And now for something completely different

North Carolina Diplomacy

Posted by Seth on Apr 28, 2008 - 08:37 pm

With the Presidential race for the Republicans over, and with the Democratic race deadlocked, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at NC politics for a few posts. Being a resident of this great state, I am involved and very interested in what happens here. Since my last post was about them ding-dang Democrats, I’ll start this little series with the Republican Gubernatorial primary. (Full disclosure, I have been working with the Pat McCrory campaign for Governor).

Much like the national primary, we have a crowded field for Governor. Elbie Powers, a peanut farmer, is not running at all. Bill Graham, the man who ran a legion of ads to fight the gas tax increase, has tried to buy his way to the nomination, though he has been unable to capitalize on his fame from the commercials. His main problem is that despite his personal wealth, he’s barely spent a dime on the race, and hasn’t even purchased TV ads to get his name out to voters.

That leaves three serious candidates for governor: Bob Orr, Pat McCrory, and Fred Smith. Realistically, it is between Pat and Fred, but Bob has been making a good fight at it.

Bob Orr, a former State Supreme Court Justice, has a great website, a common sense message, and is smart as a whip. He has numerous problems as a candidate. His main problem is that Pat McCrory is consolidating the moderate Republican vote, which takes away from Orr and Graham, who have similar polling numbers. His other problem is electability in the general election. While he points to his ability to win judicial races, those are often seen as more toned down, less partisan affairs. In a gubernatorial race like this, Orr’s argument that he appeals to independents and Democrats is correct. The problem is that the Democrats have two good candidates in Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore. These two also appeal to independents, and Orr is unlikely to attract Democrats away from such strong candidates, no matter his appeal.

After the jump, the main contenders.

The amazing disappearing Mike Easley

Posted by Seth on Apr 28, 2008 - 07:35 pm

Hillary Clinton picked up a big endorsement today when North Carolina Governor Mike Easley agreed to endorse her. The endorsement will be finalized Tuesday.

I am personally not surprised by this development. Easley has been one of those superdelegates I mentioned a long time ago on this blog. He has been one of the ones who has stated that they will decide to endorse whoever they want in the race, and that they will be independent of what the voters say. This has constantly been coded language for those who support Hillary but don’t want to hurt their political careers by endorsing her over Obama in some areas. As he approaches the cessation of his Gubernatorial career, Easley has expressed no interest in running for another office, and is more than likely trying to set himself up for a cabinet position, the ideal spot for someone who is adverse to attention and the spotlight as Dracula is to garlic and the sunlight.

Some people have come out and said that this is not a major endorsement because Easley does not have a political machine in the state. Well, he is a product of a political machine controlled by State Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight and former Governor Jim Hunt. Neither has endorsed, but their actions in the past few weeks show that they prefer Senator Clinton, and may use their influence to assist her here. Basnight joined several in calling upon Obama to debate Clinton in North Carolina along with Hunt. Hunt, a resident of Wilson County (my home), was seen at a Bill Clinton rally in Wilson just a few weeks ago, hinting that he is likely backing the former First Lady. This machine may have the power to prevent Obama from reaching the knock-out victory he was hoping he would get in North Carolina.

I want your opinion folks. This is a major endorsement for Senator Clinton, and is likely a result of her stalwart victory in Pennsylvania, as well as a new poll out today showing the former First Lady doing better against John McCain than Senator Obama. She raised $10 million in the day after Pennsylvania. Senator Obama has repeatedly inserted his foot successfully into his mouth, drawing attention to himself and away from the flaws of Hillary.
Game on.

Tags: hillary+clinton, barack+obama, john+mccain, mike+easley, endorsement, political+prescience, | Comment

a party divided cannot stand

Pedantic Pennsylvania

Posted by Mick on Apr 23, 2008 - 07:59 am

Hillary has as expected, pulled off a victory in Pennsylvania. At this point, the divide in the party is something I find rather troubling, especially as exit poll after exit poll has revealed that supporters of either candidate are threatening to desert the party should their opponent win.

The sheer fact that Hillary is still in the race is the farthest thing from selfless that I have ever seen (truly a pity considering her noble past). Many had noted that her only chance to the nomination was to stay close and hope for a major gaffe— CNN last night said that even James Carville, one of the closest friends of the Clintons said it would take “multiple straight flushes” for a win.

Well, she’s done it again

Posted by Seth on Apr 22, 2008 - 10:46 pm

Hey folks, sorry for my absence over the last few days. As with most of you, I’ve been working on all of my final papers and projects trying to survive just long enough to make it to summer.

But enough about me, what about Hillary?

I had the pleasure of listening in on Senator Clinton and Maya Angelou’s conversation the other day. I agreed with practically nothing the ubiquitous Senator had to say, but she picked an excellent format to present her case to North Carolina and American voters. And it looks like we’ll be seeing more of Senator Clinton in North Carolina after her victory in Pennsylvania.

With 95% of the vote in from Pennsylvania, Clinton has managed to sustain a double digit, 10 point victory in Pennsylvania, despite having squandered a 20 point lead earlier this year. This margin is enough to keep her in the race, and to possibly get her enough of the popular vote to make the case to the super delegates that she deserves their support. She just went from a 2% chance of winning the nomination to a 3% chance.

I’ve been watching Fox News as they release the results of Pennsylvania, and it’s been interesting to note that Clinton has been cozying up to Fox News. There was banter back and forth between Terry McAullife and the Fox hosts, as Mcaullife praised them for projecting Hillary’s victory before CNN. Then, there was a commercial about Clinton being on one of the Fox morning shows tomorrow. Could this have anything to do with her past work with Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch? The world may never know.

Tags: hillary+clinton, maya+angelou, pennsylvania, fox+news, rupert+murdoch, | Comment

With a slight chance of libel

The forecast for today is terror…

Posted by Seth on Apr 17, 2008 - 07:43 pm

Barack Obama was hounded at last nights debate about any connections he might have with Weathermen terrorist Bill Ayers. The Weathermen were a group in the Sixties and Seventies who planted bombs in order to hurt the federal government in opposition to the Vietnam War. In his memoirs, Ayers is quoted as saying, “I don’t regret setting bombs, I feel we didn’t do enough.”

Obama’s relationship with Ayers is scant at best. According to Michael Dobbs’ The Fact Checker at the Washington Post, Obama’s only dealings with Ayers have been a $200 donation from Ayers during Obama’s Senate race, the fact that they run in some of the same Chicago circles, and the fact that they are on the board of an anti-poverty group together.

While I obviously don’t care for these activities, I realize that it may or may not amount to much other than that they share a similar left wing ideology. What really bothers me about the whole process is what Obama said at the debate about his association with Ayers. Instead of explaining their relationship, he decided to compare the terrorist to a sitting United States Senator. Here’s what he had to say:

The fact is that I’m also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried about abortions. Do I need to apologize for Mr. Coburn’s statements?

So, apparently associating with a United States Senator who holds a strong line view on abortion is the same as associating with someone who was once a terrorist. I find that deplorable, and I think if Senator Coburn wanted to take a shot at Obama about that, then he could. But I think he’s too classy to do such a thing.

This continues to illuminate how out of touch Obama is. He is willing to defend his relationship with a terrorists with whom he shares left wing views, and justifies it by throwing a so-called friend under the bus. Obama’s abrasive, sleazy personality is showing more and more as this campaign continues. Gone is the hopeful, kind Obama, and present is the abrasive, petty, cruel individual who will do anything to get elected. Looks like he and Senator Clinton aren’t so different after all.

Tags: hillary+clinton, barack+obama, tom+coburn, weathermen, bill+ayers, | Comment