Welcome, Rick. Bringing a new perspective to PoliticsNC
I’ve been on Twitter for almost 12 years and I’ve been on Facebook a couple of years longer. I’m getting tired of them. While they have enabled me to keep up with friends, offered me new perspectives, introduced me to new thinkers and magazines, and given me more than...
Happy Birthday, Hiram Revels
In the spirit of Black History month, which I have done little to recognize, I want to celebrate Hiram Rhodes Revels, who was born on this day in 1827. Revels was the first African American to serve in the United States Congress. Revels was born in Fayetteville, North...
Lessons for the NC GOP
When Senator Phil Berger became Senate President Pro-Tem of the North Carolina Senate, he clearly followed the model established by his Democratic predecessor, Marc Basnight. Berger runs an organized caucus that rarely airs its laundry in public. If there are power...
The new swing Voters
Yesterday, I looked at voters who are shifting parties and what that might mean. As Republicans transition away from the GOP, they may bring back an endangered species—the swing voter. For the last decade or so, persuadable voters have been disappearing, swallowed up...
Echoing the Reagan re-alignment
Dr. Michael Bitzer has an interesting post on Twitter this weekend. He’s watching who switched parties and where they went after the election. While the numbers are small, they indicate Republicans are leaving their party at a significantly greater pace than Democrats...
Something to complain about
Since the beginning of the pandemic, conservatives have been demanding that we re-open schools. Teachers and school personnel have been demanding a vaccine before they go back into the classroom. Finally, we have the vaccine so both sides can get their way. Last...
Dispatches from The GOP civil war
The North Carolina Republican Party unanimously voted to censure Senator Richard Burr for voting to convict Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. Senator Ben Sasse faces censure from the Nebraska GOP and Utah Republicans are circulating a petition to censure Mitt...
We are failing our children
Here’s my latest unpopular opinion, at least among people who generally agree with me. We should be reopening schools and our reaction and response to the coronavirus has been driven more by hysteria than reality. The damage we are doing to our children is unknown,...
The Patriot and the Coward
The Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump for the second time, telling the world that the United States will not hold its elected leaders accountable for criminal behavior. We are in a shameful period in our history. The Republican Party has degenerated into...
A more honest history
Last week, the State School Board passed new standards for teaching social studies to include information about racism, discrimination, and identity. Republicans, including Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, opposed the changes, claiming they are anti-American. I did...
