Budget values
Years ago, before North Carolina had a lottery but Virginia did, I was visiting a friend in Richmond. He was a moderate Republican who was not overly political. I asked him what he thought about the Virginia lottery. His answer gave a lot of insight into his...
Show me the money
When it comes to public education, the GOP is either in denial or a bubble--and maybe both. Their budgets have had a demoralizing impact on public schools, their employees and the families who attend them. In response, the Republicans keep putting out bogus data about...
Gaming the system
Who’d a thunk it? The party of sanctimony and the religious right is cozying up to the gambling, er, gaming, industry. First, they hold their state convention in a casino, then they rely on lottery tickets to fund their budget. That’s what I call budgeting like a...
The savviest Republican in Raleigh
Phil Berger proved, once again, that he is the savviest Republican leader in Raleigh. While Thom Tillis and Pat McCrory continue to avoid the Moral Monday protesters, the senate leader met with them. Not only is it smart politics, it’s what the leader of an open...
Blowing smoke on education
For years, when Democrats controlled the legislature, Republicans criticized education spending as nothing more than building an education bureaucracy. They said they wanted to put more money directly into the classrooms. Now that Republicans are controlling the...
If it ain’t broke: The car insurance edition
In the If It Ain’t Broke department, the legislature is considering a bill to “reform” the state’s auto insurance laws. North Carolina has the lowest rates in the Southeast and the sixth lowest in the nation. So who would want to “fix” such a good thing? Why, State...
The political price of the senate budget
If you are a Republican senator, living in one of the few swing districts and voted for the senate budget, you’re probably in trouble. Politics, you see, is about people, not ideology. And the budget you just voted for, whether the provisions actually become law or...
The GOP’s Medicon expansion
So far, Pat McCrory and the legislature have rejected the Medicaid expansion that would offer healthcare to 500,000 North Carolinians because: Medicaid is broken. they don’t trust the federal government to follow through on their commitment. it would be too...
Bowe Bergdahl and gotcha politics
The recent swap of Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban commanders is the latest illustration of the media and partisans’ rush to judgement. For five years, we’ve been hearing about Bergdahl as the only American soldier held captive in Afghanistan. Periodically, we saw...
Playing games with democracy
Let me state clearly that I think the amount of money spent in political campaigns and the ability to spend it without any transparency is bad for our democracy and gives too much power to narrow interests. However, let me also say clearly that the Udall Amendment, a...
