Politicians of both parties like to attack “corporate welfare,” because the attack taps into both liberal and conservative sensibilities. If you’re anti-corporate welfare, you’re railing against both corporations and government. You’re appealing to notions of justice and equality. But what if you talk about the same targeted tax credits, taxpayer-backed grants and eminent domain takings differently? What if you call them “incentives for companies”? Read more…Read More

It’s been quite a week for polls in NC politics. The first one is from American Insights, which purportedly wants to become the conservative alternative to PPP. They didn’t poll the Senate race, but they show President Obama with a 43/49 approval here, which is better than what other polling organizations have found for him. They also show Republicans with a 44-38 lead on the generic congressional ballot, but redistricting makes that result pretty much irrelevant. But it does support the idea that 2014 is shaping up to be aRead More

Joe Wade talks with Matt Faraci and Pearce Godwin of American Insights in Raleigh! Listen here…Read More

For months, Greg Brannon has sniped at House Speaker Thom Tillis in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The potshots came in fundraising letters designed to stir the base detailing Tillis’ ties to political insiders, sex scandals in his legislative office and more recently his financial ties to legislation approved at the statehouse. It makes sense: Brannon is the little-known tea party challenger seeking to break his natural ceiling of support and Tillis is the perceived frontrunner, leading the money race and backed by the bigwigs in Washington. Read more…Read More

Keith King pushed aside a half-eaten plate of barbecue, slaw and hushpuppies. He needed to make a point. “Hagan,” he said with conviction, “is set to be beat.” For the Republicans gathered last week for a county convention at King’s Restaurant, a landmark in Eastern North Carolina famous for its “pig in a puppy” sandwich, the sentiment was universal. What King – and most of those in the room – didn’t know is which Republican candidate is the best challenger for Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. “I do not haveRead More

I once got an entire darkroom by being the new kid on the block. A few days into a job as editor of a South Carolina weekly, I found an enlarger in a storage closet. Between that and petty cash, we were up and running before upper management knew a thing. And because we improved efficiency along with the product, upper management was so delighted that it sent me to a sister paper to do the same thing there. Best Schools N.C., a new nonprofit, enjoys the new-kid advantage. ReadRead More

A new polling firm in Raleigh is marketing itself as the Republican alternative to PPP. American Insights debuted in late February with numbers showing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in better shape than most other Democratic and independent polls suggested. It also found Democrat Kay Hagan’s approval lower than one other survey (PPP), though her disapproval was down, too, with more listed as undecided. (A poll of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate had too high a margin of error to make conclusions.) Read more…Read More

It’s getting harder to keep track of all the reasons North Carolinians are displeased with Pat McCrory. Right now, it’s Duke Energy, his former employer, and the governor’s waffling on leaking coal ash ponds. There’s also teacher pay and the Medicaid expansion rejection and cutting unemployment benefits and a broken abortion promise and delivering cookies and “thanks for nothing” and, of course, the comedy that is the Department of Health and Human Services. So how bad are the polling numbers looking right now for Gov. McCrisis? Not that bad, really.Read More

Another day, another poll. Raleigh-based American Insights, considered a right-leaning firm, released results Tuesday on voter sentiment toward N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, including a finding that the GOP governor holds a six-point advantage over state Attorney General Roy Cooper in a prospective 2016 race. Cooper, a Democrat, has stated his intention to run. McCrory was elected in 2012 after losing to Democrat Bev Perdue four years earlier. In a poll conducted Feb. 11-15, American Insights questioned 611 registered voters across the state and found McCrory leading 44 percent to 38Read More

A new American Insights poll shows GOP Gov. Pat McCrory with a 43 percent job approval rating among registered voters, with 40 percent disapproving. “Our signature survey suggests that North Carolina voters are not as sour on our state’s leaders as previously thought,” said AI Insights Director Pearce Godwin. “Last week, we found that Democratic Senator Kay Hagan enjoys a stronger than expected position in terms of both her approval and her upcoming electoral contest than previous polls revealed. Today, we see that Republican Governor Pat McCrory’s numbers are alsoRead More