Carolina Politics Online

CONCORD - Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole says she is spending some of her own money on her first re-election bid.

Dole declined to say how much she has contributed to the effort. But Dole has been trying to offset the millions in spending on negative television ads that Democrats have used to make the race one of the closest in the country.

The Independent Tribune

Elizabeth Dole is in a lot of trouble right now.  This race between her and Hagan was close before the economic meltdown.  Now with the market tanking further just about every day and people collapsing after receiving their quarterly 401k statements, the electorate is being pushed towards the Democrats, whether rigthly or wrongly.  I would surmise that right now Dole has about a 50/50 chance of being reelected and that’s not a comfortable position for an incumbent to be in.

It’s getting to be close to Election Day so the annoying political ads on TV are popping up about every five minutes now.  And here I present you with a tribute to all those exciting ads that we just lick our chops for every election season.

Robin Hayes is desperate!!

          At the AKA Sorority function last night Kay Hagan attacked Dole with the same talking points from her commercial. She talked about Dole’s effectiveness rating and voting with Bush 90% of the time. Hagan forgot to mention that she voted with Marc Basnight and Tony Rand 100% of the time and also voted for that $9 million jet Easley had to cancel. Hagan was very negative and condescending towards Dole while talking to a small probably receptive audience.

          My opponent Dan Blue was too busy talking about Voting for Obama to be worried about his own race. And I got Vernon Malone angry at me because I said that the leadership in Raleigh was responsible for our failures on Mental healthcare, Roads, Schools, and many other failures. I did mention to a voter that it took a Democratic consultant to start the downfall of Jim Black, not the General Assembly leadership. Also Malone did not ask for the expulsion of Representative Wright when overwhelming evidence caused the full House to eject him. Malone only wanted a slap on the wrist of Wright. Maybe corrupt is a label that DOES fit the leadership of the Democratic Party in Raleigh.

Who sucks worse than the other?  You decide.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic candidate, recently deployed a television ad featuring Sarah Witt of Raleigh, a former marathon runner now paralyzed by a neurological disease, who speaks from a wheelchair, with the aid of an electronic voice box. Witt criticizes the Republican nominee, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, for opposing embryonic stem cell research.

McCrory returned fire with an ad featuring his sister, Linda Sebastian, who scolds Perdue for suggesting McCrory is insensitive to suffering and highlights that their parents died of “long illnesses” — Alzheimer’s disease and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Robert Pittenger, Republican: “I support [non-embryonic] stem cell research. To date, there have been 73 medical findings improving the health of individuals with serious diseases from adult stem cell research. There have been no discoveries after 27 years of research with embryonic stem cell research.

Walter Dalton, Democrat: “I believe that stem cell research, which includes amniotic, embryonic, and adult stem cells, is going to be an important part of saving lives. That’s why I was proud to sponsor legislation to fund research in this vital area through our first class universities.

Elizabeth Dole, Republican: “I do not support embryonic stem cell research, and I do not support state or federal funding for it. However, I support numerous stem cell research methods - such as adult and cord blood stem cell research - that don’t require destruction of life.”

Kay Hagan, Democrat: “I support [embryonic] stem cell research, which could help those suffering with cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes and many other diseases.

The N&O

I realize that for people with diseases that could be cured through embryonic stem cell research, what I’m about to say is highly offensive, but that’s what I’m here for. This issue is a crock. It’s a joke. It’s a fake issue designed to entice your heart into overriding your head.

Robert Pittenger is right: Everyone talks about the “potential” of embryonic stem cell research. Notice how none of its supporters ever talk about the “results” of embryonic stem cell research. That’s because there are no results. Meanwhile, legitimate advances have been made with adult stem cell research.

That Perdue and friends are actually trying to make this an issue shows that they care more about scoring cheap political points than on keeping up to date on actual science news. See, the great thing about competition is that it leads to innovation. And here in America, we like to innovate. That’s how researchers developed a new way to take skin cells and turn them into embryonic-like stem cells. So keep talking Bev. You’re just showing how full of it you are.

Dole’s opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, calls it “outrageous” that the government has found itself in the position of bailing out Wall Street. She accuses Dole of doing little to help avert the crisis as a member of the banking committee.

Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said Dole’s “desire to examine the causes, implications of turmoil now is the very definition of a day later, dollar short.”

Dole calls Hagan “dead wrong.” She pointed to her sponsorship of bills last year – as well as in 2003 and 2005, when Republicans controlled Congress – that would have created an oversight agency for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now under federal conservatorship.

“We submitted legislation and stuck our necks out trying to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Dole said. None of the bills ever passed.

Charlotte Observer

Hagan is wrong to try and pin this on Elizabeth Dole.  Dole is correct in pointing out the two attempted bills to put some restraints on the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  What stopped these reforms from happening were deafening objections mainly by two Democrats:  Congressman Barney Frank of Boston and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut.  That’s not to say that Republicans don’t share in the blame.  After all, there was a Republican majority in Congress both times so there were members of the GOP that also stood against the reforms, but Dole was not one of them.

In the Senate race between Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and Democratic challenger Kay Hagan, people were split evenly as to which party they plan to support. Thirty-five percent said they plan to support the Democratic Party in the race, and 35 percent plan to support the Republican Party.

The Times News

Hagan’s ads are definitely working. She has managed to consistently chip away at Dole’s base of support since the Democratic primary.  35% of support is a bad position for Dole to be in as the incumbent, more so with 30% of voters now on the fence.  I would sure like to see that 30% pull the lever for Chris Cole as a third party alternative, but I know better than to over estimate the voters.

The League of Conservation Voters put Dole on the list today because of what political director Tony Massaro calls her poor voting record on environmental issues and the fact that she’s in a close race with Democrat Kay Hagan.

“Senator Dole’s record proves that she’s working in the best interests of Exxon/Mobil, not the people of Raliegh/Durham,” political director Tony Massaro said in a statement. “For Chevron, not the people of Charlotte. For the lobbyists of big oil, not the people of small town North Carolina.”

Charlotte Observer

Is this jackass serious?  Does he really think this is going to have any legs when we’ve got $4 per gallon gas out there?  The majority of people want offshore drilling and some rinky dink extremist environmentalist group isn’t going to change their minds.

If the League of Conservation Voters are so concerned about ties to “big oil” they ought to ask Hagan about the thousands of dollars she and her husband have invested in oil companies.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan said Friday she wants to increase the size of the military by 100,000 as she jockeyed for favor among veterans while her Republican rival did the same just across town.

Hagan said in her military and veterans policy released Friday that the increase would need to come from improvements in recruitment and retention efforts. And she said it’s necessary to ease the burden on overstretched troops.

The Sun News

I agree with Hagan; we do need more troops, but it’s not surprising that it’s become more difficult to supply that need.  While everyone who signs up for the military obviously knows the risks involved of going to war, nobody really wants that, so naturally enlistment is going to decrease when war is reality, particularly in a nation war fatigued for over five years now.  Additionally, the Iraq War is very unpopular and shouldn’t have been waged in the first place.  It was a war of choice, not necessity.  Compare the lackluster support for Iraq to the overwhelming outpour of support the country had for Afghanistan.

Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is known for her Oprah-like strolls during speeches to past Republican National Conventions. But Dole skipped last week’s GOP convention in Minnesota, opting instead for a stroll around the shop floor of Advanced Direct, a small Greensboro direct-mail firm where she picked up the endorsement of a small-business group. The clicketyclack of mailing machines replaced the cheering throngs of delegates.

That’s because this summer has been a wake-up call for Dole.

One of the best-known women in American politics, Dole is in an unexpectedly competitive race with Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan.

Charlotte Observer

While the U.S. Senate in North Carolina has been getting some minor observance, most pundits haven’t really expected Elizabeth Dole to be a primary target this year, but Kay Hagan has been running her down like a steamroller.  Hagan has the benefit of a public dissatisfied with the Republican Party and she has also been moderately successful in painting Dole as being an ineffective Senator over the last six years.  Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any major accomplishment that can be accredited to Dole throughout her current term.  Additionally, I think Kay Hagan has been excellent in projecting to the voters a stronger and more battle ready demeanor for the issues she says she wants to champion in D.C.

Oddly, one thing I have heard frequently is that there are a lot of people who view her as an outsider despite the fact that she was born and raised in Salisbury.  I think it may be because she was gone for so many years before coming back to run for Senate in 2002.  Furthermore, I’ve heard many complaints that she doesn’t spend enough time in the state.

In any case, this race is anyone’s ballgame and John McCain could very well win the state, but slam the door in Liddy’s face.

The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee just wasted some jack airing this ad on behalf of Kay Hagan. Under the Dome has a good summary of the ad.

What pisses me off about this ad, and what will consign it to the trash heap pretty quickly, is the passage about gas prices. I mean, c’mon… do you really think Kay Hagan’s gonna wave her magic wand and make gas prices go down? Hagan doesn’t even want to address the real reason they’ve gone up- limited supply coupled with higher demand.

Right now, the only solution the libs have for higher energy costs is to turn the lights out at the U.S. Capitol and going home… without having passed any sort of energy reform. Most Americans are figuring out that electing Hagan and other Dems only makes it easier for tree hugging enviro-marxists to control U.S. Energy policy. 

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called Kay Hagan a good challenger, but the race is close, he told Dome on Wednesday.

Schumer put North Carolina on par with other senatorial races he called “even or close” in states such as Oregon, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky and Maine.

That mirrors the predictions of other political punditry outfits such as the Cook Political Report, which recently shifted North Carolina into the “leans Republican” category and away from solid Republican.

The N&O

This is a bad year to be a Republican, especially in a state that can doesn’t have a problem sending someone like John Edwards to the Senate and Mike Easley to Raleigh. Hagan should not be taken lightly.

In the presidential race, various pollsters are getting similar results.

The race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama shows little change, despite advertising by both campaigns in recent weeks. In all the polls, McCain holds a tiny lead, often within the margin of error. The inclusion of Libertarian Bob Barr does not seem to have a major effect on the results.

JULY 14-16: McCain 43, Obama 40, Barr 2

JULY 15: McCain 48, Obama 45

JULY 12-14: McCain 50, Obama 45

RALEIGH — Despite spending more than she raised in the second quarter of the year, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole  still has more than twice the money in the bank as her Democratic rival.

Dole, a Republican, had about $2.7 million in the bank as of July 1. Democrat Kay Hagan , a state senator from Greensboro, had about $1.2 million. Chris Cole , a Charlotte-area

Libertarian, said he does not plan on raising money for the campaign.

The News & Record

This appeared in the News & Record this morning.

But an FEC complaint from the N.C. Republican Party claiming Greensboro state Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, had taken $185,000 in illegal campaign contributions in her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole got our attention.

Now get a load of this conversation the N & R had with a spokesman for the NC GOP.

He explained the party thought Hagan had gotten contributions in excess of legal limits because she had a bunch of donations from people who were related to one another — husband and wife mostly — that came in the same amount on the same day.

People can’t do that? Scoop asked.

Oh, they can, Woodcox explained, but in some circumstances they have to write separate checks or the campaign has to do a little additional paperwork.

And you have evidence that wasn’t done?

“No, I wouldn’t say there’s direct evidence,” Woodcox said. “But we think the Hagan campaign should have to show their work.”

Scoop called a few folks of nonpartisan stripes to vet the GOP’s claim, at least two of whom used words to describe the GOP’s complaint that we can’t print.

Puh…..lease………..

No wonder the North Carolina Republican Party can’t win a governor’s race or a state legislative majority.  If this is the kind of political sleaze they are accustomed to resorting to Dole had better be well ahead of her game.  There are plenty of real issues that people actually care about that they could use to paint Hagan as out of touch with North Carolina voters.  They can hit her on being unwilling to support offshore drilling while we have rising energy prices.  They can go after her on being the weaker candidate on immigration enforcement.  There are plenty of things to pick from.  This kind of obtuse smear campaign makes them look juvenile and petty.

So, a word to the North Carolina Republican Party.  If you want to win your big races this year you better wise up and ditch the childish antics.  People don’t want to hear it.

Dole said in an interview Thursday that when she first supported the moratorium on drilling in 2002 that gas was $1.40 per gallon, and now it’s more than $4.

“People’s opinions have evolved based on their circumstances,” she said. “Folks are really hurting, there’s no question about it.”

The campaign of Dole’s election challenger, state Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, labeled Dole as a flip-flopper.

The News & Observer

Yes, Dole has changed her position on this, though I don’t know that this really qualifies as a true “flip-flop.”  I think the current circumstances of energy prices allow members of Congress to modify their position on this issue without being accused of pandering or flip-flopping.  Undoubtedly, many Americans who may have opposed this at one point are changing their tune.

“The plan to drill off North Carolina’s coast is just another in a long line of bright ideas concocted and supported by the Bush-Dole team to pad the profits and the pockets of their oil-producing friends,” said Hagan’s spokeswoman, Colleen Flanagan.

I think this is a very foolish statement by Flanagan.  People aren’t happy about paying $4.00 a gallon per gas.  It may very well be $5 by November.  They are going to want Congress to act and resisting the push to drill offshore is going to cost Hagan votes, not win her any.

Others are also reconsidering. Last week, Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Democrat from Lumberton who represents the southern end of the N.C. coast, said skyrocketing gas prices are driving folks like him to take a second look at oil exploration if there can be enough assurances that it won’t harm the environment.

Will Hagan now accuse McIntyre of flip-flopping?  I wouldn’t bet on it.

Two new polls-

President (Statewide)
John McCain- 45%
Barack Obama- 41%
(Civitas/TelOpinion-R)

U.S. Senate
Elizabeth Dole- 53%
Kay Hagan- 39%
(Rasmussen)

Politics1.com

UNDER THE DOME reports on the three main items on Kay Hagan’s agenda, Immigration, energy efficiency, and soccer, but fails to point out the other issues she is addressing to solidify Democratic power in North Carolina.

Kay Hagan is cosponsoring Senate Bill 1916 in the North Carolina Senate to solidify the fact that she does not believe in democracy or the right of the people of Greensboro to recall TAX INCREASES, APPROPRIATION OF THEIR TAXES, or THE SALARIES OF OFFICIALS OR EMPLOYEES.

“Sec. 2.71. Powers of Initiative, Referendum and Recall.

(a)

(1) The voters of the city shall have power, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, to propose ordinances to the city council. If the council rejects an ordinance proposed hereunder or passes it with amendment, the voters shall have power to approve or reject the proposed or amended ordinance at the polls. These powers comprise the initiative power.

(2) The initiative shall not extend to the proposing of: (i) any part or all of the annual budget; (ii) or any ordinance making or repealing any appropriation of money, fixing the salaries of city officers or employees, or authorizing or repealing the levying of taxes.

When will the people of North carolina realize the depths that Democrats will go to keep power?

NEWS14.com

Apparently Kay Hagan has changed her position on immigration, or has she? Hagan supports the program but only if the federal government pays for 100 percent of it. We do not need a Senator who does not understand that Federal money comes from the states and does not appear out of thin air.

“My problem with it is that it’s an unfunded federal mandate,” Hagan said. “As I stated last year, the state of North Carolina spent $750,000 on this program and this is really something that is an ICE situation, which is an immigration situation.”

She has been against any kind of attempt to eliminate illegals in this country and this is her way of leaving a opening to allow the 287(g) program to die. I would be willing to make a friendly wager that she would vote against continuing this program if she was elected to the US Senate. With all of the money the Demoruption Party is pumping into her campaign, I cannot see how she could possibly be a voice for North Carolinain the US Senate. She would be beholden to the DNC and Mr. Anything you say is racists Dean.