Driving back to the Stone Age
In the News & Observer this morning State Representative Paul Stam said, “Light rail is sort of a dinosaur of the 20th century or the 19th century.” Well, that sure is the pot calling the kettle black. Stam is certainly a leading member of the GOP Flat Earth...
Taxing poor people
Well, now we know what’s holding back North Carolina’s economy. It’s those damn poor people hoarding all that money and demanding too many services. Thank goodness the Republicans in the General Assembly are there to make sure they pry it loose and get it back its...
Let the real mischief begin
After nine months of muddling around Raleigh, bringing more bad headlines to the state, the legislature finally passed its budget. Now, we better buckle our seat belts. The real mischief is about to begin. Legislative leaders say they will adjourn on September 30....
Steady downward spiral
The budget is out and the impacts are becoming clear. The party that complains about the redistribution of wealth is continuing to redistribute wealth. Instead of shifting resources from those who have them to those that don’t, they are again reaching into the pockets...
Why I won’t vote for Bernie Sanders
It seems yesterday’s blog post caused quite a stir among Bernie Sanders supporters. For the record, I agree with much of what Sanders says and I’ve always liked him in the Senate. That said, I don’t think he has snowball’s chance in hell of becoming president. First,...
Let’s have a primary
Bernie Sanders brought his campaign to North Carolina yesterday. An overflow crowd of around 10,000 people packed the Greensboro Coliseum Special Event Center. It was an impressive showing but Sanders will never be president. Bernie is this year’s Howard Dean. He’s...
State-sponsored discrimination
Well, if we ever needed proof that the law to allow magistrates to opt out of marrying gay and lesbian couples is discriminatory, we’ve got it. All of the magistrates in McDowell County have opted out. That’s a clear signal from the government of McDowell that if...
What a difference a Speaker makes
What a difference a speaker makes. If you want to blame one person for this session of the legislature dragging into September, Tim Moore would be the man. It’s not because he’s failing. It’s because he’s doing his job. For the past few session, the legislature has...
The RGB rules of political campaigns
Ross G. Bates passed away last week but he left us with these pearls of wisdom. A Republican friend of mine stumbled across this blog that Ross wrote and suggested we post it. It's great advice for anyone involved in politics, regardless of political persuasion....
R.I.P. Ross Bates
When Ross Bates died on Friday, the world of political consulting lost a pioneer. He was one of the first political consultants to use direct mail as a primary source of communications in campaigns. I lost a great friend. In the 1970s in Los Angeles, Ross and a group...
