Shifting the tax burden
The Republican who introduced a bill that allows municipalities to offer a .25¢ sales tax exposes the folly of the GOP tax cuts over the last few years and the negative impact they’re having on North Carolina’s most struggling communities. Instead of providing...
Big night for Democrats in Virginia
Last night, Virginia held its primaries for governor, council of state and legislative races. While the telling time will be in November, the results point to continued enthusiasm among Democrats and stark division among Republicans. The Democratic primary had almost...
More like South Carolina than Kansas
Last week, Kansas ended its disastrous conservative experiment when the legislature passed tax increases to start filling the massive budget hole caused by radical tax cuts. Gov. Sam Brownback came into office promising that huge tax cuts would spur enough growth to...
Defending the indefensible
On Wednesday, Governor Roy Cooper called for a special session of the legislature to re-draw legislative districts that the Supreme Court found unconstitutional. In a twist, the session would run concurrently with the regular session now in progress. Republicans in...
A lesson in managing expectations
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be bad for the United States, but he’s good for the Republican Party. Democrats should watch McConnell to see how to manage expectations. As James Comey is set to testify, you can feel progressives’ giddiness over the...
Conservatives on climate change
One result of Donald Trump pulling the country out of the Paris agreement on climate change is Republicans are starting to explain their positions on the matter. Trump’s move made apparent to everyone that virtually no other country or world leader expresses any doubt...
Illegals
The silliest people on twitter yesterday were the Republicans trying to spin the Supreme Court’s declaration that North Carolina’s legislative districts are racially gerrymandered. They focused instead on the Court’s decision to send the remedy part, a special...
Fighting a two-front campaign
Back in 2014, Democratic strategists decided to make the Koch brothers the target of their campaign. The brothers put hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican campaigns and third-party organizations like Americans for Prosperity to attack Democrats and...
Trump’s smartest political move yet
Here’s my unpopular view of the week, possibly year. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord is his smartest political move yet. He’s satisfying both his base and conservative critics who’ve been doubting him from the beginning. He’s turned the conversation from...
When victories lead to defeat
John Davis, the non-partisan political analyst with a conservative bent, has a message for Democrats. He says the party needs to stop viewing politics through a 50 year-old lens. If they don’t, they could squander a tremendous political opportunity heading into...
