Racism certainly isn’t dead
At around the time Ralph Northam and other Virginia Democrats were wearing blackface, a fraternity at UNC-CH hosted annual “Southern Parties” that, in 1979, featured a mock lynching of a brother in blackface by two other brothers in KKK robes and hoods. Another...
Medicaid expansion is coming
Here’s my prediction for the legislative session: North Carolina will expand Medicaid this year. Roy Cooper is set on it and Republican opposition is concentrated most fervently in the leadership, not the rank and file. It has broad support among the voters and much...
Yearbooks and purity tests
When I was kid, National Lampoon released its parody of high school yearbooks. It was a send up that was irreverent, bawdy, and hilarious. I was ten years old when it came out and, along with Mad Magazine, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Saturday Night Live skits,...
Instead of gloating over Northam, Republicans should do something
Racist photos of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam surfaced this weekend. The photos appeared in his medical school year book depicting a white person in blackface dressed in preppy clothing of the day, madras pants and bow tie, standing by another person in Ku Klux...
Dear GOP, listen to Senator Scott
Dear GOP, When the most one of the most prominent African-Americans in your party tells you that a guy has a disturbing racial history, you ought to listen, not rebuke him. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) understands the strategy used by Jesse Helms and the Republican Party...
Watch the freshmen
Back in 1994, Republicans steamrolled Democrats and ushered in a new class of freshmen legislators in North Carolina and Congress. With their victory, that freshman class completed the Reagan Revolution and changed politics in Washington and Raleigh. This year, the...
About that billionaire
I’m no fan of billionaires running our country. I don’t like Donald Trump and I’m not supportive of Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer or anyone else whose net worth reaches ten figures. I don’t think those people have any idea how the rest of us live and I don’t believe...
A brief look at some 2020 candidates so far
Primaries are filling up early this year, especially for lieutenant governor. On the Democratic side, Sen. Terry Van Duyn, former state senator Cal Cunningham and Rep. Yvonne Holley are in. Rep. Chaz Beasley sure sounds like he’s running but so far just says he’s...
Scandals and cronyism as the legislature begins
We’ve had election fraud in the form of unprecedented gerrymandering that’s left us voting in different Congressional, legislative and even municipal district multiple during the decade since the GOP took power. We’ve had power grabs designed to concentrate power in...
Winning is now the core Republican value
Yesterday, the North Carolina GOP held a press conference to announce, “You know all that noise we made about election integrity for the past decade? We were just kidding.” Instead, they’re advocating to seat a candidate who knowingly hired a convicted felon with...
