at our universities. My blog “Free Speech Under Attack – Again” (link below) was inspired by Hugh Stevens’ story of how the Speaker Ban…

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Run Everywhere?

A reader wrote about North Carolina Democrats’ 2024 strategy: “I question the wisdom of trying to recruit Democratic candidates in all 170 legislative districts. Precincts and counties that voted overwhelmingly for Trump seem like lost causes to me.” Indeed, some places are 70 percent Republican. Why run there? Here’s why. Josh Stein won the 2020…

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Fired Up!

Less than 24 hours after I blogged that Democrats in the legislature seemed “beat down,” I got corrected. One of the House Democratic leaders called Saturday morning to tell me that caucus members are fired up, energized and getting organized for 2024, 2026, 2028 – and for taking the majority by the end of the…

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Democrats’ Split Personality

There are two wildly divergent states of mind – and emotional states – among North Carolina Democrats today. I saw one at last Saturday night’s Unity Dinner in Raleigh. I see and hear the other among Democrats in politics and government in Raleigh. At the dinner, 400-plus eager, energized and enthusiastic Democrats jammed the reception,…

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“MAGA Fascists” vs Democracy

Adrian Fontes doesn’t mince words. He calls election-deniers “MAGA fascists.” Fontes, Arizona’s newly elected secretary of state, was the keynote speaker at the state Democratic Party’s Unity Dinner Saturday night. The big, burly ex-Marine with a booming voice and commanding presence delivered the most powerful and inspiring speech I’ve heard since Barack Obama in 2008.…

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Dining With Democrats

I’m doing something Saturday I haven’t done in years: go to a Democratic Party dinner. There, I’ll remember a man who is little known to Democrats, but meant a lot to me – and to North Carolina. The occasion is the state party Unity Dinner. I’ve done my time at these things. I’ve half-eaten too…

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“Deeply Sad” Abortion Ad?

A right-wing blog took a swing this week at Rachel Hunt’s abortion ad – and at her father, former Governor Jim Hunt. In a blog headlined “Rachel Hunt releases deeply sad campaign video,” Andrew Dunn wrote in Longleaf Politics: “State Sen. Rachel Hunt is making the abortion issue the centerpiece of her campaign for lieutenant…

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