Which Democrat should Wake County’s party faithful entrust with their prized 16th state Senate district? That is the question, and aside from three obscure statewide primaries, it’s the only question for Democrats in Raleigh and Cary who go to the polls on July 20. The 16th district, containing the western half of Raleigh, northern Cary […]
Bob Geary
Posted inNews
Edwards: Still looking good
The other night, a friend recalled John Edwards’ first political speech. It was in November 1997 when Edwards, a surprise Senate candidate, appeared before the Wake Democrats. “I could see he had something even then,” my friend said. I didn’t remember it that way, so I pulled out the story I wrote. There it is […]
Posted inNews
Rhinos are charging at GOP forum
If all you’ve been reading lately is about state legislators cutting human services, the Wake County Commissioners refusing to pony up that last $5 million for the schools, and the Raleigh City Council squirming at the thought of raising impact fees or taxes to pay for worthy projects, welcome to the parallel universe called the […]
Posted inNews
Moratorium may be a victim of co-speaker deal
The death penalty moratorium looks to be doomed in the General Assembly, a victim of the co-speakers deal in the House. The shared-power arrangement assures that a small bloc of Republicans will vote with the Democrats to pass a “moderate” budget, which they’ve done two years running. Without Republican Co-Speaker Richard Morgan’s group, the 59 […]
Posted inElections
Progressives stop to ponder a movement
WASHINGTON, D.C. –First, the good news. According to Stan Greenberg and Celinda Lake, two Democratic pollsters of excellent repute, the country agrees with the progressive view–and not with the Bush Administration’s position–on every important issue. Iraq? We’re 15 points ahead. The economy? When voters are read Bush’s argument that the tax cuts are working and […]
Posted inElections
ACT, PDAs and new voters
In the presidential election, the “red states”–the ones considered sure wins for President Bush–equal 190 electoral votes. The “blue states”–sure for John Kerry–equal 168 votes. So the contest is in the 17 “battleground states” that will decide which candidate gets to the winning total of 270 or more. (North Carolina? It’s a “red” state.)
Posted inNews
Greendogs come out fighting
Consider the Progressive Caucus of the N.C. Democratic Party well and truly launched, complete with the obligatory doctrinal blowup. The founding convention Saturday in Greensboro “exceeded our wildest dreams,” Mischi Binkley, the elected caucus president, said in an e-mail to her fellow “Greendogs” a day later. One measure of that: The turnout of 213 people, […]
Posted inNews
Reform is out of sync
The goal of mental health reform in North Carolina is to improve medical services and get them to more of the people who need them. The main elements of reform are decentralization, privatization, and measuring the results of the treatments provided, not just the money spent on them. But the concept of privatization raises red […]
Posted inNews
Mental health: “We know what to do”
Lanier Cansler was putting the best face on it, and even that wasn’t very good. Mental health reform, now under way in North Carolina, makes sense on paper. In practice, it isn’t working. Why? “I do not think we have done as good a job as we should have,” the deputy secretary of the state […]
Posted inNews
Progressives organizing within Democratic Party
The Democratic Party of North Carolina has a women’s caucus, with county chapters thereof, and the women are officially entitled to seats on the party’s leadership committees. There’s also an African-American caucus, an Hispanic caucus, the Senior Democrats and the Young Democrats, all with official status. What the Democrats don’t have–so far–is a progressive caucus. […]
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