I had the opportunity to join Barlow Herget and SGRToday.com’s Josh Ellis for State Government Radio’s Weekly News Review the other day.
We talked about President Obama’s tour to North Carolina, his hospitable reception, next year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Gov. Bev Perdue’s trip to China and the endorsements that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney received from three North Carolina members of Congress.
Posted in: 2012 Election • Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Democratic National Convention • Federal government • Government spending • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »
Back in 2008, then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was making news in because of his social media acumen. I remember attending a session on social media in which the presenter showed the comparison between Obama and his GOP rival John McCain.
The two weren’t even in the same league.
What about the current crop of candidates running for president? Wesley Hyatt of MMI Public Relations has graded Republican candidates running for president on their social media skills.
Moving to the head of the class are U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who both earned an A-minus.
The candidate most needing improvement is former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who got a D-minus.
Will the GOP candidate with the best social networking skills be the nominee next year? The jury is still out. But having that presence can sure help.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Federal government • Politics | Post a Comment »
As I take a break from my year-end vacation to blog a little, I think back to a lot of the changes that occurred during 2010.
There are the political changes that occurred, both in North Carolina and across the United States.
There were a lot of changes that took place for me too. For a little bit more than the first half of the year, I spent my working hours doing pretty much what I’d been doing for the past dozen years, covering state government and political news from the state capital. Then, as the end of July approached, it became my job to publish a new political website, M2Mpolitics.com.
This was a challenging role for me, one that caused me to get out of my comfort zone.
One tradition I hope to keep going, however, is taking a look at what I see in store for the new year. And, correspondingly, as it becomes time to change the calendar, look back at the previous year and grade myself.
Today, I’ll review how well I did during my predictions for 2010.
1. I said Republicans would take the U.S. House. I was right. Credit me with 10 points.
2. I predicted that Democrats would retain a majority in the U.S. Senate, though Republicans would make gains. At the first of the year, this was a no-brainer. The fact that during the political season pundits were even talking about the possibility of a GOP takeover was mind-boggling. I get another 10 points.
3. I said that U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., would go back to Washington, but only after winning the political fight of his life. Yes, he won, but no, it wasn’t as big of a fight as I thought it’d be. I’m a tough grader, so I won’t even give myself half credit here.
4. I correctly predicted that voters would give Republicans a majority in the N.C. Senate. Give me another 10 points.
5. I incorrectly predicted that Democrats would maintain a majority in the N.C. House and that Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, would be poised to lead a Democratic majority. Hackney will lead Democrats, but he’ll be their minority leader.
6. I predicted that Congress would deliver President Obama a political victory by passing a health insurance bill. Congress did. I’ll take that 10 points.
7. I correctly predicted that Congress would fail in its attempt to pass sweeping immigration reform. This is beginning to sound like a broken record, and will probably be a safe bet next year. I’ll accept the 10 points for this one.
8. I’ll also take 10 points for correctly predicting that Gov. Bev Perdue would convince N.C. Supreme Court justices to keep life-termers behind bars.
9. I was wrong on my March Madness prediction, which included a remark that no North Carolina team would make the Final Four.
10. And my biggest prediction that went awry had to do with the Carolina Panthers. I said they’d rebound and make the playoffs. Ha! Their season was disastrous.
If my math is correct, I get 60 points out of a possible 100. I did better, much better, on my political predictions than I did on my sports predictions. Maybe I should stick to politics.
Posted in: 2010 U.S. Senate Race • Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Courts • Crime • Elections • Federal government • General Assembly • Health • Immigration • Politics • Richard Burr • Sports • State government | Post a Comment »
Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper has had it pretty rough in recent months having to deal with problems in the State Bureau of Investigation and in the SBI’s forensics lab.
But all those troubles apparently aren’t affecting his popularity, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey. In fact, he ranks higher than other North Carolina politicians.
The poll shows 31 percent expressing approval of Cooper while only 19 percent expressing disapproval of him. That’s a plus-12 approval rating.
The next closest to Cooper is Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr who has a plus-nine approval rating.
Other politicians fall into the negative category. Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan is minus-15. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue is minus-16. And Democratic President Barack Obama is minus-18.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Federal government • Kay Hagan • Politics • Richard Burr • State government | Post a Comment »
John Davis of the John Davis Political Report suggests that President Obama’s fall from favor in North Carolina could impact Democrats in races in the state.
“President Obama’s job approval is at record lows because he comes across like a sanctimonious know-it-all who thinks his left-of-center notions of what’s best for our nation should be enacted with righteous indifference to the will of the governed… most of whom are either conservative or moderate,” Davis writes.
Davis cites a Gallup poll showing “conservatives” outnumbering “liberals” in North Carolina by 43 percent to 16 percent, with “moderates” totaling 37 percent.
He questions whether conservative eastern North Carolina Democrats “are just going to roll over like trained puppies and support the party’s candidates” after having their notions insulted.
“Many of those Down East legislative districts that have always elected Democrats are now in play,” Davis writes.
He suggests a couple of strategies for Obama to adopt to minimize this negative impact. “First, he must accept the fact that you can’t do as you please in a nation founded on the principle of respect for ‘consent of the governed,’” Davis writes. Second, Obama needs to accept that conservatives outnumber liberals by statistically significant margins.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Politics | Post a Comment »
The Charlotte Post reports that a campaign kickoff for state Sen. Malcolm Graham’s re-election campaign evolved into a rally for not only himself but the entire Democratic Party.
Graham, who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate, is running against Republican John Aneralla for the District 40 seat from Mecklenburg County.
U.S. House Majority Leader James Clyburn, D-S.C., was the guest of honor at Graham’s kickoff event Tuesday. Clyburn tried to discredit accounts of people saying Democrats are not enthused about this fall’s midterm elections.
“I think we are going to do OK in November because I think that Democratic voters are going to be engaged in this campaign because they know full well what the alternatives are,” the Post reported Clyburn as saying.
A couple other Democratic U.S. House members from North Carolina seeking re-election, Reps. Larry Kissell and Mel Watt, also spoke.
Kissell said that if Republicans won, they’d make the George W. Bush administration look like moderates. “…There are some radical people out there running this time and we cannot afford to let them win,” Kissell said.
Watt said that the midterm election is critically important to President Obama’s agenda. “He can’t do it by himself,” Watt said.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Politics | Post a Comment »
N.C. Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn just got a big promotion. And that promotion will clear the way for another office on the ballot in the November election.
Wynn was appointed by President Obama to the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. He got bipartisan support in the Senate, including support from both of North Carolina’s two senators, Kay Hagan and Richard Burr.
His subsequent resignation from the N.C. Court of Appeals creates a vacancy on North Carolina’s second highest court. The N.C. Constitution requires that vacancies on the court be filled by the governor and that the appointee face election the next time there is an election for members of the General Assembly. That’s Nov. 2 folks.
Had the vacancy occurred later in the year, within 60 days of the general election, the balloting for the appeals court judge would have taken place in November 2012.
That race already has a candidate. Robert Christopher “Chris” Dillon, a 45-year-old Raleigh Attorney, has announced his intent to run for the office. A release sent out by Dillon notes that he has practiced civil and criminal law at both the trial court and appellate court levels. For the past four years he has been senior vice president of CapStone Bank.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Courts • Elections • Federal government • Kay Hagan • Politics • Richard Burr | Post a Comment »
I had qualms a few years ago when it came out that the Bush administration was listening in on conversations between people believed connected to terrorism overseas and people in the United States without securing a warrant.
Yes, I wanted the federal government tracking down terrorists. Our Constitution provides for a method for the government to listen in on calls from suspected terrorists. It’s called getting a warrant. All the feds have to do is convince a judge that they have probable cause.
Now comes the Obama administration wanting to look at cell phone records that can easily pinpoint the location of a caller. The federal government wants to do this, again without a warrant. The administration argues that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans have no “reasonable expectation of privacy” as to their whereabouts, or at least their cell phones’ whereabouts, according to an article by Declan McCullagh on cnet.com.
Because of “enhanced 911” requirements for cell phones, along with GPS functions on the phones, tracking where you are when you make a call is easier than ever. So the feds may want to find out where a bank robber is placing a call from, or where a drug dealer is hanging out. That’s made easier by the new technology.
Again, I have no problem with the government tracking down a bank robber who is planning his next heist. I just think that the feds should get a warrant. Without the warrant requirement, the potential for abuse is rampant.
The case comes up before a federal appeals court on Friday.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Courts • Crime • Federal government • Terrorism | Post a Comment »
It’s good advice. President Barack Obama reminded students across the nation to wash their hands. Gov. Bev Perdue has encouraged all North Carolina residents to practice good hygiene. It all makes good sense. They don’t want us to get the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the “swine flu.”
“Parents, students and teachers can help prevent the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu from spreading by getting vaccinated, practicing good hygiene and keeping themselves healthy,” Perdue said. “I don’t want folks to be scared about the flu, but I do want every North Carolinian to be vigilant and prepared.”
The governor’s office offered the following guidelines for staying healthy:
– Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
– If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
– Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
– Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
– Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
– If you have flu-like symptoms, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from making them sick.
– Get the seasonal flu vaccine now and the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Federal government • Health • State government | Post a Comment »
Does the firestorm over President Barack Obama’s speech to the nation’s students even measure up to a tempest in a teapot?
While watching the president’s speech on TV shortly after noon, I kept wondering if he’d depart from his prepared remarks, which were made public on Monday. He didn’t.
I thought the president did a good job of telling students that they’re responsible for their on lives and their own future. His examples about young people who’ve overcome obstacles in their lives to achieve great things were good. Not letting obstacles divert us from reaching our goals is good advice to follow no matter who it comes from.
Those who know me well know that I’m not a big fan of many of Obama’s policies. My libertarian philosophy is often at odds with the president’s proposals. I suggest that those who disagree with the president on such things as health care, the federal stimulus and the role of the federal government have a healthy debate over those issues, not over a speech encouraging school children to take responsibility for their own education.
Those eager to ridicule those critical of the Obama speech might want to remember when the shoe was on the other foot. The opposition wasn’t as boisterous, but Democratic leaders weren’t too accepting of former President George H.W. Bush when he spoke to America’s students in 1991, encouraging them to study hard, say no to drugs and report trouble-makers.
Posted in: Barack Obama • Education • Federal government • Politics | Post a Comment »