Cooper’s leverage
In light of Pat McCrory’s accusations of voter fraud and voting irregularities, Democrats started to suspect that the governor was trying to cast enough doubt about the legitimacy of the election that the legislature would determine the outcome. Republicans scoffed at...
Politics of low expectations
In 2015, I had two friends working on the Kentucky governor’s race. Their candidate was popular Attorney General Jack Conway. I called both on the day of the election to wish them luck. Both told me the same thing: they were expecting a nice victory that evening....
Gerrymandering democracy
North Carolina will have elections for General Assembly again this year. The federal court ordered the legislature to redraw unconstitutional districts by March 3, 2017 and hold elections by the end of the year. Democrats are celebrating the chance to break the GOP...
An assault on democracy
If Pat McCrory’s attempt to win the election through challenging voters does anything, it should put to rest the Republican notion of widespread voter fraud. His appeals have shown that fraud is rare and statistically insignificant. GOP attempts to restrict access to...
Maybe Democrats should fight like Republicans
Maybe Democrats should take a page out of Pat McCrory and the NCGOP’s playbook. Almost before the votes were counted, McCrory and company were crying voter fraud. As McCrory’s inevitable loss became apparent, they upped the game by filing complaints of voting...
To steal an election
For six years, Republicans in the General Assembly have undermined the democratic process in North Carolina. They began by overriding county and municipal governments' redistricting plans by redrawing local political districts like the Wake School Board and Buncombe...
Lessons from North Carolina: Prepare for the worst
When Republicans took over state government in North Carolina in 2012, progressives spent the first few of months of 2013 stunned at the breadth of the GOP changes. The Republican legislature and the compliant Pat McCrory quickly began dismantling Democratic policies...
Casting doubt on the system
Pat McCrory is continuing to do damage to our state and he’s following the Fox News model of bringing into question the credibility of the institutions that have assured our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. His criticism is meant to divide instead of...
Lick your wounds and get ready to fight
For Democrats and progressives, this election has been the hardest in our lifetimes. For America, it could be the most damaging. Not only is Trump singularly unqualified and polarizing, most of the country believed we were about to elect the first woman President of...
McCrory to Trump Administration?
While Pat McCrory’s lawyers and partisans are hunkering down for a long recount of last Tuesday’s election results, the governor himself is hedging his bets. McCrory was in Orlando for the Republican Governor’s Association. So was Mike Pence. Rumor has it that McCrory...
