By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram DURHAM – Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton has announced that he will officially run for governor in the Democratic primaries later this year. Dalton has served as lieutenant governor for the last three years. In a rally yesterday in Durham with Durham Mayor Bill Bell,…
By The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – In this week’s political notebook, we look at criticism of Richard Burr, Erskine Bowles’ big payoff, Bob Etheridge’s strange start, McCrory’s run for governor, Jesse Helms endorses a candidate, sort of, and Clinton and Kennedy had more in common than most people suspected. RICHARD…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – Notorious political figure and convicted Washington DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff will be speaking in Raleigh this week as part of a national book tour. A powerful lobbyist who had access to President George W. Bush and the most prestigious circles in the…
By Voice of America, Reprinted By The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has faced a new round of Republican criticism over a controversial tactic in which U.S. authorities allowed gun buyers to move arms into Mexico, destined for drug cartels. In testimony to Congress last…
By Voice of America, Reprinted By The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on January 23rd that American police must secure a search warrant before they track criminal suspects with the use of global positioning system technology. The nation’s nine-member highest court unanimously decided that law enforcement…
By The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – After being mentioned in newspaper articles and a biography on President John F. Kennedy, a former White House intern who was 19 years old at the time has admitted in her own new book and on national television that she had an affair with…
By Jordan Green, For The Raleigh Telegram JAMESTOWN, NC – Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is expected to make his run as a Republican candidate for North Carolina Governor official later today. McCrory has served as mayor of Charlotte for 14 years, the longest serving mayor in the city. Many…
By Tom Jensen, Public Policy Polling, Special To The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – Pat McCrory launches his campaign for Governor today with a lead in the polls against all of his potential Democratic opponents. But he also has a major liability- his close ties to the unpopular Republican legislature…
By D.G. Martin, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – It is the kind of surprise for which every ambitious politician must be prepared: the unexpected decision by an incumbent elected official to retire. It is, my friend Jay Rivers told me, the kind of window of opportunity that opens ever so…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – Several news outlets including The Washington Post and the Associated Press are now reporting that North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue will not seek the Democratic nomination for governor later this year. The news was first reported in a Washington Post politics blog…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – In a press conference last week, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue pushed for a state-wide sales tax increase that would help to fund public education in North Carolina. Perdue’s plan would “temporarily” re-instate a 3/4ths of a cent sales tax that would potentially raise…
By The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – Last night, President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union speech to Congress and the nation. In his speech, President Obama warned of the disappearance of the American middle class and said measures were needed to keep the American dream alive. …
By The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – On Sunday, Occupy Raleigh protesters staged a march on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh to celebrate their 100th day of organizing protests, but the well-attended march resulted in the arrests of two men after police say they were blocking the streets. According to the…
By The Raleigh Telegram NASHVILLE – According to statements on a radio show on Monday afternoon, US Senator Rand Paul said he was “detained” by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials at the Nashville airport as he was going through the security checkpoints to board an airplane earlier that morning. Senator…
By D.G. Martin, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – Will John Edwards someday be the new Newt Gingrich? Where did this crazy question come from? To get the answer, read on. First, we should wrestle with the questions political experts have been stuttering over since Gingrich’s stunning upset of Mitt Romney…
From The City Of Raleigh, Reprinted By The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – The City of Raleigh government has released it’s annual “year in review list,” which takes a look at actions by the Raleigh City Council and other city government items of interest over the last. The list includes big…
By Michael Bowman, Voice of America, Reprinted By The Raleigh Telegram SOUTH CAROLINA – A fluid and surprise-laden Republican presidential nominating contest remains wide open after former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich won Saturday’s primary election in South Carolina, dealing a blow to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Both candidates…
By Voice of America, Reprinted By The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has announced she will resign from Congress, a year after she was seriously wounded in a shooting spree in her home state of Arizona. In a video statement posted on the Internet Sunday, Giffords…
By Dr. Robert Moore, The Raleigh Telegram SOUTH CAROLINA – During one of the most bizarre primary seasons on record, South Carolina has been thrust into the role of the Republican presidential nomination “decider.” If Mitt Romney cannot be defeated in the Palmetto State, he appears all but certain to…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram NEW HAMPSHIRE – Mitt Romney sailed to an easy victory in a state where he has been campaigning very hard over the last year. Romney won the New Hampshire primary over the other Republican contenders on Tuesday. With 97% of the precincts reporting, Romney…
By D.G. Martin, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – There has to be a better way. Some of us reached that conclusion after discussing the mess our congressional and legislative governing systems have come to. Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government “except for all those other…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – After touring the state for eight months as part of a ramp-up to his campaign, a Raleigh architect has officially announced this week that he plans to run for Lieutenant Governor as a Republican in the 2012 elections, says a statement from his…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – Despite a felony conviction for federal campaign violations, former North Carolina Governor Mike Easley will be able to keep his law license and practice law within the state after he completes a temporary suspension that will expire in December of this year,…
Photo courtesy of Gov. Perdue for Governor campaign. By The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, newly elected Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane and North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall will be speaking in January at a women’s business luncheon sponsored by the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – The Republican-controlled North Carolina Senate voted today in a special session to override Governor Beverly Perdue’s veto of a bill that would change the Racial Justice Act passed in 2009. The vote was 31-19 along party lines in favor of the Republicans.…
By Tom Jensen, Special To The Raleigh Telegram IOWA – The Republican caucus in Iowa is headed for a photo finish, with the three leading contenders all within two points of each other. Ron Paul is at 20%, Mitt Romney at 19%, and Rick Santorum at 18%. Rounding out the…
By Lois Alley, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – North Carolina’s state-run forced sterilization program that lasted through the 1970′s was the topic of a segment on Anderson Cooper’s “AC360″ program on the CNN network on Tuesday night. The program also discussed sterilization programs in 36 states across the country. The…
By Dr. Robert Moore, The Raleigh Telegram WASHINGTON DC – Dismay, chagrin, fear — these are common reactions among GOP leaders to the dramatic political rebirth of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. As a surging candidate for the 2012 nomination, Gingrich’s continuing march to his own drummer is unnerving party…
By Dr. Robert Moore, The Raleigh Telegram RALEIGH – The October 18th Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas concluded a string of eight nationally televised debates. Five of these have occurred since early September and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is widely considered to have “won” all eight debates. Among…