Archives for November 2016

No charges in Keith Scott shooting in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC –We’ll learned today that the Mecklenburg County district attorney will not charge Brent Vinson, the CMPD officer who shot and killed Keith Scott back in September. Scott’s death sparked peaceful protests and riots here in Charlotte and across the country. The DA  announced his decision after meeting with the Scott family Wednesday morning. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.

Nikki Haley, Once a Trump Foe, Moves to the Front of the Line

When South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, all smiles, made a strategic visit to New York last week to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, it was a different vision than most of those parading in and out to see the soon-to-be top guy. She was one of the first potential candidates who was not a white guy in a suit.

And now that the Indian-American Haley has been picked by Trump to be the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, we know why she was smiling. Chosen as the first woman and first minority chosen for a Cabinet-level position, the 44-year-old leader just may be the future of the Republican Party. Those who doubt that definitely have not been following the conservative Republican governor who has charted her own path, satisfying her base yet knowing when to seize the moment even if it means taking a chance.

 

North Carolina’s Endless Gubernatorial Race


CHARLOTTE, NCPat McCrory officially files for a state-wide recount… with challenger Roy Rooper still leading with more than 6,100 votes. McCrory says it’s the only way to make sure voters have confidence in the results. Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis breaks it down.

In appreciation: Gwen Ifill, 1955-2016

The right question — thoughtful, relevant, bold — can catch even the most prepared politician off guard.

It seems a generation ago, but it was just 12 years. Barack Obama was an Illinois senator who had given a memorable speech at the summer’s Democratic National Convention. John Kerry was running against the incumbent President George W. Bush. On Oct. 5 2004, at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University, Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his Democratic challenger John Edwards were in a debate, and moderator Gwen Ifill asked just such an incandescent question.

Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks


CHARLOTTE, NC — President-Elect Donald Trump is promising to “drain the swap,” but a lot of his cabinet picks are Capitol Hill heavyweights. Appointing former Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon as chief strategist is getting the most backlash. Political contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on the Trump transition.

The Heat: Media, polls & U.S. politics

On China Central TV’s ‘The Heat,’ discussing media and the elections, with Kathy Kiely, Joe Madison, Sean Callebs and anchor Anand Naidoo:

 

Hope for a United Future in America’s Divided Past

When you enter the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, you step into an elevator going down, and through its glass walls, the years flash by, with history moving backward, to the 1400s. Campaign 2016 has often resembled that kind of journey, not moving that far into the past, of course, but far enough to a time when no thin line of civility kept American citizens from lashing out at one another — loudly, and with anger and violence.

That has been the dispiriting price of the long slog to Election Day, Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, with the country collectively collapsing at the finish line. Still, it would be wise for all Americans to acknowledge that there are miles to go, and that this path is one we have traveled since the beginning, often with one side celebrating and the other deflated — a future of cooperation and compromise downright impossible to imagine

 

Local News Roundup: Reaction To Donald Trump’s Election; Other NC Election Results; CMS Magnet Vote

North Carolina voters played a big role in the outcome of the presidential race, but the governor’s race is still too close to call.  Our panel of reporters will look at that, and at some of the other shakeups and outcomes in state-based races.  Also, CMS takes a vote on the magnet school lottery, and the Hornets are off to a flying start.  

Trump’s Coalition Can’t Last

It wasn’t a question of if, but when. When would demographics become destiny for political candidates hoping to lead an increasingly diverse America, and require outreach more than a photo op with a taco bowl?

‘When’ has not yet arrived

 

U.S. election: ‘Tomorrow could be beginning not the end’

Barack Obama’s election was a watershed moment for African-Americans, but they appear to have less enthusiasm for this election’s Democrat Hillary Clinton. Mary C. Curtis, a columnist at Roll Call and NPR contributor, discusses Mrs Clinton’s popularity with The World.