The GOP civil war plays out again in NC
State Treasurer Dale Falwell announced he’s running for governor, setting up a Republican primary with Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. In real terms, it’s a race between the reactionary populist GOP of Donald Trump and the Reagan Republicans that dominated the...
Thoughts on the Rage Against Identity Politics
In 1976, the Democratic nominee for president narrowly carried Mississippi. This man was a peanut farmer with a soft Southern drawl and a modest house in the rolling hills of Georgia. He was a white Mississippian's idea of a good old boy, and his identity, if you...
When the doctors leave, jobs will follow
I just got back from Tennessee where their legislature makes North Carolina's General Assembly look like a bunch of flaming liberals. They have one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country. Under a statute called the Human Life Protection Act, doctors...
Is an indictment worth it?
This week appears to be the one where Donald Trump gets indicted and I don’t know how I feel about it. One side wants him in handcuffs no matter what. The other would, as Trump said, support him if he stood “in the middle of Fifth Avenue and [shot] somebody.” That’s...
Big Business Has Gone Hard-Right in North Carolina
The legislature's bill to ban limitations on gas stoves is little more than a juvenile exercise in Berkeley-bashing. Following 20 other red states, the General Assembly has peevishly introduced a proposal to preempt our state's local governments from requiring...
Remember when Republicans liked less government?
I liked the Republicans more when they were the party of limited government. Of course, I probably liked them because they were also in minority back then. Still, they used to oppose government interference in our lives and institutions. Their adhered to the saying...
Ten years
PoliticsNC is ten years old this month. I didn’t know where it would go when I started writing. I’m just glad that we’re still standing today. We’ve been through a lot together. Thanks for reading and sharing. Back in the spring of 2013, Republicans had taken control...
The explainer
Yesterday, my friend Gary Pearce wrote a blog titled “Jeff Jackson’s Bank Shot.” In it, Pearce calls Jackson “the best political communicator in North Carolina.” I read his piece and immediately emailed Gary to let him know that he had pre-emptively stolen...
Mark Robinson can run, but he can’t hide
Republicans chose Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to give the rebuttal to Governor Roy Cooper’s State of the State address. Since the response is usually given by a member of the legislature, Robinson’s speech is an acknowledgement that he’s the front runner for the...
The Right’s Shameful War on Drag Queens
A man dancing flamboyantly, caked in makeup, and wearing gaudy jewelry and a brightly-colored dress is called a drag queen. She tends to have an overwrought stage name like Pandora Danger and an individualized persona. And she, like all drag queens, holds a beloved...
A letter to the small towns and rural counties across NC
Dear Rural and Small Town North Carolinians, We need to talk. You’ve been voting for Republicans steadily for the past decade or more and it really hasn’t worked out very well. It’s time to reconsider your choices. Since Republicans have taken over the legislature,...
Calling out Tucker Carlson is not courageous
On Monday night, Tucker Carlson aired a distorted view of the Capitol Riot, calling it a mostly peaceful demonstration. Carlson, of course, was gaslighting his audience, convincing conservatives that what they saw happen that day didn’t really happen. After years of...
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