The Transformations of Pat McCrory
It's remarkable now, but Pat McCrory once won elections with ease. For 14 years as Charlotte mayor, the Republican cruised through general elections in what was gradually becoming a Democratic city. He was popular and considered a choice prospect for governor in 2008....
Small towns
I was born May 4, 1963 in Wadesboro, North Carolina, in Anson County. My father was born there and so was his father and his father before him. My mother’s people settled in Anson County for about a hundred years before moving to points west in the late 1800s. I say...
A culture of unaccountability
This weekend, we learned of two horrific stories of abuse involving state legislators. The most bizarre case came from Kansas where Republican state Representative Mark Samsel decided to become a substitute teacher. Instead of teaching, he battered his wards, kneeing...
A cultural tug-of-war
Republicans in North Carolina are trying to put the divisive social issues that have harmed their electoral fortunes behind them--or so it seems. While Florida passed a bill preventing transgender girls from playing on female sports teams and West Virginia signed a...
The frontrunner
Well, it’s on now. Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court Cheri Beasley announce her candidacy for U. S. Senate. The announcement wasn’t a surprise but her entry changes the dynamic of the race. She starts as a clear frontrunner. The primary is...
A tranformative day
Yesterday was a big one in North Carolina. We awoke to news that Apple is going to build a new campus in Wake County and then, in the afternoon, we learned, as expected, the state will get an additional Congressional seat. We increased our reputation as an economic...
Poll: Immigration offers opportunity to Democrats
Joe Biden is enjoying strong approval ratings as he approaches the end of his first 100 days in office. He has broad support for his approach to the most pressing issues, the economy and the pandemic. The one place he has problems is immigration. Voters want solutions...
Getting back to normal
Right now, we feel like we’re on the cusp of getting back to normal after more than a year of pandemic restraint. First, though, we need to get to herd immunity and the biggest obstacle to reaching that goal is vaccine skepticism. Too many people believe the vaccine...
Republicans have totally rejected majority rule
The days of America's old socially conservative consensus are gone. In place of the evangelical, patriarchal synthesis that ruled American culture for much of the Reagan era has emerged a new and decidedly tolerant ethos manifested in broad support for LGBTQ rights...
The beginning of a new chapter in the history of American Justice?
George Floyd’s death came in the midst of a pandemic when months of lockdown left tensions high and nerves frayed. Just weeks before, the world learned of the killing of unarmed Ahmaud Arbery by three White men in Georgia. The video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on...
Free market realignment
Governor Roy Cooper joined Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in organizing a letter from prominent current and former elected officials calling on big businesses to speak out against voter suppression laws. They assembled a bipartisan group that included several...
Solutions, not slogans
In the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden’s inauguration, I felt a sense of relief. The rage tweeting and childish name-calling that defined the Trump presidency were over. The government was again functioning more rationally and less chaotically as career public...