How the January 6th Treason Plot Recalls the Gunpowder Treason Plot
Bonfires and fireworks light the late autumn nights throughout England every November 5th as citizens celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. In many towns and villages, effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope are set ablaze in the bonfires, connecting the celebration to its origins...
nationalizing elections would be a national disaster
Shutterstock image On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” a 791-page (gulp) parade of horribles left-leaning election activists have pushed for years. Plus, some reasonable changes in election law. It’ll head to the Senate, where it...
PoliticsNC Book Club: On Paradise Drive
Sometimes a book can become dated to the point that it is newly topical. David Brooks set out to capture the spirit of George Bush's America in 2004. From that ambition was born his entertaining and often-brilliant second book, On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now, and...
Ask the right questions
There is a debate raging on Twitter and in the media about how Democrats win in swing states like North Carolina. One side believes they need to focus on “turnout and mobilization” while the other believes they need to appeal to a broader audience. As I’ve said...
Cooper scored a victory. Now, Do the right thing and govern.
Yesterday, the Senate voted to sustain Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would have forced school districts to offer in-person instruction. The bill originally passed with support from Democrats in both the house and the senate. Only one of the two senate...
what a difference a year makes
A year ago, we were awaiting a Super Tuesday primary on March 3 that could clench the nomination for Joe Biden. He had surprised everybody with an overwhelming win South Carolina after losing Iowa and New Hampshire. His momentum was huge and his opponents were...
PED ‘ban’ could juice legislative oversight
By RICK HENDERSON SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE Oversight and transparency are two areas the Wall Street Journal calls DBI (Dull But Important) They aren’t as compelling as power grid seizures in Texas or censures of retiring lawmakers, but they’re essential to effective and...
Welcome, Rick. Bringing a new perspective to PoliticsNC
I’ve been on Twitter for almost 12 years and I’ve been on Facebook a couple of years longer. I’m getting tired of them. While they have enabled me to keep up with friends, offered me new perspectives, introduced me to new thinkers and magazines, and given me more than...
A cabinet nominee worth fighting for
Senate Republicans are out to defeat more cabinet members than is customary for an incoming administration. Generally their objections have centered on accusations, specious and hypocritical, that Biden's nominees exhibit too much partisanship--this from a party that...
Happy Birthday, Hiram Revels
In the spirit of Black History month, which I have done little to recognize, I want to celebrate Hiram Rhodes Revels, who was born on this day in 1827. Revels was the first African American to serve in the United States Congress. Revels was born in Fayetteville, North...
Lessons for the NC GOP
When Senator Phil Berger became Senate President Pro-Tem of the North Carolina Senate, he clearly followed the model established by his Democratic predecessor, Marc Basnight. Berger runs an organized caucus that rarely airs its laundry in public. If there are power...
The new swing Voters
Yesterday, I looked at voters who are shifting parties and what that might mean. As Republicans transition away from the GOP, they may bring back an endangered species—the swing voter. For the last decade or so, persuadable voters have been disappearing, swallowed up...