Scaring the auto makers
On the front page of the News & Observer this morning the headline reads, “N.C. to debate religion bill.” To the left of that story is a summary of a story on page 6A that reads, “N.C. could be in running for Volvo plant.” The two stories explain why Governor Pat...
State of reaction
If North Carolina wants to see its future, it can look to Kansas and Indiana. The North Carolina Senate is following the trail blazed by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on taxes and Indiana Governor Mike Pence on discrimination. In Kansas, Brownback engineered massive...
The Senate’s punching bag
Wake County is the fastest growing county in a state where half the counties are losing population. It’s been the economic engine pulling North Carolina out of the recession. It’s attracting industry and Raleigh's downtown is becoming a destination. So what have...
Making government work vs. remaking government
If you thought the biggest political fights were between Democrats and Republicans, you should be watching the North Carolina General Assembly right now. The House and Senate are at odds on a lot of big issues. Let the sausage making begin. Right now, the two houses...
The price of overreach
John Hood has a nice piece on attempts by North Carolina Democrats to change electoral rules back in the 1980s. They were trying to limit the influence of Republican Governor Jim Martin and a group of newly elected Republican legislators. Ultimately, they backed down....
Tut-tut, Tata
So NC Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata went on Sean Hannity and then got into a twitter fight? Who does he think he is? Sister Toldjah? Saturday, on Hannity’s show, Tata blasted Obama for negotiating with Iran. Raleigh political consultant and activist Perry...
Chill, Democrats, a Senate candidate will emerge
Democrats in North Carolina are getting antsy about the US Senate race for Richard Burr’s seat. No candidate has emerged and everybody’s favorite pick, US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, has said he’s not running. In the vacuum, rumors and speculation run...
Drawing battle lines
The long session of the legislature is starting to get interesting. The sides are drawing battle plans and they are not along partisan lines. The forces driving the political debate are: urban versus rural, free-marketeers versus pragmatists, and local government...
Standing with Harry Brown and rural North Carolina
I’m so glad that Republicans are finally embracing redistribution of wealth. Sen. Harry Brown (R-Onslow) has proposed a new formula for doling out sales tax money that would take from the rich counties and give it to the poor. I wish they felt the same way about...
Purging state government
They got Tom Ross. Now, they are going after Scott Ralls. Under the Dome noted that Ralls, President of the North Carolina Community College System, is interviewing for a job as head of a college in Northern Virginia. Regardless of what he says publicly, my guess is...
