The Daily Haymaker Guest Editorial
Our GUY IN CHARGE - editor and publisher Brant Clifton - has marched to the beat of a different drum from very early in life. The grandson of a Democrat party machine boss, Mr. Clifton registered Republican at 18 and campaigned for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. He worked for the late U.S. Senator Jesse Helms in Washington during and right after college.
Mr. Clifton took on the liberal media as an analyst with The Media Research Center, then jumped into a lengthy career with the "drive-by media". His work has appeared in local newspapers in The Carolinas. He has done on-camera work for ABC's Good Morning America, and print work for national publications such as US News & World Report and People magazine. Mr. Clifton has also worked as a correspondent for AP, UPI, Reuters and Agence France Presse.
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Richard Burr, Renee Ellmers and Bob Pittenger - take note. It would appear that Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are blowing smoke up your posteriors.
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Richard Burr, Renee Ellmers and Bob Pittenger - take note. It would appear that Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are blowing smoke up your posteriors.
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Gov. Pat McCrory took our advice and signed that voter ID bill passed by the General Assembly. Kudos to him. The bill didn't go as far as I would like to see it go, but something is better than nothing.
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Gov. Pat McCrory took our advice and signed that voter ID bill passed by the General Assembly. Kudos to him. The bill didn't go as far as I would like to see it go, but something is better than nothing.
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What about state House Speaker Thom Tillis - the establishment favorite currently running slightly behind Brannon in polling matchups with Hagan?
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What about state House Speaker Thom Tillis - the establishment favorite currently running slightly behind Brannon in polling matchups with Hagan?
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The mainstream media tells us that Gov. Pat McCrory has 38 bills sitting on his desk waiting for signatures or vetoes.
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The mainstream media tells us that Gov. Pat McCrory has 38 bills sitting on his desk waiting for signatures or vetoes.
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Boy, have Boehner and his folks got their talking points down.
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Boy, have Boehner and his folks got their talking points down.
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Congress is in summer recess. Typically, members go home to their districts and states to hold town hall meetings and brief the voters on happenings in DC.
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Congress is in summer recess. Typically, members go home to their districts and states to hold town hall meetings and brief the voters on happenings in DC.
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US Senator Kay Hagan - affectionately known in some parts as Chuck Schumer's Sock Puppet™ - found her way out of the sock drawer this week to meet with the slow-pitch softballers on The Fayetteville Observer's editorial staff.
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US Senator Kay Hagan - affectionately known in some parts as Chuck Schumer's Sock Puppet™ - found her way out of the sock drawer this week to meet with the slow-pitch softballers on The Fayetteville Observer's editorial staff.
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Imagine if Samuel Adams had said: "What's the point to standing up to the British? I mean, King George is the king. He's in control.
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Imagine if Samuel Adams had said: "What's the point to standing up to the British? I mean, King George is the king. He's in control.
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Charlotte's rookie congressman has apparently decided that pleasing John Boehner and Eric Cantor is more important than saving the country and protecting the folks back home.
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Charlotte's rookie congressman has apparently decided that pleasing John Boehner and Eric Cantor is more important than saving the country and protecting the folks back home.
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NCGOP HQ and McClatchy spent the day trumpeting the hiring of Todd Poole as the state party's new executive director. I would be willing to bet that a lot of Republicans in Davidson County are not cheering the news.
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NCGOP HQ and McClatchy spent the day trumpeting the hiring of Todd Poole as the state party's new executive director. I would be willing to bet that a lot of Republicans in Davidson County are not cheering the news.
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DGeatWhile leading Republican officials are ignoring the party platform and surrendering on important issues like ObamaCare and Common Core, the North Carolina Republican Party and its chairman have set their sights on the host of a little-watched public television program.
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DGeatWhile leading Republican officials are ignoring the party platform and surrendering on important issues like ObamaCare and Common Core, the North Carolina Republican Party and its chairman have set their sights on the host of a little-watched public television program.
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Regular readers of this site know we tend to be highly critical of congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-2). Miss Renee tends to give us plenty of ammo every time she gets in front of a representative of the mainstream media - like HERE.
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Regular readers of this site know we tend to be highly critical of congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-2). Miss Renee tends to give us plenty of ammo every time she gets in front of a representative of the mainstream media - like HERE.
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We just went through a bit of drama getting a state budget agreement that increased spending and cut taxes. Now, word comes that Gov. McCrory's commerce secretary wants a new tax
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We just went through a bit of drama getting a state budget agreement that increased spending and cut taxes. Now, word comes that Gov. McCrory's commerce secretary wants a new tax
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Tea Partiers in The Carolinas have an opportunity to make a forceful statement in the 2014 GOP primaries for US Senate.
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Tea Partiers in The Carolinas have an opportunity to make a forceful statement in the 2014 GOP primaries for US Senate.
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It's getting harder and harder to defend our new Republican governor here in North Carolina.
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It's getting harder and harder to defend our new Republican governor here in North Carolina.
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Well, we had about six or so feminazis standing outside the governor's mansion on Monday waving signs and hollering. Gov. Pat's team thought it would be funny to take them some cookies.
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Well, we had about six or so feminazis standing outside the governor's mansion on Monday waving signs and hollering. Gov. Pat's team thought it would be funny to take them some cookies.
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Well, congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) has sent out an email to constituents announcing that she's going to forego a run for the Senate and bless us with TWO MORE YEARS in DC's lower chamber.
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Well, congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) has sent out an email to constituents announcing that she's going to forego a run for the Senate and bless us with TWO MORE YEARS in DC's lower chamber.
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Polling shows two-thirds to three-quarters of North Carolinians expressing serious dissatisfaction with ObamaCare.
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Polling shows two-thirds to three-quarters of North Carolinians expressing serious dissatisfaction with ObamaCare.
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one of the Tea Party's vanguards - has released its latest scorecards evaluating lawmakers on how they vote in terms of the limited government agenda. Lawmakers were assigned percentage-based scores ranging from 1(liberal) to 100 (perfect conservative).
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one of the Tea Party's vanguards - has released its latest scorecards evaluating lawmakers on how they vote in terms of the limited government agenda. Lawmakers were assigned percentage-based scores ranging from 1(liberal) to 100 (perfect conservative).
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McClatchy and WRAL try oh-so-hard to convince us that Moral Monday is an honest-to-God grassroots uprising. *Folks are standing up against the state's slide into fascist totalitarianism.*
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McClatchy and WRAL try oh-so-hard to convince us that Moral Monday is an honest-to-God grassroots uprising. *Folks are standing up against the state's slide into fascist totalitarianism.*
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I'm a big fan of empowering law enforcement and the military to hunt down and destroy foreign bad guys trying to do harm to innocent Americans.
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I'm a big fan of empowering law enforcement and the military to hunt down and destroy foreign bad guys trying to do harm to innocent Americans.
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For years, the UNC Board of Governors has been known as a popular destination for political cronies seeking patronage payoffs. Though, recent scandals within the university system had prompted state Republicans to talk up the idea of shaking the place up.
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For years, the UNC Board of Governors has been known as a popular destination for political cronies seeking patronage payoffs. Though, recent scandals within the university system had prompted state Republicans to talk up the idea of shaking the place up.
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From 1972 to 2002, North Carolina was represented in the US Senate by one of the nation's most preeminent conservatives.
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From 1972 to 2002, North Carolina was represented in the US Senate by one of the nation's most preeminent conservatives.
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The NC General Assembly is moving to accomplish something long overdue - killing off straight-ticket voting. North Carolina has been ONE of only 15 states to allow straight-ticket voting.
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The NC General Assembly is moving to accomplish something long overdue - killing off straight-ticket voting. North Carolina has been ONE of only 15 states to allow straight-ticket voting.
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McClatchy-Raleigh breathlessly reported on the addition of "youth speakers" to Bill Barber's weekly freak show on the Halifax Mall.
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McClatchy-Raleigh breathlessly reported on the addition of "youth speakers" to Bill Barber's weekly freak show on the Halifax Mall.
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We reported earlier on an uproar in Davidson County about filling a vacant state House seat. State Rep. Jerry Dockham (R), the area's legislator since the 90s, resigned to take an appointment to the NC Utilities Commission.
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We reported earlier on an uproar in Davidson County about filling a vacant state House seat. State Rep. Jerry Dockham (R), the area's legislator since the 90s, resigned to take an appointment to the NC Utilities Commission.
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The mainstream media has been regaling us all day with stories about the $20.6 BILLION budget deal reached by the GOP majority in the North Carolina General Assembly. Yay! We've got a budget!
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The mainstream media has been regaling us all day with stories about the $20.6 BILLION budget deal reached by the GOP majority in the North Carolina General Assembly. Yay! We've got a budget!
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Rob "Mr. Politics" Christensen - who has spent THREE decades at The N&O missing stuff like John Edwards's blonde with the camera, Mike Easley's corruption, and Dennis Wicker stiffing a pizza guy - thinks he has the state Senate's president pro tem ALL FIGURED OUT.
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Rob "Mr. Politics" Christensen - who has spent THREE decades at The N&O missing stuff like John Edwards's blonde with the camera, Mike Easley's corruption, and Dennis Wicker stiffing a pizza guy - thinks he has the state Senate's president pro tem ALL FIGURED OUT.
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Lt Gov. Dan Forest sent DPI Secretary June Atkinson roughly 20 pages worth of questions about the controversial Common Core curriculum. Did Lt. Dan get his answers?
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Lt Gov. Dan Forest sent DPI Secretary June Atkinson roughly 20 pages worth of questions about the controversial Common Core curriculum. Did Lt. Dan get his answers?
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In late June, the Draft Mark Harris committee was touting the hiring of Tracy Bengtson - a Mecklenburg County grassroots activist who was a key player in the election of Lt. Gov. Dan Forest - as political director.
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In late June, the Draft Mark Harris committee was touting the hiring of Tracy Bengtson - a Mecklenburg County grassroots activist who was a key player in the election of Lt. Gov. Dan Forest - as political director.
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It sounds odd to hear me praising McClatchy, but they've done some bang-up work pointing out the waste in the NC Rural Center and making a case for its closure.
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It sounds odd to hear me praising McClatchy, but they've done some bang-up work pointing out the waste in the NC Rural Center and making a case for its closure.
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It looks like my prediction that running for the US Senate would shove leadership of the state House into a distant second place is panning out.
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It looks like my prediction that running for the US Senate would shove leadership of the state House into a distant second place is panning out.
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The GOP establishment is having a conniption over the audacity of Liz Cheney - daughter of the former VPOTUS - daring to challenge the renomination of a sitting GOP senator.
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The GOP establishment is having a conniption over the audacity of Liz Cheney - daughter of the former VPOTUS - daring to challenge the renomination of a sitting GOP senator.
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New York Times blogger Nate Silver has been pretty doggone prescient in recent years with his election prognostications. He has an interesting observation regarding the 2014 battle for control of the US Senate
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New York Times blogger Nate Silver has been pretty doggone prescient in recent years with his election prognostications. He has an interesting observation regarding the 2014 battle for control of the US Senate
