NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATS CAN OPT FOR A REAL CHOICE AND A REAL CHANGE OR... FOR MORE OF THE SAME

Same, same

The North Carolina primary is only a month away. Obama is way out ahead of the Insider candidate who is frantically peppering him with vicious Rovian smears to try to damage his momentum. But in a Democratic primary these tactics backfire and the more the Insiders attack, the lower their polling numbers sink. When will they learn? May 6 is also important for North Carolina Democrats because it is the day they pick the candidate to go up against one of Bush's most pathetic rubber stamp lemmings, Senator Liddy Dole. Blue America has strongly endorsed grassroots progressive Jim Neal. Neal is being challenged by another Insider, Kay Hagan, who was recruited by Chuck "Lizard Brain" Schumer who doesn't think North Carolina voters are sophisticated enough to elect an openly gay men to the Senate. So far Jim has been holding his own in polls-- and even beat the Republican-lite Hagan in a straw poll, 54-46%. And he beat her in one of the most conservative districts in the state, the 10th CD, home of the diminutive neo-fascist congressman and betrayer of military secrets, Patrick McHenry.

The clueless Hagan, whose positions mirror Dole's and Bush's in many areas, has chosen to avoid debates with the articulate Jim Neal and is blanketing the state with slick-- and very expensive-- TV spots (paid for by special interests lobbyists, of course, who are eager to see her elected where she will work for them instead of working families).

Jim is supporting Obama for president and Hagan is frightened and laying low, though Clinton surrogates are campaigning for her.

North Carolina media has taken note of Hagen's disingenuous campaign. Friday the Ashville Citizen-Times reported that Hagan has refused to participate in a serious, televised debate.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan declined an invitation Friday to participate in the only televised debate her campaign was considering, frustrating her chief rival for the party's nomination.

The campaign of Jim Neal responded sharply, saying the state senator from Greensboro is trying to buy an election victory with television ads and is avoiding a discussion of the issues.
"Sen. Hagan's cynical and disingenuous refusal to debate flies in the face of her claim to be a candidate of change," Neal spokesman Curtis Ellis said.

The Democratic front-runners have only participated in one debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters and Public Radio East late on a Friday night last month. That meeting did not allow the candidates to counter each other's answers or provide rebuttals, but Neal tried on several occasions to contrast himself with Hagan.

Jim has asked Hagen to debate from the instant she was lured by Schumer into the race. But the DSCC is advising her that she will lose the primary in a landslide if TV viewers see trying to debate him. Schumer is frantic to keep the race as undercover as he can so that he doesn't wind up with another embarrassment when he attempted to slip a Republican-lite Democrat into the Montana Senate in 2006, only to be rebuffed and made to look like a fool and a tool. Jim's campaign claims Hagen's spinning of why she is afraid to debate isn't fooling anyone. "Hagan wants to buy this election with TV ads and avoid a real discussion."

Senator Hagan’s campaign strategy is to raise more money, avoid legitimate debate and blanket the airwaves with television ads. It is typical Washington politics-as-usual and it amounts to selling our elections to the highest bidder.

Senator Hagan’s cynical and disingenuous refusal to debate flies in the face of her claim to be a candidate of change.

Political candidates and elected officials are supposed to answer questions from, not dictate terms to, an independent news media. We’ve had enough of the latter from the Bush Administration.

Progressives who would like to help Jim Neal challenge the Big Money Insiders of both political Establishments can donate directly to his campaign through our Blue America ActBlue page. Democrats, like Jim, who offer a clear contrast to the reactionary Republican agenda beat Republican incumbents like Dole. "Me-too" Democrats, who buy into GOP policies, like Hagan, never, never beat Republicans. There are only two choices in North Carolina-- Jim Neal a sensible and independent-minded progressive or Liddy Dole, a robotic Bush era throwback.