Amendment One...Creating Unexpected Political Bedfellows

Single-issue debates and referendums can often make for unexpected (and unintended) political alliances which turn an expected result into a surprise.  The May 8th vote on Amendment One to define marriage into the North Carolina Constitution is shaping up to be just such an occassion.

If history is any guide, one would assume this amendment passes easily in the only remaining Southern state to not have such a provision in its state constitution.  If it fails, that will be due to those assumptions being wrong.

Picking a Candidate in a Primary

This primary season is already shaping up to be one of the most interesting in recent memory, and the filing period is only one week old. Voters will have more choices to make between members of the same party than in many past election cycles.  Since many districts are "safe" for one party or the other, the primary is the real race, but sizing up the differences between candidates of the same party can be difficult.

Republicans Put Themselves in a Pickle Over Gay Marriage Amendment

With Beverly Perdue's exit from the governor's race this fall, the proposed state constitutional ban on gay marriage just got interesting.  Passage of the controversial amendment on the May 8th primary ballot was a foregone conclusion when the only big race on the ticket was the Republican presidential primary.  Now, with a Democratic primary for governor on the ticket as well, the Republicans in the Legislature have a problem.