North Carolina, Republican | featured news

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have introduced a bill declaring that the state has the power to establish an official religion — a direct challenge to the First Amendment. One professor of politics called the measure “the verge of being neo-secessionist,” and another said it was reminiscent of how Southern states objected to the Supreme Court’s 1954 integration of public schools.

During a recent weekend in North Carolina, Tim Pawlenty did what he has been doing over the past year for Mitt Romney: He drove himself non-stop. In one town, he discussed the economy and jobs with a group of parents at an ice rink. Before the event ended, the former high school junior varsity hockey player had taken to the ice to give children a few skating tips. Soon, he was off again. He helped to open a Republican office in Raleigh, turning fiery, using the occasion to hammer President Obama and show off his combative skills: “I’m tired of hearing his teleprompter speeches and no results. . . . Those words, they don’t put gas in our cars, do they?”

Republican front-runner Mitt Romney defended his leadership on Thursday of a private equity firm at the center of a raging campaign battle in South Carolina over whether while its chief executive he was a job killer.