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The pretenders

Yesterday, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson got to play governor. With the real governor, Roy Cooper, out of the country, Robinson declared a day of prayer and week of solidarity with Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks. The charade was part of an ongoing attempt to make Robinson seem more mainstream. Instead, he just reminded everyone of his right wing bone fides and his history of…

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North Carolina Democrats: The Case For Optimisim

Between 1984 and 2008, North Carolina Democrats never received more than 42% of the vote in a presidential election. Even when Southerner Bill Clinton nearly won the state in 1992, he garnered exactly that number, and the reason that George H.W. Bush didn’t easily dispatch him appeared to be that Ross Perot siphoned off a portion of the state’s natural Republican support. Barack Obama…

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Hamas are terrorists, not freedom fighters

I’ve been dismayed to see so many organizations either blaming Israel for the Hamas attack or cheering the terrorists who perpetrated it. Most of the groups are led by young people, many in university settings. Their simplistic view of the situation ignores the history of the Middle East and the foundation of Israel as well as the nature of Hamas.  First, Hamas is not a group of freedom…

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PoliticsNC stands with Israel

PoliticsNC stands with Israel, unequivocally. Hamas terrorists killed hundreds of Israeli civilians including more than 250 people at a music festival. They went door-to-door killing and kidnapping Israeli families, including children and elderly people.  There’s no place “but Israel….” There’s only room for sympathy, support, and sorrow, both for what has occurred already and what will happen…

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The GOP is on fire

I can’t stop watching Republicans and conservatives react to McCarthy going down in flames and Trump solidifying his position as front runner. Conservative pundits continue to blame Democrats for the Speakerless House and fantasizing about how they’ll regret their actions. On the Trump front, anti-Trump PACs are folding up shop resigned to running with the twice impeached and, quite possibly,…

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I'm here for it

Watching angry Republicans blame Democrats for their woes has made my week. To hear them tell it, Democrats had the responsibility to save Kevin McCarthy. One conservative pundit even blamed Democrats for not fielding a candidate who could beat Matt Gaetz without ever considering a competent primary challenge. Last month, they were whining that Democrats forced Republicans to vote for Donald…

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At What Point Do Republicans Have Second Thoughts About Mark Robinson?

A question I’ve been contemplating lately is whether Mark Robinson will ever become so drenched in unadulterated strangeness that it begins to tarnish his Republican allure. Hate, manifestly, is not disqualifying for North Carolina Republicans. After all, the party still defines itself in reference to the legacy of one Jesse Helms, who referred to African American neighborhoods as “Mudville.” But…

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Dan Bishop, burning down the House

This weekend, the House narrowly averted a government shutdown after being held hostage by a group of extremist Members of Congress known as the Chaos Caucus. Two members, Dan Bishop and Greg Murphy, are from North Carolina. The Wall Street Journal, no bastion of liberalism, described the members as “egotistical performance artists” who “won’t grow up.” They name-checked Bishop, who is now…

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Watch the Republicans, not the polls

Here’s a message to Democrats: Quit looking at poll numbers and start watching Republicans. The polls today aren’t telling you anything substantive about what’s going to happen next November, but the GOP’s twin debacles of a government shutdown and an unpopular and inept impeachment inquiry may set the tone of the election as we move into the 2024 cycle. Besides, these Republicans are…

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Trump's Secret Weapon is His Deep Understanding of the White Working Class

It is a fair assumption that Donald Trump has never driven a pickup truck, gone duck hunting, or glanced through Guns and Ammo. The totems of working-class white manhood are as foreign to his experience as they are to wine-track grandees such as California Governor Gavin Newsom. This cultural distance, however, has not prevented the Orange Autocrat from forming a bond of unprecedented closeness…

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Accountability Matters for democracy

When U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, got indicted again last week, a chorus of Democratic politicians called for him to resign. Senator John Fetterman was the first of his colleagues to call for his resignation. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and most of the Democrats in New Jersey legislature have called for him step down. So have half the Democratic members of the New…

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Will Phil Berger's Reign Ever Come to An end?

Senator Phil Berger’s titanic stature in the tiny world of N.C. politics has clearly gone to his head. A whale shark in a backyard pool, he wields his clout with no compunction toward the abuses that have long infuriated critics. Berger sees his rule as eternal, his authority as invincible. But his aggressive deployment of what can only be called arrogance has driven his hegemony into a more…

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Candidates for a new political age

One of the most fascinating aspects of politics right now is the political realignment happening in the country. The non-college, white working class that was a staple of the Democratic Party for most of the 20th century has shifted toward the GOP. The college educated white upper middle class that had made up a significant part of the Republican base since the end of World War II is now part of…

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The Hypocritical Authoritarianism of the Anti-Healthcare Right

Pat McCrory auditioned for the role of right-wing pugilist by headlining anti-Obamacare rallies. With the bitterness of a Prop-13 activist, he decried the intrusion of liberal meddlers into the private space of American healthcare. Could you imagine if healthcare became like the DMV? he queried. The performance was bravura, and it secured his hold on the full spectrum of Party…

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The casino scheme is dead, but it showed unprecedented arrogance

Under pressure from both parties, the Republican leadership released their hostage yesterday afternoon. Medicaid will pass this session. Casinos won’t. After months of delay, the GOP has a budget that will likely get the governor’s signature. The hold up was an ill-considered scheme to force casinos on the state without a proper vetting. Since he couldn’t get enough Republicans on board,  Phil…

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The Meaning of Vivek Ramaswamy

Yearning for deliverance from a decade’s worth of radicalism, observers sometimes try to imagine a functional GOP. The party they foresee tends to blend free markets with polychromatic inclusion to create a moderate, modern Right. This is a pleasant thought, and it vaguely comports with many people’s impression of America’s rising generations. But look at the Millennial Republicans who are…

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