The Right-Wing Culture of Violence
In 1898, Senator "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman of South Carolina urged a mob of white North Carolinians to murder a Black man and make him "food for the catfish at the bottom of the Cape Fear River." Those North Carolinians wheeled a Gatling gun into Wilmington and killed...
Party of fools
Yesterday, we learned that one of Mark Meadows pen pals during the January 6 assault on the Capitol was Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Washington Post got copies of 29 texts that show Thomas and Meadows were determined to...
John Kasich and the Moral Case for Medicaid Expansion
North Carolina's only two-term Republican governor, James G. Martin, endorsed Governor John Kasich for president in 2016. Martin had the clairvoyance to recognize Kasich as one of the few remaining Republicans with a tie to the genteel tradition of business...
So much for diversifying the GOP
Yesterday was a bad day for those Republicans who want to diversify their party. After the way GOP members of the Senate Judiciary committee treated Ketanji Brown Jackson, Republicans have lost Black women for another 25 years. And the NC GOP’s rising African American...
Democrats Need to Get Better at Reading the Public’s Mood
The last three Democratic Party presidents have misread the public's priorities and paid a political price for their agenda setting. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama pursued healthcare reform early in their first terms, a vital policy and moral goal that misaligned with...
Perspectives matter
In an interview yesterday, Republican Senator Mike Braun of Indiana said out loud what too many Republicans believe. He told a reporter that the Supreme Court should have left the decision about the legality of interracial marriages up to the states. Too many...
McCrory and Budd Bet on Different Formulas for Victory
At present, Republicans are favored to win North Carolina's fall Senate election. But the state's competitiveness dictates that even with the advantages of an off-year cycle and a center-right electorate, savvy Republican candidates should not take victory for...
The latest Meadows story is little more than a rumor, not journalism
Last night, Twitter was abuzz with a Rolling Stone article that claims former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was involved in the planning of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Given Meadows’ history, that seems plausible. He’s a none-too-bright...
Good on Thom Tillis. The GOP needs to police its own
Senator Thom Tillis essentially called Representative Madison Cawthorn a Russian asset on Twitter yesterday. He quote-tweeted a thread about Cawthorn’s remarks being played on Russian state television with the comment, “If your comments are being replayed over and...
Checking the Pulse of North Carolina Eight Months Out
After a cascade of setbacks lasting over half a year, Democrats have sighted a glimmer of hope. President Biden has gone some way toward restoring confidence in his leadership by rallying the Western Alliance to the aid of Ukraine. The fundamentals, however, remain...
Unaffiliated voters make up a plurality. So what?
According to the State Board of Elections, unaffiliated voters now make up a plurality of voters in North Carolina. These independents surpassed Democrats for the first time in history. They surpassed Republicans a few years ago. It’s really not that big a deal and...
Ukraine changes the conversation
Ukraine has given the Biden and administration and Democrats the opportunity they need for a reset. Putin’s invasion has shifted the conversation and united the country and our political leaders the way nothing else has. Biden’s getting high marks for his response,...