Politics

The moment we’ve been waiting for is now.  The Democratic National Convention officially kicks off on Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Arena but events surrounding the convention begin (began) Sunday with protest marches downtown.  Labor Day is devoted to CarolinaFest, a big outdoor party to welcome conventioneers, locals and the media to town.  We look at what happened over the weekend and what’s ahead for the DNC and us.

North Carolina has long been a battleground state but not just in politics or history. Labor unions have long fought to have a bigger presence in the state but the anti-labor movement has succeeded in keeping North Carolina, and much of the south, as right-to-work states. That issue is not lost on some groups who note that the Democratic National Convention, the convention of a party that has historically been pro-union, is being held in a right-to-work state.

The very rich and the very poor are often the subjects of modern presidential campaigns. The rich come up every time there is a battle over tax reform and who should pay their fair share and the poor are often in the middle of battles over so-called entitlement programs and budget priorities. But for the vast millions of Americans in the middle class, this may be the most important election in decades. The Middle Class is being discussed with great fervor on both sides and most experts agree that the next President will be the candidate who appeals most to these voters.

Young voters came out in record numbers in 2008 to elect Barack Obama as President. Four years later, a poll from Pew Research Center this summer says Americans under the age of 30 are less engaged in the upcoming election and in politics in general than they were in 2008. Are the parties and politicians listening to this particular voter group? Do young people feel like they are being heard?

Tent Issues for the DNC As the Democratic National Convention edges closer to descending upon Charlotte we launch a series of examinations of the tent pole issues the Democratic delegates will support, debate and eventually adopt as part of their platform. Some of the issue are obvious like the economy, healthcare and foreign policy but party leaders also say that gay marriage may end up as a plank and gun control is back in the news as well.