Larry Kissell Earns Charlotte Observer Endorsement

I know I will wind up going way beyond fair use here. Robin Hayes has refused to run on his record, so the Charlotte Observer editorial board took up some space reminding folks that he has voted against the workers, for torture, for the President's agenda and against fiscal responsibility.

My mother has been interviewed by this board and sometimes has won the endorsement, sometimes has not. She says they are thoughtful and thorough in their interviews. What do they have to say about Larry?

Mr. Kissell, a Baptist deacon and Wake Forest graduate (B.A. in economics), is a serious, intelligent, hard-working man with a quiet sense of humor who probably would serve well. He says he'd be a tougher advocate for protections for U.S. workers in international trade agreements, more skeptical about the Bush administration's Iraq policy and more responsible on balancing the federal budget than Rep. Hayes has been.

They don't quite gush about Larry the way I do and later today I'm going to do some gushing....but they see the same qualities we all see.

What do they have to say about Robin Hayes?

Rep. Hayes argues on the campaign trail that "Washington isn't on the ballot," but it is. The only way to change Washington is to change the people sent there to govern.

That's especially true for Rep. Hayes, whose record shows high loyalty to the president and the Republican agenda. In 2005-06, for example, he supported the Republican House leaders' position on 95.49 percent of the votes -- more than any other N.C. Republican, according to the nonpartisan report HillMonitor.

A memorable example was his 2005 vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He said before the vote he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA," and "it's not in the best interests of the core constituency I represent." Then, under pressure from House Republican leaders, he voted for it, giving CAFTA a 217-215 victory. When the final House-Senate proposals came back to the House with amendments permitting additional textile and apparel imports, he voted against it. But his vote had kept it alive.

They forget to say that his arrogance allowed him to insist on CNN that he knew Saddam was linked to 9/11 and others just didn't have access to his information. There's quite a bit more. It really does look like the Observer editorial board is forcing Robin Hayes to run on his record.

The final words from the Observer:

But the real questions for voters involve the House and Rep. Hayes, one of the most loyal supporters of the Republican leadership's agenda. Do you agree with the House's unquestioning support of President Bush's Iraq policy? With its decisions to cut taxes and increase spending that have produced deficits among the largest in the nation's history? Its votes on international trade agreements? Its refusal to raise the minimum wage, unchanged since 1997?

If so, Rep. Hayes is your man. If you want change, vote for Mr. Kissell.

Congratulations, Larry! So, will this help at all? Yes. If for no other reason than it forces Hayes to run on his real record. It puts Larry's name out there in front of folks and it gets a conversation going that lack of funds might have prevented. It will turn a few more uninformed voters into informed voters.

Please head on over to read the entire thing. Then take a minute to thank the editorial board. They really do put a lot of time into this process. They interview each candidate and I know for a fact these interviews are thorough.

Again, Congratulations Larry! We love you.