Twitter matters
I’m back after taking a week to spend time with family instead of focusing obsessively on politics. I hope everyone is enjoying a happy holiday season. Last week, a group called Verifeed released a report saying that Republicans won the twitter war in North Carolina...
McCrory’s blame game
Pat McCrory is keeping alive the story of his taking almost $185,000 from a private company while a sitting governor. He’s calling the AP a “leftwing” news organization out to discredit politicians from the private sector. To bolster his claim, he had Phil Kirk, a...
Cashing in
Well, it looks like Pat McCrory is directing his communications team again. The governor’s press office issued four statements and press releases in 24 hours criticizing a report about him taking $185,000 in compensation from a company his administration regulates....
Corruption, hypocrisy and stupidity
Well, I think Pat McCrory is in trouble. The AP reported yesterday that he received almost $200,000 from Tree.com, a mortgage brokerage, after he was sworn in as governor. McCrory insists he did nothing illegal and blasted the report as “partisan drive-by journalism.”...
Delay-ing moderation
Don’t you miss former House Majority Leader Tom “The Hammer” Delay? The Dancing with the Stars contestant was in Asheville this week letting his crazy hang out. He called Obama a Marxist and called for putting religion back into government. I wonder which religion?...
Witch hunting
Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I think the panel looking at various institutes and centers on UNC campuses originated as a way to get Gene Nichol, director of UNC-CH’s Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. Thin-skinned Republicans have bristled at Nichol's sharply...
Just work harder
The debate over raising the minimum wage is heating up. In November, voters in four states passed referendums that would increase the minimum wage. Now, Republicans are pushing back hard. The free marketeers are casting doom and gloom scenarios to scare politicians...
A Republican coronation?
In 2014, establishment Republicans got what they wanted: moderate candidates for US Senate. In both 2010 and 2012, the GOP lost chances to take the Senate because unelectable candidates won Republican primaries. Candidates like Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Sharon...
The cost of resisting Obamacare
North Carolina has among the highest health insurance rates in the nation. You can blame the Republicans for that. Failing to expand Medicaid or set up state exchanges has left consumers holding the bag. Expanding Medicaid gives health insurance to people who...
The devil we know
Last week, I wrote about fantasy politics. This week, I’ll start with reality politics. Elizabeth Warren is my type of Democrat. She’s fiery and passionate about helping working-class families while reining in the excesses of Wall Street. She understands that flat...
