McCrory unchained
Pat McCrory’s at it again. Opening his mouth unscripted and making up stuff. This time it’s about visiting the General Assembly. Seems McCrory decided to stop by the legislature yesterday. For some reason, he tried to skirt through a committee room. Unfortunately,...
When poor people are the problem
Back in the early 1990s, I went to work as a human resource director for an aluminum die cast company. The company had moved to rural North Carolina from the Midwest because of low wages, low taxes and no unions. They hired me because their turnover rate was so high...
The only wave anybody will catch this year…
Apparently, there’s still talk about a Republican wave in November. At least enough for Nate Cohn of the The New York Times to speculate that there might not be one. I’ve never believed that this is a wave year. There’s been a bunch of hype about historical voting...
Over-the-top and ineffective. Time to adapt.
In the mid-1990s, direct mail was a new medium in North Carolina politics. In fact, targeted communications was a tactic generally reserved for Congressional races and those at the top of the statewide ballot. Legislative and local races relied on the time honored...
Maybe we’re in Kansas after all
So much for that Carolina Comeback. North Carolina lost thousands of jobs in June. In addition, the workforce is continuing to shrink. Pat McCrory and the Republicans have been claiming that the shrinking unemployment rate is due to massive hiring. But those claims...
Fjeld’s chance
On Tuesday, Laura Fjeld, the Democratic nominee for NC-06, got a huge break when Phil Berger, Jr. lost his runoff. She drew Mark Walker, an untested baptist preacher, as her opponent. Now, she’ll probably need another break to win--but that break might already be out...
NC-06: Laws of unintended consequences
There’s so much to say about the Republican runoff in NC-06 it’s hard to know where to start. First, Laura Fjeld won the primary. Second, we now know what would have happened to Thom Tillis in a runoff and, after the Cantor and Cochran races, the Republican...
Thomas Mills on the primary runoff results
Today, I’m offering an audio blog, my interview about the primary election runoff results with Patrick Johnson of WPTF. I'd like to thank Patrick for having me on this morning. We'll take a more in-depth look at the race later, but for now, check out the interview....
Back to the future: Latchkey kids
Remember Latchkey kids? No? Well, back in the late 1970s and 1980s, they were a pretty big deal. Kids as young as six years old were going home to empty houses because both parents were working and didn’t have the money for child care. They were called latchkey kids...
Weak
Yesterday, John Wynn noted the numbers look tough for Kay Hagan and that she lacks a clear path victory. I disagree with his reading of the numbers but I also think there are factors more important than polling. Candidates still matter and Thom Tillis is a weak one. ...
