“You’re a Nazi,” the 20-something female screamed into the face of an elderly veteran.

The veteran shrugged off the comment as he barreled through the onslaught of protesters, only to find a safe haven amid the security guards and likeminded folks headed for the entrance of the Donald J. Trump presidential rally held this past Monday at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Asheville.

Motorcyclists have always been a distinct subset of the American population, long before they gained infamy in Hunter S. Thompson’s Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga, published by Random House in 1966; Marlon Brando gave credibility to the “outlaw” stereotype in the 1953 biker flick “The Wild One,” and James Dean solidified it in the 1955 movie “Rebel Without a Cause.”

In the second quarter of 2016, Burnsville Republican State Rep. Michelle Presnell only received one contribution that wasn’t from a political action committee, a professional association or another candidate.

The North Carolina Senate has become emboldened in its partisanship over the last couple of years, and there appears to be no end in sight. Under the leadership of Sen. Phil Berger, the president pro tem, and his troops — including our own Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin — it has ventured so far to the right and is making moves that are so politically heavy-handed that even Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and the GOP-controlled state House often call foul.

Voters could see more Ds and Rs on their election ballot in 2016 if Republicans push through legislation to make local school board and statewide judicial races partisan.

A long-awaited showdown in the internal power struggle for control of the Haywood County Republican Party will play out this Saturday during the party’s annual convention.

Karin Wollin had just taken a break from a sullen morning of sorting through stacks of campaign signs at the Haywood County Democratic headquarters in Waynesville when a clatter was heard on the sidewalk outside.

A group of past Macon County Commissioners spent an hour reminiscing about their triumphs and reflecting on lessons learned in front of an audience that included two Election Day hopefuls last week. The lunchtime program was the third in a series from the Macon County League of Women Voters examining the county’s growth from the perspective of those who served it during key moments. 

Thom Tillis has a recurring daydream. The Republican Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and candidate for the U.S. Senate, laid out his fantasy during the GOP’s annual convention held last weekend in Cherokee.   

“It goes something like this: I’m standing in the Senate chamber,” Tillis said, “and Harry Reid is looking for his seat. And I get to say, ‘Mr. Minority leader, it’s somewhere back there.”

An ongoing tug-of-war for control of the Haywood County Republican Party reached a finale last week.

A faction of conservative activists failed in their bid to wrest the chairman’s seat away from Pat Carr, who represents the mainstream party establishment. Carr now hopes the party can overcome the internal division that has plagued it for more than a year.