Carolina Politics Online

Last summer I sent a questionnaire to all the NCGOP state chair candidates so y’all would know where they stood. Looks like some of our guests would like me to do the same thing for the Republican candidates in N.C.’s 8th Congressional district race.

Well why stop there? I’ll also send one out to the Republican candidates seeking the nomination for Heath Shuler’s seat and Brad Miller’s seat. I’ll also send it to Patrick McHenry and his two challengers, as well as anyone else that pops up on my radar screen.

Only question is… what should my questions be? Is there a squirm-inducing query that you’d just love to ask a congressional candidate? Is there a particular something you must know about someone before you can vote for them? Well, post your question suggestions below and if I like it, I’ll include it in my questionnaire. Remember that these are federal, not state, candidates. Please submit your questions by Sat., Feb. 6th.

This is Haley’s opening statement from the January 28th Republican gubernatorial primary debate in Charleston.

A new poll released by Public Policy Polling shows Congressman John Spratt with a seven point lead over Republican challenger State Senator Mick Mulvaney.  Spratt leads Mulvaney 46% to 39%.  Despite Spratt in the lead this poll shows a vulnerability present as any time an incumbent is under 50% it’s cause for some concern.  Spratt was reelected in 2008 with 62% of the vote so he has experienced a significant drop off in support over the past year.

Columbia attorney Gregory Brown has entered the Democratic primary for South Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District, challenging Congressman Jim Clyburn.  I don’t know what this guy’s chances are of defeating Clyburn, but I wish him all the luck.  Jim Clyburn has been an epic fail of a representative.  Higher debts, larger government, and a worsening of the “Corridor of Shame” has been Clyburn’s legacy for nearly 20 years now.  The only reason he got elected to Congress in the first place was because the Supreme Court forced the state to carve out a district just for him.  He’s never received any serious opposition.

Senator Richard Burr (R) so far this election season has been leading all of his potential Democrat opponents by a decent amount, but he has been doing so usually only polling in the low 40s.  His numbers have improved a bit.  According to a new Rasmussen Report, Burr is leading Education Secretary Elaine Marshall 47% to 37% and has a very handy lead over Cal Cunningham 50% to 34%.  Any polling under 50%, however, is still a sign of vulnerability.

The Senate reached a compromise Thursday on a controversial Voter ID bill that phases in over two years new requirements for a picture ID in order for a person to vote in South Carolina.

The bill also establishes a new 15-day early voting period prior to elections, maintains walk-in absentee voting for 30 days prior to an election and retains mail-in absentee voting beginning at 45 days before an election.

The photo identification requirement takes effect Jan. 2, 2012, and the State Election Commission must begin issuing voter registration cards with photo ID by July, 1, 2011, pending state funding being made available for the cards.

The system carries an educational, public outreach component, so that currently-registered voters for whom obtaining a photo identification may pose a difficulty, could be assisted.

The compromise proposal must be cleared by U.S. Justice Department and still must go back to the S.C. House for its consideration and passage.

“This is another example of the Senate at its finest hour,” said Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, Senate president pro-tempore.

The State

This is the Senate’s finest hour?  I’m all for requiring ID to vote, but let’s not embellish too much here.  Then again, considering the state of our state, he’s probably serious.  They’ve actually done something right for once.

This has been such a controversial issue in South Carolina between and the Republicans and the Democrats and there is really no logical reason why.  Voting is one of the most important rights we have in this country and the integrity of that process needs to be protected.  I need to show my ID to get on an airplane, enter a Federal building, drive a car, open a bank account and the list goes on and on.  It only makes sense you should have to prove your identity at the ballot box.  It’s one of the surest ways to prevent fraud in our electoral system.

The U.S. Senate today voted to increase the nation’s debt ceiling another $1.9 trillion to continue to pay for entitlement programs, war mongering,  and other unconstitutional government spending that we can no longer afford.  The vote went down by a straight party line vote of 60 to 40.  This new debt increase amounts to $45,000 for every single American.  New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg (R) summed up the situation nicely.

“It took 200 years to build the federal debt to a total of $1.9 trillion,” Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican, said. “Now the majority wants to increase the current limit … by $1.9 trillion so that we can finance the government’s borrowing binge long enough to get us past the November 2010 elections.”

The AP

For those of you in North Carolina, call Kay Hagan’s office and ask why she is sentencing your children and grandchildren to lives of indentured servitude to the U.S. government in order to pay for her piggish greed today.  This woman is an unqualified embarrassment and that might explain her 29% approval rating across the state right now.

Washington D.C.
521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6342
Fax: 202-228-2563

Greensboro
701 Green Valley Rd; Suite 201
Greensboro, NC 27408
Phone: 336-333-5311
Fax: 336-333-5331

Raleigh
310 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-856-4630
Fax: 919-856-4053

Charlotte
1520 South Boulevard; Suite 205
Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: 704-334-2448
Fax: 704-334-2405

Asheville
82 Patton Avenue; Suite 635
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: 828-257-6510
Fax: 828-257-6514

A few months back I wrote about an organization that sprouted up out of Charleston called Change the Congress in 2010, the brain child of a Ms Catherine Welborn with the explicit intent of removing as many incumbents from Congress as possible.  The group has crossed the border into North Carolina and now has their eyes set on Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry.

Late last week, the group came out and publicly endorsed one of McHenry’s Republican primary opponents, Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle.  I exchanged emails with Ms Welborn and she cited her motivation being a great many grievances with the current sitting Congressman.  Among them were several improprieties that have shown up in the media over the past few years.  These include the 2007 indictment of one of McHenry’s campaign aids, his 2005 appearance on “ABC World News Tonight” in which he defended then House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s Congressional ethics violations, and a voting scandal in which McHenry claimed a owner occupied tax deduction on a Washington D.C. home, while still voting in North Carolina.

What seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was the recent release of an article by the John Locke Foundation.

Fighting the pay raise

A few lawmakers have consistently fought automatic pay raises. Among them is Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who, according a recent Deseret News article, has tried vainly every year since he was first elected to Congress in 2000 to force a straight up-or-down vote. With the economic downturn, Matheson predicted lawmakers in the new 111th Congress might be more interested in forcing the issue to a vote.

Early in 2009, three bills were introduced in the House and one in the Senate to deal with this issue. All members of the N.C. delegation were contacted. Of those who responded, most added they would likely support any bill to stop pay raises, should one come up for a vote.

The first bill, H.R. 156, would prevent members of Congress from receiving any automatic pay adjustment in 2010. N.C. delegation cosponsors are Reps. Walter Jones, R-3rd, Howard Coble, R-6th; Sue Myrick, R-9; Larry Kissell, D-8th; and Heath Shuler, D-11th. Rep. David Price, D-4th, plans to cosponsor the bill, according to his spokesperson, and added the decision was made prior to being contacted about his position on this issue.

Rep. Virginia Foxx , R-5th, is a cosponsor of H.R. 346, which would repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for members of Congress.

Coble is also a cosponsor of H.R. 201, which would prevent automatic pay raises for members of Congress in the year following a fiscal year in which there was a federal budget deficit.

S.B. 102 would repeal the law that provides automatic pay adjustments for members of Congress. Deputy Press Secretary David Ward said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has voted against automatic pay increases in the past and would do so again. Colleen Flanagan, a spokesperson for Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said Hagan is opposed to any automatic pay adjustments, given these economic times.

Something is glaringly missing here.  Patrick McHenry.  Every member of the North Carolina Republican Congressional delegation has co-sponsored one of these bills, including a few Democrats, seemingly except for Patrick McHenry whose name is no where to be found.  I too found this somewhat curious and I emailed his press secretary last evening, whom I get frequent press releases from each week, asking about this.  At this point I have not received a response regarding my question, although I did receive a new press release this afternoon.

Regarding Mr. Keadle’s candidacy and her endorsement of him over McHenry, Welborn based her support upon Keadle’s promise to not be a career politician, but to serve no more than three terms in the House.  He has also pledged to oppose Congressional pay raises and to not accept the Congressional pension upon leaving Congress.

Welborn also stated, “Scott Keadle is not a career politician.  He is not in anyone’s debt, not beholden to any group or organization except the people of NC-10.  He believes that it’s time to take back our country.  He believes that it’s time to replace career politicians with people who have real experience working at real jobs.  He believes that it’s time to send real people to Washington, people with real experience dealing with families and the emergencies involved with families.”

I have to say, it’s difficult to argue with her logic.

York County Councilman Paul Lindemann (R) just can’t stay out of the news.  He’s now a party of yet a third lawsuit that is brewing by a former employee of his now defunct investment company.  After all this time, the York County Republican Party is finally unofficially officially asking Lindemann to resign.  Took long enough.  Between this new lawsuit, this other lawsuit, and the recently finished lawsuit, among his rap list of other improprieties, he shouldn’t even need to be asked to step down, but I suppose expecting Lindemann to take responsibility and do the right thing would require a bit of integrity.  I doubt there is an ounce of that drifting anywhere within the depths of his ego.

Lindemann is not alone in the current suit.  His cohort Greg Rogers has also been named.  We wrote about Rogers last year, opposing his run for the State House when he entered the race to replace Carl Gullick in House District 48.  He eventually withdrew his candidacy once current State Rep Ralph Norman decided to enter the race, however Rogers has not completely exited the political realm.  He is an appointed member of the York County Economic Development Board.

The county GOP’s request for Lindemann to step down were unsurprisingly rebuffed.

Lindemann blames the economy for being unable to pay back investors on the Tega Cay property. He also said that he is now considering either running for reelection to the York County Council or for the S.C. House District 45 seat in November.

He will not resign from his current office, he added.

“You can tell the Republican party that the press I’ve gotten in the last few weeks have more than bolstered my decision to run again,” Lindemann said. “I’ve had more e-mails, more phone calls, and more pledges for money towards my next election, and I’m not going to listen to any party anywhere that is going to call for my resignation on the basis of the economy.”

The Herald

In usual form, Paul blames everyone but himself.

Whether or not he eventually succumbs to the pressure remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure.  There is already one Richard Daly in this country and Chicago can keep him.  Perhaps his York County protege should relocate.

Maybe.  David Waldman of The Daily Kos makes the case that the fate of the Democrats’ lack of health care reform bill is in the hands of my very own Congressman, John Spratt.  In a nut shell, as chairman of the House Rules Committee, Spratt can put together a package of changes, attach them to H.R. 3200, the original bill that made it out of committee in early fall, then present it to the House Rules Committee and pave the way for reconciliation.  Waldman has spelled it out in a bit more detail, but that is the general idea.

It’s an interesting proposal, one that could put Spratt in an unusual pickle.  Does he support the President’s ill fated agenda and ram this through as suggested above?  After all, according to rumor, Spratt wanted permission from Queen Pelosi to vote against the health care bill in the House and he was denied.  He’s proven to not have the testicular fortitude to stand up to the power brokers and listen to the people he actually works for, me and the other residents of the Fifth Congressional District.  A move on reconciliation would almost ensure Spratt’s defeat in November, but then I wouldn’t put it past him to do so and then decide to retire from the House after all.  Then Pelosi is happy, Obama is happy, and Spratt escapes all consequences back home.

I have my doubts, however, that after the Massachusetts Senate race the votes exist to pass this through both chambers even with a simple bare majority.  At least right now.  Frankly, I don’t know why Kos would even want them to do this.  This is nothing close to what Obama and the Democrats promised the people.  The left was promised a public option, which this bill lacks.  Furthermore, they are always railing against the profits of insurance companies.  It’s one of their biggest beefs with privatized health care, yet this health care bill is a giant corporate give away to those very same interests.

Keep an eye on John Spratt.  It’s the quiet, sneaky ones you need to pay attention to.

Paul Thurmond, son of the late Senator Strom Thurmond, a very controversial figure in American history, but beloved politician of South Carolinians, has decided to throw his hat into the ring to get the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Congressman Henry Brown.

Paul Thurmond is only 34 years old, but his father died in 2003 at age 100, which means Strom was incredibly old when he fathered his son.

Thurmond joins an ever crowding primary which includes Katherine Jenerette, Carroll “Tumpy” Campbell III, and Isle of Palms of Councilman Ryan Buckhannon.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R) is taking some flack this weekend over some comments he made at a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn in which he compared welfare recipients to the feeding of stray animals.  Harsh words?  Yeah, perhaps.  True?  Absolutely.  Bauer is correct and while his words may be ugly they’re appropriately descriptive of the ugly truth a lot of Americans don’t want to hear.

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply.

“They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is, you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better,” Bauer said.

In South Carolina, 58 percent of students participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program.

Bauer’s remarks came during a speech in which he said government should take away assistance if those receiving help didn’t pass drug tests or attend parent-teacher conferences or PTA meetings if their children were receiving free and reduced-price lunches.

Charlotte Observer

I’ll bet if you did a poll across South Carolina of what people thought of the point Bauer was making you’d find a majority in agreement with him.  The only people horrified by his analogy are the wusses in the not so mainstream media and of course, the Democrats are whining about it because they know Bauer’s right too, but the stray animals are their constituency.  I’m not opposed to some kind of limited government safety net for people who fall on hard times, but the use of our welfare system, not just in South Carolina, but all across the country is way beyond that threshold.  When 58% of South Carolina school children are getting free lunch it’s time to tighten up the qualifications.  This is a state that has absolutely gutted our state budget the last two years due to the Bush/Obama recession and it is unconscionable that we have cut back on needed resources in our prison system and other legitimate state government duties while perpetuating a welfare state of parents who aren’t fulfilling their obligation of providing for their families.  That responsibility shouldn’t be on my back or anyone else’s who have lead responsible lives.  As long as you continue the hand out, there is no motivation for self dependence.

Bauer didn’t make a mistake by saying this.  His mistake is capitulating to those criticizing him by admitting some guilt in what he said.  He’s not guilty of anything other than telling the truth and instead he should have told the media that he stands firmly by his comments.  By even giving a half apology it makes him look guilty and he loses respect.

Republican candidate for North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District, Lou Huddleston is holding some meet and greets in the coming week.  He will be speaking at the following locations:

Monday, January 25th 6:30-8:00pm
Stanly County GOP Headquarters
102 Second Street in Albemarle

Monday, February 1st 7:00-8:30pm
Concord Fire Station #8
1485 Old Charlotte Rd in Concord

For more information, please contact Andy Yates at (704) 467-0795

Susan Smith wants a new trial because she said her rights were violated.  I want to know why Susan Smith isn’t pushing up daisies somewhere already?  Don’t remember Susan Smith?  Oh, I bet you do.  She was the crazy bitch 15 years ago who locked her two children in her car then drowned them by rolling it into the lake.  And she says her rights were violated.  Only in America.

If there was any true justice in this country, Susan Smith would be strapped into a car herself and rolled into the nearest lake where she could rot for all eternity.

If you haven’t heard, the Biggest Jackass of 2008 crawled out of his hole the other day to tell us the sun was hot, trees are green, and that, oh yeah… I really am the father of that baby girl I’ve repeatedly denied over the past two years.

Here are some of my favorite responses to this earth-shattering shocker:

-Jon Stewart from The Daily Show said it was part of Edwards’ plan to announce his new line of perfume: “‘Forgiveness’, by John Edwards. For the day she grows out of hating you for denying you were her father.”

-In a post entitled “Anyone Who Ever Voted for John Edwards Ought to Take the Next Election Cycle Off“, Jim Geraghty said that he’d “like to take this moment to remind my Democratic friends that a little more than a year ago, about a third of them or so tried to elect this man to the presidency. A man who is astonishingly reckless, a bald-faced liar, a colossal jerk of a husband, tirelessly duplicitous, utterly convinced that he’s wily enough and smooth enough to convince a gullible American public of supremely implausible falsehoods, and who, sadly, probably needs some work as a father.

-Jay Leno: “This is pretty sleazy. John Edwards’ former aide says in an upcoming interview that Edwards asked him to steal a diaper from the baby to do a DNA test. Apparently the test showed that both the diaper and John Edwards are full of crap.”

State Rep. Margaret Dickson will step into Tony Rand’s shoes in the state Senate this month.

On Wednesday, an executive committee with four Democrats living in the Senate 19 District unanimously elected Dickson to fill Rand’s unexpired term.

Rand, 70, the former Senate majority leader, resigned Dec. 31 to become the state parole board chief. He spent most of the past 27 years in the Senate.

Dickson and Rand are Democrats who live in Fayetteville.

Dickson had only one competitor seeking Rand’s seat: David Boliek Jr., a Fayetteville lawyer.

The Fayetteville Observer

Lou Huddleston ran against her for state house in 2008. I don’t know if this senate seat will be vulnerable this year, but her house seat should be contested.

Dickson paid tribute to Rand.

“His service to the people of North Carolina will not be duplicated, and I wish him well,” she said.

Let us hope so.

[UPDATE]

Dickson will have to run in the November election to keep the seat. She may face a primary challenge from Dave Boliek, a Fayetteville defense lawyer. Boliek, who was a candidate for the party’s appointment, said he will decide by Sunday whether to run.

City Councilman Wesley Meredith, a Republican, stands ready to run against Dickson or Boliek in November. He said recently that he would have run regardless of whether Rand planned to stay.

On Thursday morning, City Councilwoman Val Applewhite announced her intention to win the Democratic Party’s endorsement for Dickson’s seat in the state House and run for its election. She faces former House member Bill Hurley for the appointment.

No Republican has announced intentions for that seat.

The F’ville Observer

Looks like Fayetteville will see some close races this year.

Wow, I think the title says it all. This is being reported in the News and Observer today. Nothing I can say changed anything. I wonder if he will cut a deal or how many charges he could get convicted on?

The 64-page indictment alleges that Poole, 37, of Raleigh, extorted money from key Easley supporters and took corresponding action on environmental permits. It charges him with bribery, use of the mail in aid of racketeering, and says his actions deprived North Carolina citizens of his “honest services.”

I wonder if he would rather clean out the bunkers or just cut the greens?

Lanny Wilson, a very influential fundraiser for Easley and Perdue has resigned from his Department of Transportation position as reported in the News and Observer today.

He testified to the State Board of Elections that he gave large amounts of money to the Democratic Party with the intention of it being given to the campaigns of Easley andPerdue. This is a felony according to state and federal law. One has to wonder why our Democratic State Attorney General has not pursued this? No we don’t.

Such funneling would violate limits on donations to individual candidates. Wilson was the main financial backer of several coastal developments, including the Cannonsgate development where Easley bought a lot at a six-figure discount.

Perdue had him on her short list for her cabinet and Senator Basnight has just emotion filled words of support for Lanny Wilson.

“Lanny has so much to give this state. He’s smart and he understands the department very well. I believe he could reorganize the department in a fashion that we would get much more out for our money,” Basnight said.

I hope people now see why North Carolina is considered to have one of the most corrupt state governments in our union.