Notes on North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District
The Fourth Congressional District of North Carolina lies in the high-tech woodlands of the Tar Heel Piedmont. Affluent and liberal, NC-04 elected progressive Congressman David Price to the United States House for over 35 years. Price, a distinguished academic before...
Pistol Permits and Jim Crow?
Was the pistol permit law of 1919 an important part of "Jim Crow" efforts to deny access to arms for African Americans? That is not the real story. Public weapons possession was generally prohibited in England since the Statute of Northampton (1328) which forbade most...
The NCGOP’s Support for Ted Budd Reflects Growing Extremism on the Right
That the party establishment would unite behind Congressman Ted Budd is quite revealing for North Carolina Republicans. While never a scourge of the big boys on Hillsborough Street, neither was Ted Budd the obvious choice for electability-minded GOP elites. Further,...
Above the law
Madison Cawthorn has learned one lesson of the Trump era well: Republican politicians are above the law. He was stopped earlier this week for carrying a handgun in the Charlotte airport for the second time since he’s been in Congress. I doubt it was an accident. He...
The Republican #NCSEN Primary is an Intellectual Embarrassment
Ted Budd, public-sector union fan. That characterization is the only conclusion one can draw from the right-wing congressman's regular appearances alongside the boss of the National Border Control Council. This outfit, which I will admit to having been unfamiliar with...
Ugly Right-Wing Nationalism is on the Rise
I cannot recall the number of times right-wing trolls in North Carolina have accused me of being a "Yankee transplant." I do not take offense at this, because I believe that the influx of fellow Americans and international immigrants to North Carolina has been one of...
The accountability gap
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy lied…and lied…and lied. After the release of a book that claims McCarthy told people he would call on Trump to resign during the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, McCarthy denied that ever happened. And he denied it...
The corrupt and the incompetent
“If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.” Mitch McConnell in the wake of January 6. McConnell, of course, voted against impeachment just a few days later. He lost his spine, just like House Minority Kevin McCarthy who told colleagues he would call on Trump to...
The Politics of Fear are Coming to a Suburb Near You
Fifty-five percent of Americans live in suburban communities, so any analysis of "suburban" politics necessarily requires some nuance. Nonetheless, I think most readers will understand what political observers mean when they refer to the suburbs. That category entails...
The GOP seems to be consolidating around Budd
It appears that Republicans are closing ranks around Ted Budd in the US Senate primary. Earlier this week, Senate Presiden Pro Tem Phil Berger announced his endorsement and this morning, Budd is running ad with Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson touting his support. I...
The primary in NC-04 is a microcosm of the Democrats’ problem nationally
The division within the Democratic Party is playing out in the open primary in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District. On paper, it’s a crowded primary with eight candidates vying to succeed retiring Congressman David Price. In reality, three candidates have...
No-show Ted
Watching the Republican US Senate primary here in North Carolina sure makes me hope Cheri Beasley wins in November. Former Governor Pat McCrory is flailing, as incompetent and insincere as ever. Congressman Ted Budd is in the pocket of Donald Trump and allying himself...