North Carolina no longer matters. At least, that's the storyline gaining steam with the national press.
The Tar Heel state narrowly voted for Barack Obama in 2008, redrawing, with Virginia and Colorado, the electoral map that had been set in stone for decades. It was the first time North Carolina voted for a Democrat for president since 1976.
Suddenly, we were the hot state in presidential politics. We were back "in play" and so would draw attention from both parties. Obama's decision to hold the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte was widely seen as reflecting the importance he put on North Carolina for his re-election.
Now, suddenly, we're supposedly out of favor. Alec MacGillis at the New Republic writes a piece this week called "The end of Obama's Charlotte strategy?" MacGillis suggests that Ohio's repudiation Tuesday of an anti-union law backed by Republican Gov. John Kasich shows that Obama wrote off Ohio too quickly and should be focused on that state more than on North Carolina.
That echoes what the New Republic's Bill Galston said earlier this week: That Obama would be smarter to go after the independents in the Midwest than running "a campaign that amounts to 2008 on steroids," including a focus on North Carolina and other "new majority" states.
The Washington Post's Dan Balz reports on Galston's analysis and seems to endorse the thinking.
And Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., flatly states that Obama can't win in North Carolina in 2012. "He's done here," Burr told Roll Call. "The decision to go to Charlotte (for the DNC) will probably be the worst decision that the Democrats make in this election cycle."
Our take? November 2012 is a long way off, polls put Obama even or better with the Republican candidates in North Carolina and either party would be foolish to write North Carolina off or assume they have it in the bag.
What do you think?
Taylor Batten
I think the O-pinion has too many opinions for people to care.
ReplyDeleteObama has been the most "absent president" in history, instead campaigning and spending our tax dollars at a ridiculous rate. I wish Obama received from the press 1/10 of the questions being addressed by the GOP candidates about the economy, etc. I can't wait until he is out of office and we can try to get this country back on track.
ReplyDeleteYes Craig, Bush did a fine job steering the country clear of the great resession. By the way, are you aware that Obama has presided over the creation of more jobs than Reagan at the same point of their administrations? Didn't think so.
ReplyDeleteMore to the point of this column, I think this weeks election showed that Democrats are a long way from done in NC. And none of the republicans pretenders have enough sense to come in out of the rain. None of them are, in political terms, electable.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYes John clearly President Nitwit is a better leader than Reagan, the examples are everywhere from Solyandra, Operation Gun Runner, Fisker and the 11% unemployment is a wonder ful gift from the smartest President ever on top of the 5 trillion in new debt after promising to reduce the deficit by 1/2 at the end of his first term and this coming off last Novembers elections that saw the Dem suffer the largest loss in over 75 years including flipping this state from blue to red for the first time in over 120 years. So what exactly is the smartest president going to tun on this time except more empty air headed slogans that the opiated lemming media and voters bought into last time. And today we just learned that our coward President is not going to make a decision on the Keystone Pipeline that is up and ready to go ready to provide 20,000 high paying UNION jobs because he has never made a tough decision in his life - see his rejection of his own debt committees proposals.
ReplyDeleteThe country has had enough of this clown except of course unless you are on the plantation and plan on staying there.
One election in charlotte that has twice as many democrats means nothing but keep clicking your little red shoes together and good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte is a D town. The numbers dependent on public assistance are growing almost as fast as the numbers of taxpayers fleeing to the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was a terrible decision to locate the convention in Charlotte but not because NC is no longer in play but rather because Charlotte is a hole and we will embarrass the party.
Sure he has a chance!
ReplyDeleteObama's secret weapon is his mini-me, Mayor Fixxit...
With the group the Tea Party/ Republicans have put before the public, this should be a shoe-in for Obama. You can't win something with nothing!
ReplyDeleteThe party of the nope 1% has offered no plan to get this country back on track other than deep cut to SS, Medicare and of course tax breaks for the wealthy 1%!
While I'm not happy where the country is at this point I've seen very little help the Republicans are willing to give Obama. And if your motto is one term Obama then not much will get done...
What ever happened to "IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN. Don't give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end.
Tea Party seem to be more concerned about union busting, getting rid of teachers, public workers and planned parenthood. Oh and making sure that in god you trust stays on our money than getting people back yo work.
It's to bad we can't trust the politicians from both parties to do what is needed for the 99%.
The wealth transfer that has taken place over the last 40 years can not and should not continue.
My fear is Obama's party will cave on issues and not stand up for the middle class and poor in this country.
While corporations and the wealthy sit on mounds of cash it can not be expected that the 99% take another hit for the 1% wealthy.
Even Sen.Hagen has taken up the talking points of the right on the tax holiday for corporations. Her claim about the 35% rate is farcial, knowing full well that most large corporations pay at a rate of 17% making the US rate lower than most industrial nations. Plus some like GE received $4 billion from the tax payers.
With her proposal,it would give them $100 billion in tax relief. CBO numbers said it would end up costing the tax payer $79 billion for the $25 billion the US would get from them.
It didn't work in 2004 and it won't work now. This not a jobs bill!
It is nothing more than taking care of the 1%.
Hagan should be ashamed of this bill! Duke Power would love it though. I'm amused, she thinks she's smarter than a tax lawyer or she can pull one over on the public.
I hope that the public sees they took the wrong turn with the Tea Party 1% crowd and at the same time apply pressure on Obama and his party to do right by US the 99%.
I won't hold my breath however!
Larry,
ReplyDeleteKeep holding your breath.
You can take every dollar owned by the top 1% of Americans, slap it on the deficit and it will have ZERO effect.
It won't make a dent.
51% of the other 99% who pay NO Federal taxes need to start paying their share.
Get out your checkbook and write Uncle Sam a big one.
You miss what I said, I won't hold my breath.
ReplyDeleteYour info about who pays is bogus! In those numbers are people on SS, students. Nice try though?
If you think that you can solve our problems by the taxing the $20,000 a year people then you should hold your breath!
You seem to assume that I pay no taxes, I just don't cry about it being that we are all paying the lowest rate in fifty years.
Larry,
ReplyDeletefrom Politifact:
...according to the Committee on Joint Taxation, 51 percent -- that is, a majority of American households -- paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada. …
Actually, to show how out of whack things have gotten, 30 percent of American households actually made money from the tax system by way of refundable tax credits -- the Earned Income Tax Credit, among others. So 51 percent of American households paid no income tax in 2009, but 30 percent actually made money under the current system."
You should go back and check your facts because 51% of Americans are not on SS or students.
People making $20,000 per year should pay a share, whether it's $10.00 or $1.00.
Just to clear this up in case there's any misunderstanding, it's approximately true that 51 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax.
ReplyDeleteHowever, conservatives routinely abbreviate this by claiming that 51 percent of Americans pay no taxes. This is the zombie lie. Conservatives get very upset when you call them on it, but that never makes them stop.
So where does the rest come from? Well, in addition to federal income taxes, Americans pay excise taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, state income taxes, and various other taxes. In one form or another, even poor Americans pay a fair chunk of their income in taxes.
Also 1029 millionaires paid no income taxes last year! Where's your discuss for them.
I would rather the poor feed themselves or their children than take $10 or even $100 but you see I care about all citizens not just myself or the 1%.
But I would mind taking $16,000.00 more from millionaires.
It won't make a dent.Pure BS.
But I love this logic? Fox logic!
You can take every dollar owned by the top 1% of Americans, slap it on the deficit and it will have ZERO effect.
So because You won't get completely full eating, You just won't eat at all! Logic?
No one expects it to dissolve over night, it will take 20 years for us to get out of this hole.
So why ask any one to pay taxes at all, if it won't make a dent.
Look I understand you don't like taxes and would rather pay zero...
Larry,
ReplyDeleteYOU are the one who brought us "wealth transfer" and income redistrubution and helping the other "99%".
You still conveniently forget the absolute fact that the 1% YOU vilify cannot pay down or make a dent in our debt no matter how much you want to tax them.
You also vilify ONLY Republicans yet say nothing about the current Idiot in Chief in the White House.
Obama is a complete moron. His own party doesn't even support him. He's having to use "executive orders" to try and make himself look relevant.
Democrats had the House, Senate and White House and accopmlished NOTHING. They didn't produce a budget for over 800 days and some are against HIS jobs plan.
The only thing we agree on is it will take years to get out from this mess, if we ever do.
But Democrats sure as heII won't be the saviours.
Wiley
ReplyDeleteJust so the readers and you understand?
The Tax Policy Center’s estimate means that some 76 million households won’t pay federal income tax in 2011. But they still owe other taxes. About two-thirds pay payroll taxes, and most pay state and local income and sales taxes as well as excise taxes on gas, tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol. Of the one third who don’t pay payroll taxes, more than half are elderly who no longer work, and just under half are families with incomes under $20,000. Only about 1 percent of the population pays neither income nor payroll taxes and earns more than $20,000 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center.
For 50 percent of those that don’t pay federal income taxes, standard deductions and personal exemptions are enough to counteract their taxable earnings. A couple with two children earning less than $26,400, for example, will pay no federal income tax in 2011 because their $11,600 standard deduction and four exemptions of $3,700 cuts their taxable income to nil.
22 percent are senior citizens who get a more generous standard deduction, can exclude some or all of their Social Security income and may have tax-exempt interest from mutual funds and municipal bonds. For those who itemize, charitable contributions and medical expense deductions also subtract from their tax liability.
15 percent are working families, many of them low-income, who qualify for one or all of the Earned Income tax credit, the Child tax credit, the Child and Dependent Care tax credit. The earned-income credit is fully refundable, and the Child credit is partially refundable this year, meaning some households may get refunds from the government even if they owe no income taxes.
The remaining 13 percent are a mix of mostly higher-income individuals with enough itemized deductions for items like mortgage interest, health payments, or charitable contributions, education tax credits, or tax exempt interest to zero out their income taxes.
“It’s wrong to rail on the 46 percent of people who don't pay income tax,” said Paul Caron, a tax professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. “A fairer analysis takes into account all taxes paid—and by this measure, everyone has tax skin in the game,” he said.
Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-31/home/30073202_1_income-tax-federal-income-state-and-local-income#ixzz1dLSGSkge
And one more..
ReplyDeleteThat’s the portion of American households that owe no income tax for 2009. The number is up from 38 percent in 2007, and it has become a popular talking point on cable television and talk radio. With Tax Day coming on Thursday, 47 percent has become shorthand for the notion that the wealthy face a much higher tax burden than they once did while growing numbers of Americans are effectively on the dole.
Neither one of those ideas is true. They rely on a cleverly selective reading of the facts. So does the 47 percent number.
you can read it yourself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/business/economy/14leonhardt.html
You seem to think you know me? I do like the power you put in YOU though. Caps always have way, don't they...
ReplyDeleteYOU are the one who brought us "wealth transfer" and income redistrubution and helping the other "99%".
You have no idea who your talking to or what I've done or haven't done!
You still conveniently forget the absolute fact that the 1% YOU vilify cannot pay down or make a dent in our debt no matter how much you want to tax them.
What you call absolute fact, is Fox Fantasy!
So in your twisted logic, there is no reason to tax the 1% at all. But taxing $20,000 income will make you feel good and pay off the debit
You also vilify ONLY Republicans yet say nothing about the current Idiot in Chief in the White House.
I vilify twisted logic on either side, it's just the republicans take it to the extreme and the tea baggers well that's a whole new story. Are you saying the republicans are not the party of the 1%
Obama is a complete moron. His own party doesn't even support him. He's having to use "executive orders" to try and make himself look relevant.
And I'm vilifying and your using moron. Is that your way of showing love?
I think Bush hold the record on executive orders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_executive_orders
Democrats had the House, Senate and White House and accopmlished NOTHING. They didn't produce a budget for over 800 days and some are against HIS jobs plan.
WASHINGTON — The filibuster – tool of obstruction in the U.S. Senate – is alternately blamed and praised for wilting President Barack Obama's ambitious agenda. Some even say it's made the nation ungovernable.
Maybe, maybe not. Obama's term still has one or five years to run.
More certain, however: Opposition Republicans are using the delaying tactic at a record-setting pace.
"The numbers are astonishing in this Congress," says Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
The filibuster, using seemingly endless debate to block legislative action, has become entrenched like a dandelion tap root in the midst of the shrill partisanship gripping Washington.
But the filibuster is nothing new. Its use dates to the mists of Senate history, but until the civil rights era, it was rarely used.
A tactic unique to the Senate, the filibuster means a simple majority guarantees NOTHING when it comes to passing laws. tea baggers!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/01/gop-filibuster-record-rep_n_480722.html
The only thing we agree on is it will take years to get out from this mess, if we ever do.
But Democrats sure as heII won't be the saviours.
At the same time the tea baggers rescue has done nothing but push us closer to failure and the 99% are they one suffering not the 1% you hold so highly? And the clowns on the stage last night would only make it worst!
Maybe the people can force them to come together for the good of everyone not just the 1%.
The problem here is your playing checkers and I'm playing chess! Been Fun!
Please excuse any typos as they are spelling errors as texting this is a pain...
Ecstatic adoration to constructive criticismStandard Medical Release Form
ReplyDelete