Gut reaction —who cares?— but apparently N&R ed page editor Allen Johnson does. In this week’s Rhino publishers column Carroll writes about his recent lunch with Johnson to talk over Sen. Trudy Wade’s bill restructuring the Greensboro City Council:

This Allen Johnson interview was nothing like I have seen before. I’m not saying it was so heated that I think Allen is ready for anger management counseling, but let’s just say it was very intense at times.

Allen tried to pin me down on everything from where I stood on global warming to the fact that he was sure I knew where Jimmy Hoffa was buried. Just kidding on the Jimmy Hoffa comment, but serious on the global warming comment. This was not the same “engagement of different ideas” discussion that I had signed up for. Nor was it anything like the discussions we had had in the past. The main thing that I took away from my discussion with Allen was his strong opposition, as far as I could tell, to all aspects of Wade’s bill.

I guess the question here is why does the N&R care so passionately about whether or not the Gboro council restructured? I’m not saying it’s not a major story that shouldn’t be well-covered, but let’s be honest here—you can just smell the contempt when you pick the paper up off the walkway in the morning. (Yes I still do that, though I often wonder why.)

The N&R’s never cared for Wade, but I think it’s obvious the powers that be down on E. Market have either decided —or had it decided for them — that the paper would take a radical left turn. Best example obviously is Susan Ladd’s ultra-lefty columns; even more recently Doug Clark defended President Obama’s arrogant and pompous ‘high horse’ remarks on Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast.