The new nanny state

Not long ago, Republicans threw around the word “liberty” a lot. You would see it in their Twitter handles and in the names of affiliated organizations. You can recognize them by their Gadsden flag decal. They wanted government off our backs and the ability to act...
Kicking the hornets’ nest

Kicking the hornets’ nest

Republicans in the legislature may have just kicked the hornets’ nest. Yesterday, they announced a plan to ban abortions after 12 weeks, with a graduated series of exceptions for instances of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. There’s no exceptions for the...

Knowledge scares conservatives

Knowledge scares conservatives

Republicans are set on dismantling our public education system from the ground up. Their voucher plan subsidizes private schools at the expense of public ones while continuing to put more money in the pockets of rich people. Their plan to end tenure at UNC and give...

Dismantling public education

Dismantling public education

I  remember when Republicans were first pushing the voucher scheme that will upend our public schools and turn many of them into underfunded warehouses for poor children. Back then, they insisted that “opportunity scholarships,” as they call them, were...

Elites

Elites

Mark Robinson’s candidacy in North Carolina is a test of Republican politics and the endurance of Trumpism. Robinson is an unabashed Trumpist, spewing most of his populist garbage and embracing his insulting and demeaning campaign style. Like Trump, he’s basing his...

Robinson makes it official

Robinson makes it official

Mark Robinson is officially a candidate for governor. He’s the least experienced lieutenant governor in modern history. He has no political record or accomplishments. He’s the first social media phenomenon to win statewide office in North Carolina, maybe the nation....

More houses equals lower rent

More houses equals lower rent

For years, I spent several weeks every summer in Minneapolis. In 2019, the city was in the midst of the divisive 2040 campaign. Housing advocates proposed a plan to eliminate single-family zoning in the city as rent and housing prices were driving people further and...

The GOP’s shrinking margin in the suburbs

The GOP’s shrinking margin in the suburbs

John Hood recently wrote a curious column about the rise of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Much of it is right. The number of registered Democrats has been shrinking continuously for decades. The number of registered Republicans has been growing. However, the...

back to the future

back to the future

The electorate and the country are in transition. Politically, we’re in the midst of the most significant realignment in 40 years. Economically, we’re shifting from a manufacturing-based economy to a technology/knowledge-based economy. We are quickly becoming more...

The brewing backlash

The brewing backlash

Republicans seem to be trying to define themselves as the party of extremes. In state after state, they pass abortion bans that will almost certainly drive a wedge between them and women voters, especially young ones. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis probably just sunk...

There was no conspiracy

There was no conspiracy

There’s a conspiracy theory floating around Democratic circles that Tricia Cotham’s party switch was planned before she got into the race in 2022. Proponents of the theory cite contributions to her campaign by business oriented PACs. They believe she was a “Trojan...

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