The 98 pound weakling and his weak recovery
Give Pat McCrory and his team credit for staying on message. Almost two years ago, McCrory responded to a scathing op-ed about North Carolina in the New York Times. McCrory said that contrary to the “liberal world view of The Times,” he was leading North Carolina in a...
Standing in the schoolhouse door
With the override of Pat McCrory’s veto of Senate Bill 2, the rebranding of North Carolina that McCrory promised when he took office is complete. We’re no longer that enlightened Southern state that was a destination for high tech companies and tourists. We’re now...
Square pegs in round holes
There’s a saying that history is always written by the winners. In North Carolina, Republicans are trying to re-write history. It’s called revisionist history and to hear them tell it, the Democrats who ran the state throughout the latter half of the twentieth century...
Lessons from Raleigh
Downtown Raleigh is growing up. It’s got new shiny towers, fun bars, great restaurants, and a vibrant nightlife. Now, it’s got the disputes that come with the territory. Right now, restaurant and bar owners are fighting over outdoor seating. It seems some people want...
Guns, gays, and abortion
Tim Moore came into power pledging to show that the GOP can govern. Pat McCrory hoped the 2015 legislative session would be about jobs. Instead, it’s about guns, gays, and abortions. The social conservatives are driving the agenda right now and it’s not what people...
The Republican’s rebel leader
A lot of North Carolina Republicans woke up Sunday morning to find that their new state party chair is an African-American man with a Muslim sounding name. Hasan Harnett of Harrisburg beat establishment candidate Craig Collins for a two-year term that includes next...
Living in the shadow of the General Assembly
Well, it looks like Pat McCrory is just going to be a sideshow once again. After looking irrelevant in the 2013 session of the legislature, he started the year with big ideas and tried to show a little muscle. This week, the Republican leaders in the General Assembly...
He lied
Pat McCrory lied. There’s really no other way to look at it. In a debate during the 2012 election, McCrory was asked, “What further restrictions on abortion would you agree to sign?” He answered, simply and definitively, “None.” Yesterday, he said he will sign into...
The rigid confines of ideology and religion
Today’s political news will be dominated by the debate over whether or not to allow magistrates to forego their responsibilities to their jobs and opt out of marrying same-sex couples. The whole debate is depressing and a symbol of how far North Carolina has fallen....
Carpetbagging Tony Tata
So Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata wants to run for Congress against Walter Jones, Jr. What hubris. The guy gives new meaning to the term carpetbagger. Not only has he only been in North Carolina for five years, he’s never lived anywhere near NC-03, the district...
