Thursday, May 15, 2008
Florida Dems to select 40 more delegates
WASHINGTON – Florida Democratic officials will move ahead Saturday in Tampa with selecting 40 additional at-large presidential delegates, despite no deal yet between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and national party leaders on seating any of the states delegates. These at-large delegates, who are typically local-level elected officials and party activists, are to be chosen based proportionally on the results of the Jan. 29 primary won by Clinton, but disregarded by national Democratic Party leaders and Obama. There was no immediate comment from the Obama campaign. But at least one prominent state Democrat, national committeeman Allan Katz of Tallahassee—an Obama supporter—says he wants state Democrats to “put everything on hold.” 20 inches, Billy House, Media General News Service.
Americans for Prosperity condemns Easley budget
RALEIGH – The North Carolina chapter of the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-NC) today condemned Governor Easley’s budget plan, which would increase spending and hike taxes on citizens by about $165 million, even as the state enjoys a $150 million revenue surplus. The proposal to raise cigarette taxes by 57 percent (20 cents per pack) and taxes on beer (80 percent), wine (19 percent), and liquor (32 percent), calls attention to lawmakers’ addiction to spending hard-earned tax dollars, the group says.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Edwards endorses Obama
John Edwards finally chose sides.
The former Democratic presidential candidate endorsed Barack Obama on Wednesday. Endorsements usually are viewed as carrying little weight, but this may be different. With a base of support among white, working class folks, Edwards endorsement could be seen as vital to Obama’s campaign.
Is Democractic race now over?
Click below for an Associated Press story today.
The blog will continue…
I feel the need to address this question many (hopefully) of the readers of this blog may be wondering.
Yes, the blog will continue through the summer and fall until the November election.
The recent primary offered unprecedented interest in many races. However, some important races remain in the general election, such as the 10th Congressional race and two seats on the Catawba County Board of Commissioners. At the state level, gubernatorial and senate races warrant attention.
So, the blog will continue. I’ll promise to make at least one post a day and change the question once a week.
Thanks bloggers for adding to the discussion of politics in our area.
Posted by Andrew Mackie on 05/14 at 12:03 PM
Politics in the News •
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Perdue: McCrory launches distortion campaign
The Beverly Perdue campaign issued the following news release in response to Pat McCrory press release earlier this week.
Click below for more.
Chamber hosts N.C. Sen. Richard Burr for a special membership luncheon
The Catawba County Chamber of Commerce is hosting North Carolina Senator Richard Burr for a special membership luncheon on Thursday, May 29th from 12:00 – 1:30 PM at Catawba Country Club. The cost is $20 for chamber members and $35 for non members.
This will be a special reserved seating event so you must RSVP to 828-328-6000 Ext. 228 by Tuesday, May 27th in order to attend. There is maximum seating for 150 people ONLY.
Click below for more on this story.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Hagan 7 points behind Dole
N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan captured the Democratic primary last week. She claims to be seven points behind incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.
Click below for more information.
McCrory: Easley and Perdue wrong on illegal immigrants
Pat McCrory strongly opposes admission of illegal immigrants to North Carolina community colleges. McCrory issued the following news release last week regarding the issue.
Click below.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Reflections on the primary…
A few thoughts from Tuesday’s primary results:
* U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry’s sweep of all 10 counties of the 10th Congressional District appeared to mean a lot to the congressman, at least symbolically. He mentioned taking Catawba County several times in interviews.
What the development means is debatable. Challenger Lance Sigmon ran an aggressive campaign, but raised surprisingly little money and entered the race with virtually no name recognition. However, Catawba County is Sigmon’s home turf and the heart of McHenry opposition.
Sheriff David Huffman, by comparison, won Catawba County with about 60 percent of the vote in the 2004 runoff election against McHenry. McHenry won Catawba County Tuesday with 51 percent of the vote, compared to 66 percent district-wide.
Some observers feel Democrat Daniel Johnson could be a more formidable opponent than Sigmon. Well-known in Hickory, Johnson drew great support in the city on Tuesday. He’s already raised more money than any Democrat in years.
The general consensus is Johnson will have to win Catawba County by a fairly wide margin, take a couple of other counties and stay competitive in McHenry territory to pull the upset.
For more, click below.
