Weekly Briefing
A referendum on despotism
It’s been a long time since questions of foreign policy played an important role in the outcome of a U.S. presidential election. George W. Bush’s quagmire in Iraq clearly figured heavily in Barack Obama’s 2008 victory. But before that, one probably needs to go back to Ronald Reagan’s campaigns of 1980 and ’84, or maybe […]
Democrats look to seize the high ground on freedom and patriotism
The national presidential race has undergone a sudden and striking overhaul in recent weeks. President Joe Biden’s decision to turn the reins of the Democratic Party over to Vice President Kamala Harris has sparked a remarkable resurgence of energy and enthusiasm amongst voters who generally support the policies of the past four years but felt […]
NC legislative leaders and the inevitable temptations of power
In an acceptance speech he delivered in 1991 at a Copenhagen awards ceremony honoring his contributions to European civilization, Vaclav Havel – a poet and playwright who had risen from Soviet-era dissident to become president of what was then still known as Czechoslovakia – used the opportunity to hold forth on the temptations of political […]
The nation’s post-Olympics vibe leans hopeful; politicians should take heed
If there was a moment that best captured the positive vibe of the recently concluded global media extravaganza that was the Paris Olympic Games, it might just have been the action of a pair of U.S. athletes who missed out on a gold medal. It happened near the conclusion of the women’s gymnastics competition when […]
The giant elephant-in-the-room ‘tax’ that we must no longer ignore
When most Americans – including a frustrating percentage of elected officials — are asked about what they see as the issue that poses the greatest threat to our nation’s fiscal and economic wellbeing, the chances are high they will guess wrong. The current national electoral debate makes this unfortunate, if not terribly surprising, situation painfully […]
If this is privatization, give us more government bureaucracy
If there’s a most persistent and destructive myth that’s permeated American public policy debates in recent decades, it is the fable of privatization. You know how this goes: “Once upon a time there was a wasteful public program that was turned over to hardworking private entrepreneurs who ‘ran it like a business’ and transformed it […]
The right swings and misses with absurd calls for Biden to resign
The torrent of dramatic political news that’s been inundating our screens in recent days has been jampacked with all manner of comments and commentary – insightful and idiotic, inspiring and insipid, patriotic and pathetically partisan. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump and killing of a bystander at a Pennsylvania campaign rally even gave rise to […]
Pennsylvania shooting should be a wake-up call for the next three-plus months
As with all such horrific acts of political violence throughout American history, this past weekend’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has prompted an array of immediate and widely varying responses. And this reality has, of course, been only enhanced by the tumultuous politics of the present moment. Now, add in the frequently toxic […]
Dissecting Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s “killing” comments
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is a proud and unapologetic provocateur. Robinson often couches statements that he knows will be viewed as controversial with a preemptive admission that he’s aware he’s about to cross a line not usually breached by high elected officials. Then, typically, he attributes the squeamishness about what he’s about to […]
Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: It’s rush season for Veep hopefuls
When the big envelope arrived at the homes of Trump’s presumed top choices for vice president recently, the vetting documents were surely greeted with the delighted squeals of a giddy freshman winning a bid to her dream sorority. Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott and J.D. Vance are believed to be front runners thanks to […]
The debate about the value of presidential debates
There was a time in American history in which it was a virtual prerequisite for any serious presidential candidate that they look good on a horse. Up until the 20th century, it was also generally the case that actual campaigning was considered beneath a presidential candidate’s dignity. Instead, nominees were selected at party conventions just […]
NC House and Senate fiddle over minor differences while neglecting the state’s most urgent needs
North Carolina House and Senate Republican leaders both recently unveiled and passed their state budget proposals for the new fiscal year that begins July 1. And, as has so often been the case over the past decade-plus, the chief immediate result has been a period of intense and potentially destructive bickering. Despite broad agreement between […]