Mark Meadows unwittingly outlines a coup
Donald Trump’s former Chief-of-staff Mark Meadows, who was also a Congressman from North Carolina, has never been the sharpest tool in the shed. He once dumped money into an organization that believes the earth is only 6,000 years old and that humans lived...
Off again
The filing date is off again. Late yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court of North Carolina ordered primaries delayed pending review of the case against the districts. The primaries will be held on May 17 and filings have been frozen, but anyone who has already filed...
The Redeemers Ride Again
"Power concedes nothing without a demand," said Frederick Douglass. But sometimes power's grasping hand curls into a fist, and delivers a searing blow of retaliation. That has been the pattern manifest in the push-and-pull of democratization in the American South...
Business Tax Climate Bullshit
As the state prepares for yet another tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy and corporations, conservatives are crowing that North Carolina will climb in the rankings of the Tax Foundation’s “Business Tax Climate Index.” However, the tax cuts have...
Cawthorn, Trump Boost Ted Budd at the Expense of McCrory
How does it feel, North Carolina, knowing that your next U.S. Senator will be partially determined by Madison Cawthorn and Mark Meadows? These two firebrands have the ear of former President Donald Trump, who, with his unquestioned command over the Republican Party,...
Judicial whiplash
If you’re watching the redistricting court cases in North Carolina, you may suffer from whiplash. And it might not be over yet. On Friday, a three-judge panel of Wake County Superior Court judges ruled that filing for legislative and Congressional seats could move...
The New, Bullying Breed of Republican That Inspired Mark Robinson
With their cultural power in steady decline, the evangelical movement has shifted its efforts into the one arena of American life in which it still reigns supreme: politics. White, conservative evangelicals dominate the American political scene despite their minority...
Old battles
I got into a discussion on Twitter with a woman who believes the threat of right-wing political violence and the threat to democracy are overblown. She comes from the left, not the right. I realized that our differences, in part, come from perspective. What I see...
Regaining trust of rural voters
In the wake of the Virginia election, the group Third Way commissioned a focus group to figure out why Biden voters switched to Republican Glenn Youngkin this year. In an interview with the New York Times, Brian Stryker, who conducted the groups, said of the...
Character and competence
Yesterday, Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, announced she’s stepping down. She’s been with the department since Cooper’s first term began and she stayed through a pandemic. She also received compliments from both...
Housing Policy is American Liberalism’s Achilles Heel
Nestled in a humid forest at the midpoint between the Appalachian Mountains and the mighty Atlantic, the Research Triangle of North Carolina has attracted migrants for decades. Raleigh's growth has been particularly impressive: Between 2010-2020, the Raleigh-Cary...
The “Who Knows?” point in the election cycle
For the past few months, Republicans have been giddy over Biden’s falling approving ratings. Bad headlines that began with an August COVID spike and the Afghan withdrawal continued with rising gas prices and inflation. The GOP could taste the defeat they believe is...