The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics

by Christensen, Rob

• ISBN13: 9780807871515
• ISBN10: 0807871516
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-04
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

How can a state be represented by Jesse Helms and John Edwards at the same time? Journalist Rob Christensen answers that question and navigates a century of political history in North Carolina, one of the most politically vibrant and competitive southern states, where neither conservatives nor liberals, Democrats nor Republicans, have been able to rest easy. It is this climate of competition and challenge, Christensen argues, that enabled North Carolina to rise from poverty in the nineteenth century to become a leader in research, education, and banking in the twentieth. In this new paperback edition, Christensen provides updated coverage of recent changes in North Carolina's political landscape, including the scandals surrounding John Edwards and Mike Easley, the defeat of U.S. senator Elizabeth Dole, the election of the state's first woman governor, and voters' approval of an African American candidate for president. The book provides an overview of the run-up to the 2010 elections and explains how North Carolina has become, arguably, the most politically competitive state in the South.

Author Biography

Rob Christensen has covered North Carolina politics for thirty-seven years at the News and Observer in Raleigh.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Prologue	p. 7
The Simmons Machine	p. 34
The Shelby Dynasty	p. 62
Branchhead Boys	p. 109
The Last of the Conservative Democrats	p. 154
Dixie Dynamo	p. 179
Jessecrats	p. 203
Jim Hunt and the Democratic Revival	p. 235
Phoenix Rising	p. 261
A New Century	p. 287
Epilogue	p. 311
Appendix	p. 319
Notes	p. 323
Index	p. 345
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