April 30th / May 2nd
"Cal Cunningham for Senate"
On Tuesday May 4, Democrats will select a candidate to oppose incumbent
Senator Richard Burr this Fall. Had the election been held in 2008, just
about any legitimate Democrat would have been favored to beat Burr. But that
was then, and this is now. Back then, Barack Obama was riding a crest of
popularity, and most people had grown tired of Bush Republicanism. Now, Obama's
poll numbers have fallen off, and Richard Burr has had time to add to his
considerable war chest. That's why whoever wins the democratic nomination
next week will face an uphill battle in November.
Fortunately, there are several outstanding individuals running in the
primary who offer a viable alternative to Burr. Among them are: attorney Cal
Cunningham, an Iraq War vet from Lexington; Ken Lewis, an attorney from
Durham; and Marcus Williams, an attorney from Lumberton. I got to know each of
these three men when they appeared on my Triad Today television program
earlier this month.
Absent from that group is Elaine Marshall who at first agreed to tape a
segment with me on March 31, then backed out. Her spokesperson said it was
too long of a drive from Raleigh to Winston-Salem just to do a TV interview.
That would be the same long drive Bev Perdue made during her run for
Governor, and the same long drive Lt. Governor Walter Dalton made last week to
speak with me about jobs and the economy. Clearly, Marshall was afraid that
making a gaffe while answering my questions, might accelerate her sliding
poll numbers (her 35 point lead has dwindled to 6 points). But any candidate
who runs away from tough questioning, doesn't have what it takes to serve
in the United States Senate. That brings us back to Cunningham, Lewis, and
Williams.
Ken Lewis told me "The US Senate is broken. Instead of serving the long
term needs of our people, the Senate serves short term, partisan interests.
I'm not running to occupy a seat in the OLD Senate, I'm running to bring
change to the Senate". Unfortunately, Lewis's proposals for bringing that
change fall short. While he proposes tax credits for companies that hire
American workers, he dodged my question when I asked if he would vote to repeal
NAFTA and CAFTA.
Lewis should realize that these bad trade agreements and the loopholes
they afford corporate pirates, are primarily responsible for the decimation of
North Carolina's blue collar workforce.
Cal Cunningham, meanwhile, proposes to revamp those trade agreements,
including a provision for ending tax breaks to companies that send our jobs
overseas. He is also willing to consider my proposal for a freeze on health
insurance premiums. So is Marcus Williams, who told me "We may need to put a
freeze on everything. We have a trillion dollar debt that is growing e
xponentially, and we're taking on more obligations".
Unfortunately, all three men seem in lock step with President Obama when
it comes to extricating ourselves from Iraq and Afghanistan. None of them
are prepared to buck the President by calling for an immediate pull out of
all troops from the region. In that regard, they appear more in line with
Burr and the Republicans.
Cunningham, Lewis, and Williams are men of great character, and any of
them would do us proud in Washington. But Williams hasn't the funds or the
name recognition to garner the nomination, and Lewis's ties to Obama's
coattails wouldn't make him a strong contender in the general election. For those
reasons, and because of his willingness to repeal bad trade agreements, Cal
Cunningham is the most viable candidate to square off against Burr this
Fall. His experience as a JAG officer in Iraq who prosecuted contractor
abuses, will also give him an edge when attacking Burr's party line support for
a war we should have never started in the first place. Elaine Marshall,
meanwhile, is trying to maintain a slim lead over Cunningham in the polls, but
45% of State Dems are still undecided, and Cal's TV spots could attract
many of them to his camp by Tuesday, forcing a run-off between the two. If
that happens, the Democratic Party better hope Cunningham prevails, because
he offers their best chance of unseating Burr.
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