October 24th / 26th, 2008
"Vote for McCrory, Hagan & Pittenger"
Contrary to popular belief, there are not just two choices for President
this year. In addition to Barack Obama and John McCain, there are four other
candidates hoping to advance their particular platforms.
Independent Ralph Nader is the best known among this second tier. Nader is
the father of the American consumer movement, and we all owe him a debt of
gratitude for singlehandedly putting seat belts and air bags in cars. The
addition of seat belts alone saved over 195,000 lives between 1975 and 2004.
Contrast that with the 4,000 Americans, and 600,000 Iraqi civilians who have
died under the Bush regime, and it’s clear to see why Nader would have made a
much better President over the past eight years.
Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia is running on the
Libertarian ticket, and is touting the need to return to the gold standard.
Frankly, I was surprised that the Libertarians bought into Barr’s change of stripes
from an arch conservative to someone willing to break from party politics.
In my mind, his nomination is a farce, and damages the Libs credibility.
Cynthia McKinney is advancing environmental issues for the Green Party, but
is getting no attention from the main stream press for being both Black and
female.
I guess reporters are just too busy covering Barack and Palin, and have ,
thus, filled their quota on diversity.
Finally, there is Chuck Baldwin running on behalf of the Constitution party.
I’m not sure which Constitution that is because Baldwin primarily wants to “
restore the government to its biblical foundations”. Funny, but I thought
the founding fathers were big on separation of church and state.
Of the six candidates, my picks would be in this order: Nader, Obama,
McKinney, Barr, McCain, and Baldwin. Nader and Barr made it onto the ballot in 45
states, while Baldwin and McKinney are on 37 and 31 state ballots
respectively.
As of this writing, Obama leads McCain by about nine points, with roughly
10% of voters either undecided or leaning toward Nader and Barr.
Clearly the two party system is rigged and must be reformed. Until that
time, only a republican or democrat can muster enough electoral votes to
capture the white house. Having said that, I will still write-in Nader’s name.
The rest of you are “just wasting your vote”.
The race for Governor is still too close for pollsters to call, and that in
itself is a miracle for the GOP. Democrats have owned the Governor’s
mansion for most of the past 100 years, and lately they have held on to it by
dodging debates.
As did Mike Easley before her, Bev Perdue seems to think that the top job
should automatically go to a democrat, and she feels no need to expose
herself to the inconvenience of actually discussing issues. Perdue has been
content to let her negative ads do her talking, while Pat McCrory has been
appearing at every public and televised venue open to him. Last week, Perdue, McCrory
and independent Mike Munger all appeared together for the first time,
something they should have been doing with regularity.
There are many things on which I disagree with the Charlotte Mayor. He sees
no need to end the war in Iraq quickly. He does not believe in universal
healthcare.
And, he would do nothing to stop the insane practice of industries who
extort incentive monies out of state and local governments. Normally that would
be enough to for me to vote against the man, but Perdue just can’t expect to
win our State’s highest office by divine right.
After appearing individually on my TV show Triad Today, Both Perdue and
McCrory pledged to return to the studio and have a joint discussion. But after
she secured the nomination, Perdue was MIA, and her staff blew off every
attempt I made to bring the two candidates together. McCrory, on the other hand,
called me personally to say he would appear anytime. (Watch my interview with
McCrory at this link.)
Having been burned by Mike Easley’s disappearing act over the past eight
years, we can pretty well predict that if Bev is inaccessible now, she would be
even more so after the election.
McCrory, on the other hand has proven in his seven terms as Mayor of our
largest city that he is accessible, and can achieve solutions by working with
both parties.
That’s why I support Pat McCrory for Governor. Only a strong showing by
Munger could deny Pat a win.
The Lt. Governor’s race is wide open since Bev Perdue is stepping down.
The GOP is running Mecklenburg’s Robert Pittenger, while the democrats are
offering up Walter Dalton of Rutherford. Both men serve in the State Senate,
but that may be the only thing they have in common.
Dalton has worked hard to make healthcare more accessible for children and
adults, the latter by giving tax credits to small businesses who offer health
insurance to their employees. Pittenger, on the other hand, believes that
medical malpractice litigation is to blame for the rise in healthcare costs.
Speaking of medical marvels, the Libertarians are running Phillip Rhodes who
in a recent debate said that State government needs to lift “burdensome”
regulations on health insurance providers. Is he kidding? Blue Cross needs
MORE regulations and oversight, not less.
And that brings me back to Dalton who has received large donations from the
President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. That fact alone makes me
distrust the man’s judgement and convinced that he would do nothing to reform our
health insurance industry. For that reason, I endorse Pittenger.
In the surrounding Congressional districts, neither Brad Miller, Mel Watt,
or Howard Coble face serious challenges. Watt and Coble have distinguished
themselves, and have provided excellent constituent services. Miller, on the
other hand is, well, he’s still Brad Miller. Anyone who recalls his angry
rant to me, and his off-the-wall tactics to try and silence me following my
criticism of him two years ago, will not be surprised that I cannot endorse his
candidacy. On the other hand, his opponent, Hugh Webster, channels Robert
Pittenger in thinking that the solution to our healthcare crisis is to reform
the legal system so doctors won’t worry about being sued.
However, despite being out of touch on healthcare reform, Webster does
advocate scrapping the current tax code, so he can’t be all bad. And so, I
reluctantly back Webster.
Since I am moderating a televised debate between Representative Virginia Foxx and
democrat Roy Carter next week, it would not be appropriate for me to endorse
either candidate. It is, however, a matter of record that I have historically
disagreed with Mrs. Foxx on her pro-war stance, but I applaud her for opposing
the recent bail-out bill. I look forward to meeting Mr. Carter for the first
time, and to talking with Mrs. Foxx again when we tape the debate on Wednesday,
October 29. The program will air that Friday morning on ABC45 and Sunday
night on My48.
Senator Richard Burr better be glad he isn’t running for re-election this
year. Burr’s constant support for everything Bush, on top of a now-collapsing
economy, would probably have sent the junior senator packing. Instead, it’s
Elizabeth Dole who may be packing her bags after November 4. Aside from the
aforementioned liabilities associated with being a Republican in this year’s
political climate, Dole has been virtually invisible in her adopted home
state, except when traveling here to raise money. Kay Hagan, meanwhile, has
distinguished herself in the state senate, and has run an aggressive
(sometimes negative) television campaign which has effectively pointed out Dole’s
weaknesses.
I am disappointed that neither agreed to a televised debate on Triad Today
or anywhere else. It would have been nice to see how each woman articulated
her vision for bringing North Carolina and the nation out of our malaise.
Hagan, if elected, will, no doubt, stay in closer contact with the voters
than has Dole. Dole, meanwhile, recently became more accountable to her
constituents when she opposed Bush’s idiotic Wall Street bail-out package.
But Liddy’s last-minute attempt to break with Bush is too little too late.
We should give Hagan a shot at the job and see what happens.
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper is favored in his
re-election contest with lawyer and entrepreneur Bob Crumley, a Republican.
Both men are honorable and honest advocates for the rights of individuals,
but Cooper has been behind the curve on a number of issues. He waited too
late to step in on the Duke lacrosse case, and his solution to the rise in
illegal meth labs was to make it more difficult for me to purchase Sudafed for a
stuffy nose.
Cooper has also done nothing to challenge Blue Cross Blue Shield’s policies
of exclusion and rising premiums. Crumley seems like the kind of attack dog
we need to unclog the backed-up crime labs, and shake up offending
corporations who may be taking advantage of our citizenry. That’s why I support Bob
Crumley for Attorney General.
Four years ago, the race for Commissioner of Agriculture was a referendum on
reforming the department itself. It followed the Meg Scott Phipps scandal,
and her resulting resignation and imprisonment. Republican Steve Troxler, a
farmer by trade, has restored integrity to the office, and kept a watchful
eye over a giant agency with broad responsibilities, ranging from
inspection of gas pumps, to the safety of our food. Troxler’s opponent, Democrat
Ronnie Ansley is an attorney with no farming experience, and those are two
strikes against him for this job. We need to keep Troxler on the job.
For those of you with busy schedules, you can do early voting this week at
your convenience, and avoid the long lines on November 4. Either way, I
encourage everyone to participate in the political process. Remember, every vote
counts, except in Florida.
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