Nick

By Gary Pearce | 2023-04-02

The Galifianakis most North Carolinians know today is actor-comedian Zach. For politicos of a certain age, Galifianakis is Nick, Zach’s uncle and a former congressman from Durham who lost a Senate race to Jesse Helms in 1972. Nick died this week, at age 94. Rob Christensen, long-time political reporter for The News & Observer, wrote…

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The N&O leaves home

By Gary Pearce | 2018-05-08

The N&O has left its old home, about the same time I stopped getting the paper at home. I hope the change works out for both of us. It may be tough for them. I hear money is tight there, and my going digital-only is a $470 hit to their revenues. Rob Christensen was right…

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Helms and Trump

By Gary Pearce | 2016-12-10

Rob Christensen recently noted “a number of parallels” between Donald Trump and Jesse Helms. (“Trump, like Helms, rode populist streak as outsider”). But another parallel deserves attention. Read on. Rob wrote: “Both Helms and Trump were plain-spoken populists who gained much of their support from blue-collar workers and from people living in rural areas. “Both…

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