Archives for September 2020

Mary C. Curtis: Takeaways From First Presidential Debate

CHARLOTTENC — The first presidential debate is in the books!

President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden took the stage in Cleveland Tuesday night.

WCCB Political contributor Mary C. Curtis discusses the biggest takeaways from the debate.

POLITICAL WRAP: Previewing First Presidential Debate; Supreme Court Battle

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two days to go before the much anticipated first debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

President Trump is now “strongly demanding” Biden take a drug test before or after the debate, calling his previous performances “uneven.”

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has a debate preview and the latest on the battle to fill the open seat on the Supreme Court.

The Heat: Pres. Trump Threatens to Challenge U.S. Election Results

With 38 days to go, the latest polls continue to show Donald Trump trailing his opponent Joe Biden in many key states. For weeks the U.S. president has repeated baseless claims that the election results would be a “big scam” because of the expected increased use of mail-in voting. Something, he says, is open to fraud.

Then earlier this week a new tactic – a threat not to honor the results.

For more, CGTN’s Nathan King reports from the  White House.

To Discuss:

  • Eric Bolling is a political commentator and the host of “America This Week” on Sinclair broadcasting.
  • Chris Prudhome is a Republican strategist and the president of Sunvision Strategies
  • Mary C. Curtis is in North Carolina. She’s a columnist for “Roll Call’ and host of the “Equal Time” podcast.
  • Christopher Hahn is political commentator and the host of “The Aggressive Progressive” podcast.

Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup: No Labor Day COVID-19 Spike, Cooper Allows Large Venues To Open

On the next Charlotte Talks local news roundup …

County Health Director Gibbie Harris thought there might be a spike in coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg after the Labor Day weekend, but the data seems to be showing a continued drop in cases, even though the incubation period would now be nearly over. We’ll get reaction.

Good news for the Panthers this week: Gov. Roy Cooper announced that large venues can have up to 7% capacity beginning Oct. 2, in time for the Panthers’ next home game on Oct. 4. We’ll hear what the governor said and reaction from fans.

The candidates for U.S. Senate, Thom Tillis and Cal Cunningham, had another debate this week, with a clash over how and when the Supreme Court should replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week. We’ll lay out what they said, along with other topics in the debate.

And Wells Fargo makes news again, this time regarding comments CEO Charles Scharf made about his difficulty in finding qualified Black executives.

Join Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters for that news and more the local news roundup.

Guests:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist and “Equal Time” podcast host for Rollcall.com and WCCB

Katie Peralta, senior editor for Charlotte Agenda

David Boraks, reporter for WFAE 

Annie Ma, Education reporter for the Charlotte Observer 

Breonna Taylor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the future of our country with Fatima Goss Graves

In this inaugural episode of CQ Roll Call’s Equal Time, Mary C. Curtis reflects on this moment in time, examining the complexity and history of issues dividing the country in 2020. Today’s episode features Fatima Goss Graves, CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, discussing Breonna Taylor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what is at stake for the courts, our country and women — especially those of color.

Trump’s ‘good genes’ rhetoric illustrates why the fight for justice never ends

It was one of lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s cases before she took her place on the Supreme Court or in pop culture memes. It is only occasionally mentioned, perhaps because the details illuminated a truth people prefer to look away from, so they can pretend that sort of thing could never happen here.

But something terrible did happen, to a teenager, sterilized in 1965 without fully consenting or understanding the consequences in a program that continued into the 1970s in the state of North Carolina. The girl became a woman whose marriage and life crashed before her story became the basis of a lawsuit Ginsburg filed in federal court that helped expose the state’s eugenics program. While North Carolina’s was particularly aggressive, other states implemented their own versions, long ago given a thumbs up by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1927 decision written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Introducing ‘Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis’

In CQ Roll Call’s newest podcast, “Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis,” award-winning journalist Mary C. Curtis tackles policies and politics through the lens of social justice, illuminating the issues that have been, and still are, dividing the country. After all, the world is not so black and white.

“Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis” will drop its first episode on Thursday, Sept. 24. Listen and subscribe here.

Mary C. Curtis: Presidential Campaign Visits

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With presidential campaign visits, Charlotte is the center of a political universe.

If you did not already realize it, now it’s clear that North Carolina and Charlotte will be crucial in the November elections — actually before then, as early voting starts soon and mail-in ballots are already going out.

Both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will be visiting Charlotte this week — Biden on Wednesday and President Trump on Thursday. Family members and surrogates, both in person and virtually, have already visited the state — which holds 15 electoral votes and battleground status. (Mary C. Curtis)

Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Examining the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and the political firestorm to follow.

The legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Mary C. Curtis, a Columnist at Roll Call, talked about the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fight to replace her on the U.S. Supreme Court.