State Republicans seem to be in a good mood these days. They have a couple reasons to be optimistic about their political futures.
House and Senate seats all face election next year, and Republicans in the legislature have clearly had future campaign literature on the brain.
Here are five reasons state Repubilcans may be smiling today.
1. Everyone is taking a hit. House and Senate Democrats got stuck on how to reform the state's tax code. The compromise plan raises everyone's sales and income taxes. So mailers and campaign flyers don't have to be targeted to specific industries or demographics. They can begin, "Dear North Carolina taxpayer..."
2. Painful cuts still ahead. Even with the new taxes, the budget will include cuts to state services. Republicans in the legislature often complain that they are shut out of the budget process. But the good news is that being shut out means they can blame Democrats for any and all cuts.
3. Gov. Beverly Perdue. The Democratic party's most visible figure has been facing lots of bad polling news lately. While there is plenty of time for her to turn things around, numbers as low as she is facing now may be a drag on the party for some time.
4. Mike Easley. Federal investigators continue to call witnesses to testify in what appears to be an ever-widening probe of the former governor and his wife's lucrative job at N.C. State University.
5. They may be due for a win. Democrats dominated state politics for much of the last 100 years. The other side has to win sometime, right? Well, maybe not. They didn't take the legislature in 2006 when then-Speaker Jim Black was deeply mired in scandals that eventually sent him to prison.
"Republicans have had a great knack in our state of not picking up on issues and snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory," said Jack Hawke, a Republican consultant. "I'm a Republican through and through, but I have to admit we're pretty inept."
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Re: It's good to be the NCGOP
The GOP should have some opportunities in the 2010 NC races. But not if they keep trotting out the same old candidates. A strong recruitment of fresh, young faces needs to happen. Run a candidate or two without the gravy stained tie. And quit talking about UFO's. Get some candidates on the ballot that don't blow smoke out their ears when they get up on the stump. And find some guys whose head does not spin around like the little girl in the movie, "The Exoricist." Some of their rhetoric scares the little children and old people. Soften it up a bit and talk about taxes and cutting spending and apple pie. Don't spend a lot of time on family values because no one knows what comprises a family any more. And about half of the people are divorced or thinking of divorce or wishing they could afford a divorce. And get some thin people to run. I like thin candidates sometimes. At least they can get up and walk around. And some with business experience who have actually worked for something other than government or some agency no one knows about.