I am Thankful For.....

This year, like last, I find myself overwhelmed as I count my blessings. This has been a wonderful year - almost magical. Much of the wonder, joy and magic can be attributed to one man. Larry Kissell.

Obviously, I'm still high on whatever happened November 7, 2006. I don't ever want to get over that feeling. Hopeless to hope in one short day.

Larry's bid for a seat in congress has helped bring me a renewed sense of excitement toward politics and the electoral process. I have had a chance to watch and write about a regular guy challenging a multi-millionaire incumbent and coming miraculously close to walking away with the seat. He is still fighting for it. Larry is insisting that every vote be counted - even the Republican votes. I'm thankful he's fighting to protect the democratic electoral process.

Through Larry's campaign I have reconnected with some old acquaintances here in Charlotte and I've made many new friends. I've also had a chance to meet many BlueNC friends at the different events I've attended. I'm thankful Larry's helped me connect with so many wonderful people.

I thought you might enjoy a little virtual scrapbook of campaign events. Feel free to post your own pictures or memories from the past year in the comments.

In the beginning.......

I actually wasn't sure Larry was the man to beat Robin Hayes - until I met him. While I'd written a couple of diaries about Larry early in 2006, once I met him I found little else worth writing about. It was April 1, at the Mecklenburg County Democratic Convention and I was excited to meet Larry and Steve Hudson, his communications director.



Larry's humility and honesty struck me and I immediately knew that he was exactly the person we needed to send to Washington. It wasn't long before I was writing as much as I could for Larry. On April 20, I took a beefed-up version of my BlueNC diary to DailyKos where I mention trying to convince Jerome and Markos to put Larry on the Netroots ActBlue page. Little did I know the battle we would wage for that endorsement!

On May 1, I met Working for Change on her first diary written on Kos under that userid. The post was about Larry's poll numbers. On May 10, I made my first public call for Netroots financial support for Larry. The three sites that had joined to form this particular fundraising group had opened up nominations and I did my best to make sure they knew Larry was out there. I think this may be the first diary where Kismet, Working for Change and I exchanged comments. We are all in Charlotte and it was inevitable that we meet. The endorsement didn't happen in that round.

Several diaries later Working for Change convinced me to help sponsor a fundraiser for Larry. It was the first of many events I participated in during this campaign season. It was wonderful. If you ever need anything organized or a plan put into action get in touch with Working For Change. She is amazing. The event was wonderful as you can see from these pictures. Charlotte really likes Larry.

City Councilman Michael Barnes.





Event organizers Tami V. and Megan R.


Larry and Tina Kissell



A woman who obviously likes what she's hearing......no, silly, not Tina!

Topping off the evening for me was getting to meet Working for Change.....Tami V.

Following this event, BlueNC's very own Anglico and his stunning and brilliant wife, Jane, held a fundraiser for Larry at their home in Chapel Hill. Anglico's diary of the event with pictures can be found, here. Check out the crowd! This wonderful group of folks dug deep into their pockets to raise $25,000 for Larry - the single largest fundraiser of the cycle.

A couple of days later, a fundraiser was held at the beautiful home of Leanne Powell and Drew Arrowood in Concord. I didn't get to attend, but a friend sent pictures of the event. Drew is also a blogger, but I won't give away his userid in case he wants to remain anonymous.

Barden Culbreth, the man who artfully managed Larry's schedule, enjoys a glass of lemonade.
Right, Barden? Ice cold lemonade.

While I didn't attend this particular event, I have had dinner at Leanne and Drew's home and it is beautiful.

Oh, and by the way....Barden is the son of one of the BlueNC blogger/commenters who might not have happened by if it hadn't been for Larry's campaign. I won't divulge the userid, because I don't ever want to expose names without permission, but we are lucky to have him.

Larry made his way around and spoke with everyone. A little-known fact about this campaign is that both of Larry's serious primary challengers, Mark Ortiz and John Autry both attended many events to support Larry. Mark joined the guests at this fundraiser and several other events. John not only attended many events and provided photographs for the fundraiser mentioned above, he won election to the Soil and Water Board. Go, John!

While we were busy planning and attending fundraisers there was another open call for netroots endorsements. Working for Change and I kept a close watch on the comments at the thread at MyDD and Larry Kissell had a commanding lead based on comments left by diarists and commenters at MyDD, DailyKos and Swing State Project. However, when the nominees were announced by Markos, David and Chris, Larry Kissell was not among those nominated. All holy hell broke loose........and that's putting it lightly.

After a huge public outcry and possibly a few well-placed emails, the Netroots gurus had a change of heart. Larry and a couple of other populist favorites were added to the Netroots endorsement lists and the contributions started pouring in. Our early diaries would bring contributions directly to Larry's ActBlue page, but once Larry was added to the Netroots Challengers list, each diary at DailyKos or MyDD brought in a rush of contributions. We (the internet community) raised well over $62,000 for Larry through our internet activism.

Larry diarists and commenters worked in concert - oddly without ever communicating or planning a thing - to create a flow of contributions and support that has been unprecedented anywhere. Other candidates might have generated more money, but they did so with more media attention and stronger support from DC or Netroots establishment. We created momentum with little to no support from national media, the DCCC or any other national group, sending a clear message that internet activists should not be underestimated.

In July we were entertained by a game of hide-and-seek that Robin Hayes and George Bush played with the press and the people of the 8th Congressional District. We tried as best we could to find evidence that Hayes and Bush spent fact time together......since Hayes claimed to have attended the same luncheon as the President. Alas, there are no reports, photographs or other physical evidence that this took place. Actually, the opposite is true. Hayes insisted that he met/spoke with the President, however no proof has ever been offered that he did so.

July also brought the anniversary of the CAFTA vote. Anyone who has kept up with this race knows the significance of CAFTA to the 8th District and knows the significance of Robin Hayes' vote. Several stories were written to make sure that the event received the appropriate amount of attention.

Once we moved into August the activity level picked up on the Kissell campaign. Not one minute was wasted. August 4th brought an event that received massive national attention. It was a stroke of brilliance and was the first of many moves that brought more earned press to the Kissell campaign than any other in the nation. Other candidates copied what has been referred to as the "gas event", the "gas stunt" and a "gimmick".

On August 4, Larry Kissell sponsored an event where gas was sold for $1.22 per gallon, the price of a gallon when Robin Hayes first took office. Over 500 people lined up to buy gas in the scorching August heat. The event lasted for several hours and Larry didn't leave until the last person received their gas.

I attended this event to take pictures for my blog post about it. I was touched by the folks waiting in line who were so grateful for the opportunity to buy gas at a bargain price. I knew a lot of people in the area were out of work, but knowing it and seeing the impact on the community are two different things.

If you had a chance to save almost $2.00 a gallon, you would probably fill up your tank, right? Not everyone who waited for hours in the heat had the luxury of filling up their tanks. They came, though, and they waited. Some were clutching only $7 or $8. It was what they had and on that day it bought a lot more gas than it normally would have. They were grateful for the opportunity. This event was so much more than an attempt to get publicity. Maybe you had to be there to understand just what it meant to most of the people waiting in line, but Larry and I had a chance to talk about it and I know he was thinking more about helping the people in his community than he was about which news crew had shown up.

Three days later it was time for a road trip! Working for Change and I made the trip from Charlotte to Raleigh for some down home barbecue and bluegrass music. Congressman Brad Miller and Congressman David Price were both in attendance and as it turns out, so were quite a few members of the BlueNC family.

Before we headed into the party, Working for Change and I fortified ourselves with the finest brown-bag specials we could find. Yes, there is a corresponding SD picture to this, but I couldn't find it. This picture wasn't originally used in the story I posted about this fundraiser.....I wonder why? Hmmmmm.....

Once inside we checked the blogger sign in sheet to see if any others were joining us. I was so excited to meet a very special new friend, LoveX7. She(on the left) and a friend traveled together to the fundraiser and she brought lovely silver Democrat donkey pins for all the women. I have worn mine to almost every event I've attended and I keep it pinned to a corkboard hanging near my computer along with my political pins/buttons collection.

Speaking of buttons. There were awesome door prizes. Gregflynn won some vintage campaign buttons and so did this gentleman. I am envious. I would have loved having some for my collection, but I know where the shop is that sells them, so I have some shopping to do after Christmas.

Larry's beautiful mother attended.

Dannie Montgomery, Campaign Chairwoman, laughs with Tina Kissell. Dannie Montgomery is AMAZING. This woman had so many people motivated to get out and work for Larry Kissell. Every time I commented on the early vote turnout in the smaller counties in the 8th, the response was, "That's Dannie."


Hungry people lined up for barbecue with their choice of sauces from 8th District eateries.


Larry Kissell, Congressman David Price and Congressman Brad Miller. I affectionately called this photo 3 wisemen.



The highlight of my evening was the BlueNC family photo. Granted we do need to figure a way to lighten up just a tad. Don't we look like the serious bunch?



August was very eventful. I had a very public breakup with John Edwards after he left Larry Kissell off of a list of candidates the public could select from to receive a $5,000 contribution. How could he? I was rightfully crushed, especially since it had just been a few days since I had publicly professed my undying support. I guess he figured a way to kill that, didn't he? Fortunately, he was very quick to respond and add Larry to the list. I gave him a virtual smooch and we made up. I'm back to the undying support thing - even though Larry wasn't one of the candidates chosen for the contribution. :)


August also brought a visit from the Vice Chair of the DCCC, Congressman Artur Davis. Davis admitted that the DCCC had been shortsighted to overlook Larry in its plans and he pledged to work to get Larry support from the DCCC.





Michael Barnes, Nancy Carter and Patsy Kinsey from Charlotte's City Council were in attendance. Jennifer Roberts from Mecklenburg's Board of County Commissioners and Pat Patton from MCDP attended. Everette Passaly, a candidate in a heavily Republican district was also there to support Larry.


Working for Change and John Autry at the event.





Days later, all eyes and all media attention was on University City's Stumpin' in the Park. This would be the first time that both Robin Hayes and Larry Kissell appeared in public together. It was uneventful except for the fact that Larry swept the floor with Hayes and the Kissell supporters were more numerous, more enthusiastic and more supportive than the Hayes supporters. Of course, that goes without saying......but I'm just saying.......



Katie and Emily (my girls) search for the perfect spots to tie balloons. While Natalie Blake gets the balloons ready for the event. Natalie is one of Larry's staffers who worked so hard to get Larry elected.






Kissell supporters show their spirit with signs and their Kissell colors.







Larry spoke first and he held Robin Hayes' feet to the flame. I've heard Hayes speak before and I'll be damned if he wasn't off his game. He wasn't prepared for real pushback and it was fun to watch him stumble. It was subtle, but it was there.



Larry speaks with his supporters.







One of the most exciting things to happen this election season was the opportunity for several of us to participate in the Crashing the States documentary. After an amazing dinner prepared by Working for Change; Blue South, Kismet, Working for Change and I were fitted with microphones.

The guys were awesome. Hekebolos is a DailyKos regular and is well-known for his spider diaries. They taped for several hours, but missed attending any events with Larry the next day. After barely 24 hours in NC they headed up to Virginia to attend a fundraiser for Jim Webb.

September brought serious work and some serious media attention for Larry. He must have worn out several pairs of shoes. His feet hit the ground every single day. He campaigned the old fashioned way. Larry continued to call out Robin Hayes for every transgression and Robin Hayes started his negative campaigning. We knew that was a sign that he was scared.




Another great way the Kissell campaign found to meet voters to find out what was on their minds was to visit local gathering places. One of these visits took them to a pharmacy in the district that happened to have a few tables and chairs and where local folks gathered to chat. Larry showed up with donuts and listened to their concerns about the Medicare Part D fiasco and how it is hurting more than it's helping many seniors.



October was crunch time. Every week night and every weekend was spent canvassing neighborhoods and calling at phone banks for many of the volunteers here in Mecklenburg and I'm sure the volunteers in the other counties were doing the same thing.




With all the hard work, October also had some fun highlights. Finally, FINALLY, John Edwards traveled to the 8th District to hold a rally in Concord for Larry. I was thrilled to meet NCDemAmy who had arranged a blogger meet and greet with the Senator.


It was awesome!










The final big activity of October was the Mallard Creek Barbecue. This event has been held for 76 years and is huge in Mecklenburg County. Candidates absolutely do not miss this event even if it is outside their district.





Will and I arrived early and found a place in line next to the person standing in line for Robin Hayes. Candidates and their supporters form a gauntlet that those coming to eat lunch must walk by as they go get their barbecue.



I live about a minute up the street by car and can smell the barbecue cooking for the week before the event. There were quite a few politicians there including the Sheriff and Jim Black.




Once Larry arrived, Barden worked the media to make sure Larry was interviewed by each station or paper represented.

Honestly, though, as good as the barbecue is, would you want to walk down this line to be plastered with stickers and have literature shoved into your hands in order to eat? (Ok...it isn't quite that bad) One little side story - when Robin Hayes showed up he went down the line shaking hands and thanking all the volunteers for being there. When he reached out to shake my hand, I gave him a Larry Kissell bumper sticker instead. He gave it back. :)



The final event before election day was a huge weekend of canvassing and phone banking in Mecklenburg County. Quite a few elected officials showed up to support Larry by walking door-to-door with other volunteers. We all started out Saturday morning and then after lunch Larry arrived. Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess and City Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey walked with Larry. Joining them were my girls (and Patsy's granddaughters), Katie and Emily.

One of the homes visited was home to someone who actually had relatives and friends living in Montgomery County.


Susan Burgess walked with Larry and then they headed off to greet more voters.

There are so many other little stories and so many things that have happened. I remember celebrating every time Larry received any attention in the press early on. It soon got to the point where you couldn't open a newspaper without finding a story about Larry. This has been an amazing campaign to be a part of - even if it was just a very small part. So many people worked hard for Larry and for the 8th District. Our fingers are crossed and our prayers are said that the hand recount turns up votes for Larry. One way or the other, I'm already starting to work for 2008 because one way or another, Larry will be on the ballot.

WNC Dems: Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Last week I was invited to attend a dinner with Western North Carolina Democratic leaders, elected officials and activists. I was included on the invitation list because of my pending move to Lincoln County where I will join the WNC crowd. What an amazing group of people. I had been dreading moving to an area that was so overwhelmingly populated with Republicans, but now I'm excited about being involved in a party that is so energized, organized and looking ahead with excitement to 2008.

Keep in mind, I'm describing Democrats who have been overwhelmingly outnumbered in almost every county. It's hard to believe. I compare that to the lethargic efforts made by the party here in Mecklenburg and I'm stunned. Many Dems in the field in Mecklenburg complain (and have complained for years) about the lack of support from the local party. One organizer who had requested precinct organization lists as she helped a candidate plan for a campaign, received a list scrubbed of all contact information so that she was unable to easily contact possible volunteers in each precinct.

Back to my new WNC friends. Each county chair, elected official or their representative was given a short amount of time to offer up their thanks to those who helped with their campaigns and/or to talk about their county's successes. The two names I heard most often from organizers, candidates and elected officials alike were Jerry Meek and Mark Hufford. Jerry, as you know, is the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Mark is the Western Political Director of the NCDP. Both worked tirelessly to help these heavily outnumbered Democrats achieve a higher level of success in getting Democrats elected than has been experienced in this area of the state in a long time.

Just like Democrats from the south have been written off by many in the national party, Democrats in the eastern and western portions of this state have long been ignored by more liberal Democrats from the center of the state. They were either too conservative or simply too outnumbered by Republicans to be worth the time and money to support.

Those days are over.

Thank you Howard Dean, Jerry Meek and Mark Hufford.

I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to that many people, but I plan on changing that and hope to get an invitation the next time they get together. Richard Carsner, the man who closed the gap on Patrick McHenry, was there and he isn't ruling out a run in two years. I wish I'd had time to chat with him. He seemed like a sincere, intelligent man and I plan on helping him out next time around.

While I didn't meet a lot of people, I did get to meet two rock stars of the WNC Democrats - Johnny Joe Rockslide and Sally Love. Their energy on screen doesn't come close to matching the energy you feel from them in person. Sally Love could put Duke Energy out of business if we could find a way to harness her energy and Johnny Joe....well....let's just say, I'm a fan. Pure animal magnetism.

New Dad

Congratulations to Josh Marshall on the birth of his son, Sam. Baby pics, and pics of proud parents posted at TPM.

Stealing Democracy

They're Republicans. We shouldn't expect them to actually want the democratic process to work. They'd much rather be able to buy the votes they need to stay in power with all that K-Street money and the PAC contributions from the big oil companies and Phrma.

Robin Hayes' attempt to subvert the democratic process by denying valid votes should come as no surprise. As a congressman he has consistently denied the will of his constituency. Why would we expect him to honor their right to cast a vote?

The Charlotte Observer reported yesterday that Robin Hayes was challenging the majority of provisional ballots that traditionally have been accepted as valid. As the provisional ballots have been counted and Larry Kissell edges closer to victory more of the story of Robin Hayes' hypocrisy has come to light.

In a press release from the NCDP we find out this morsel:

Robin Hayes’ opposition to counting valid votes goes back at least as far as the 2000 Florida recount for Bush/Gore. A Charlotte Observer story when the Florida Supreme Court ordered a statewide recount confirms Hayes’ disregard for the will of voters.

Robin Hayes in 2000: "Hayes has little sympathy for those who cast the disputed ballots the court ordered recounted. Most were punch cards whose presidential votes machines could not read. ‘We vote with the same machines in Cabarrus County that they use in Florida,’ he said. ‘Somebody ought to send the IRS down to these counties, because if they can't punch out a ballot, they sure can't fill out an IRS form.’” [Charlotte Observer, 12/9/2000]

How nice. Class act there, Robin. You get your rocks off making fun of voters, do you?

Obviously, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. Hayes' press secretary, Carolyn Hern thinks ridiculing Larry for protecting the democratic process is called for, as evidenced in this quote from The Fayetteville Observer via NCDP:

Robin Hayes’ spokeswoman Carolyn Hern today: “Is [Kissell] trying to find hanging chads?"

It sounds outrageous and bizarre, but Robin Hayes and his spokesperson Carolyn Hern do not want Americans to have their votes counted and they ridicule the man who does.

Kissell Earns Clout, Hayes Remains Impotent

This originally ran on May 16 of this year.

On May 16th of this year I wrote a piece titled The Impotence of One, about Robin Hayes and his apparent lack of power in Congress based on how little he had accomplished. This was my opening paragraph:

Robin Hayes is learning a tough lesson in Washington. It stinks to belong to the party in power and yet, have none of your own. It must be lonely walking the halls of Congress knowing that you've been used and abused like an inflatable party doll. But that's not stopping Robin Hayes. Not at all.

I was admittedly sarcastic as I described a stunt Hayes pulled to try to get press attention and votes.

As reported in The Charlotte Observer, on May 9th, Robin Hayes held a press conference at a gas station outside of his district in Charlotte, NC and filled his SUV with E85 while at the same time announcing he would introduce a bill to offer tax incentives for businesses that develop facilities to sell E85. Good for Robin.

Wasn't he lucky to find one of only seven facilities in the entire state that sells E85? He's even luckier to have a car that will run on the gas and ethanol blend. Most of us aren't that lucky. Even if we lived in a city with stations that sell E85, we probably wouldn't be able to run our cars on it. The good news is, he took a step for the environment.

The bad news is, he sold it as a step to help reduce the pinch that most consumers are feeling at the pump. He did admit that an added bonus will be reduced reliance on foreign oil and a healthier environment, but this is a new venture for Representative Hayes. He's never shown any interest in alternative fuels or the environment before, so we'll cut him some slack on believing that the consumer is going to save any money in the short term.

I checked up on his stunt.

That's where playing nice ends, though. Robin Hayes has been in Congress for almost eight years and this is the first time he has introduced anything that has to do with energy independence, consumer savings or environmental protection. I decided to check on his stunt to make sure he actually introduced the bill. I'm sorry I doubted you Robin, because we find that baby here (PDF). It's so nice and clean. It's also likely to stay that way since it is probably the last time it will ever see action.

Then, in a hush-hush tone, I talked about Robin Hayes' delicate problem. It's unpleasant to divulge these issues publicly, but it is in the best interest of the voters.

You see, Robin has a problem. It isn't something that's nice to talk about in polite company. Most people speak of it in hushed voices, however most folks living in the district have caught on by now.

Robin Hayes is impotent.

He's powerless to get anything accomplished in Washington. He's been reduced to stunts like the one at the gas station to make people think he's doing something. The truth of the matter is about the only thing he's been able to accomplish in Washington is to get some post offices renamed and to get two buildings named after Orville and Wilbur Wright. No, I'm not kidding.

Robin Hayes names buildings. Hayes has introduced a total of 42 bills or resolutions in the House and only four have gone on to become public law. Of the four bills he's introduced or sponsored in the past 8 years that have been signed into law, three of them have been to rename buildings after people. If you don't believe me you can look them up yourself at the Library of Congress. It's free and easy, just go here
I know, I know, I should cut him some slack since he's a millionaire who's never really had to work to support his family. He inherited a family fortune and he doesn't understand what it takes to put food on the table when you're missing that silver spoon.

So, Robin Hayes wiles away the hours up in Washington coming up with names for buildings. Maybe I should consider it a stroke of good fortune for the district. Can you imagine the shape we would be in if the Republican leadership actually let Robin Hayes do anything important?

At the time, the thought of Robin Hayes cut loose by the Republican Party to think for himself and try to do anything without proper supervision was a bit scary. The only thing saving me from a terrible fright was the knowledge that the Republican leadership in Congress had a firm hold on the reigns. I outlined this here:

They do have a job for him though and we know what it is.

He's a puppet, a lap dog, a rubber stamp for the Republican agenda in Congress. He has voted against the best interests of the people living in his district and he's done so more than a couple of times, all because the Republican leadership told him to. That rod in his back that holds him up straight? It doesn't belong to Robin Hayes. It's on loan from the party. Hayes is spineless and doesn't have the strength to stand up and do what is right for the people living in his district. That's why he voted for CAFTA, after promising he would vote against it.

Free trade agreements have devastated the 8th Congressional District and the damage continues with manufacturing plants closing and an entire way of life coming to an end. Robin Hayes knew all of this because another free trade agreement, NAFTA had started that ball rolling. Even with that knowledge, Hayes voted against the workers in the 8th District. He voted against the people who voted for him.

A week before the vote, Hayes stated that he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA," arguing that CAFTA is an extension of NAFTA that was "not in the best interest of a core constituency I represent. Every time I drive through Kannapolis and I see those empty plants, I know there is no way I could vote for CAFTA." Hayes initially cast a "no" vote but then was persuaded by Republican House leaders to change his vote to a "yes" after the House Republican leadership kept the voting open 45 minutes past the time limit.

Unbelievably, this is the second time Hayes has switched his vote on a major piece of trade legislation. As constituents of North Carolina's 8th District know, in 2001, Hayes switched from initially casting a "no" vote to "yes," making him the deciding vote that gave President Bush Fast Track trade authority, a measure he had previously (and vehemently) opposed, which was the authority under which the CAFTA NAFTA expansion was negotiated.

"Even in cynical Washington political circles, no one can understand how Hayes would elect to irreversibly destroy his voters' trust in him by again betraying the clear will of his constituents, and the obvious threat CAFTA poses to them...." said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. "No one can imagine that he is so weak as to have been brow beaten into betraying his constituents again......"

Wait! After the destruction caused by free trade agreements to his district Hayes votes for another one! Did I say the Republicans had a tight reign on Hayes to prevent him from doing any harm? Obviously, I was wrong. It was that tight reign that guided Hayes into vote after vote that has pushed the unemployment figures up in almost every county in his district, forced senior citizens to go without life-saving prescription drugs and forced seniors in high school to go without college educations.

Hayes, however, has successfully sold himself as the folksy millionaire that everybody likes. He referred to the voters liking him in several newspaper stories during the campaign. He was reported to have said that he would win by his highest margin ever.

Now, we see he's locked in a tight race that will hinge on provisional ballots and a recount. I'm sure folks like him in some areas, but the fact that he isn't very much like any of his voters might be sinking in. It takes more than wearing an 82nd Airborne cap to make you "one of the fellas".

Other than a few pockets of wealthy folks living in Concord and Charlotte, this district is made up of working class people. These are the people who are the real backbone of this country and that makes it all the more surprising they would chose someone spineless like Robin Hayes to stand up for them in Washington.

The voters in the 8th District are smart people, though and they are tiring of the empty promises they get from Robin Hayes. The man who said he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA", turned his back on his people and voted for the trade bill. What did they get in return? They got some shiny new names on their post offices.

That isn't going to put food on their tables or E85 in their gas tanks.

After outlining why Hayes isn't right for the district, I introduced the man who is. Larry Kissell.

Many voters in the 8th District have turned to their only clear choice, Larry Kissell. He's now a school teacher, but spent 27 years working in the textile industry. Larry would probably admit that he's one of the lucky ones. He was able to start a new career doing something he loves as he watched his job go to Mexico. Others in the district weren't as lucky.

It isn't surprising that Kissell has strong words for the most recent stunt pulled by Robin Hayes.

"Apparently Robin Hayes' hypocrisy knows no bounds. He is guilty of protecting the big oil companies. I'm not sure if that's a result of all the campaign money he's taken from them, or the massive amounts of stock he owns in oil companies. It's going to take more than a press conference to convince us that he truly supports alternative energy when we all know he's in the pocket of the oil companies," said Kissell.

Kissell pointed out the fact Hayes has voted against measures in the past that would have promoted an increase in efficiency standards and the research and development of alternative energy sources. These bills or amendments were sponsored by Democrats, so those of us savvy to Robin Hayes and his party puppet status know why he voted against these measures. The Republican leadership told him he had to. You see, they were more interested in sucking out the remaining fossil fuels from the earth and giving tax breaks to the already wealthy oil and gas industry giants.

One of the reasons I wanted to take a look at this piece again is that Robin Hayes was in the majority party and all he did was name buildings.

What good will he be able to do as a member of the minority party? North Carolina's 8th Congressional District is hurting. The folks need jobs and they need someone who is going to have some pull. Larry Kissell would have far greater influence as a freshman member of the majority party than Robin Hayes would have as a member of the minority party. Larry Kissell has earned more clout in a year running for Congress than Robin Hayes earned in eight years serving in Congress. The 8th District needs Larry Kissell.

This is the Mill Robin Hayes Closed - Scotland County Edition

This piece was originally posted on the day that Robin Hayes voted for CAFTA after promising he would vote against it. This week, another textile mill has announced that it will be closing its doors and send its operations to a foreign country to take advantage of the cheap labor.

In 60 days almost 400 people will lose their jobs when a Westpoint Stevens plant closes in Wagram. With so few job prospects and with Scotland County already experiencing the worst unemployment in the entire state of North Carolina, you can imagine the bleakness of this situation for most of these workers.

I am posting this again in honor of the men and women who are suffering in our country, our state, in the 8th Congressional District and in Scotland County. They need Larry Kissell standing up for them in Congress. Please follow to the end of the piece and help make this a reality.







This is the mill Robin Hayes closed.




This is the man who worked all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.














This is the bill the man couldn't pay
when he lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.











This is the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.





This is the woman who married the man
who lived in the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.










This is the child who goes hungry at night
who clings to the woman who married the man
who lived in the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.








This is the family that can't shop at the stores
to feed the child who goes hungry at night
who clings to the woman who married the man
who lived in the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed





These are the shops that closed their doors
When the family stopped shopping at all the stores
to feed the child who goes hungry at night
who clings to the woman who married the man
who lived in the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.






This is the town that almost shut down
When the shops closed their doors
As the family stopped shopping at all the stores
to feed the child who goes hungry at night
who clings to the woman who married the man
who lived in the home that the bank took away
when the man lost the job he'd had all his life
weaving cloth in the mill Robin Hayes closed.











This is the man who lost his job, his insurance, his retirement, his home, his savings and his self esteem when Robin Hayes' actions helped send the mills and their jobs to other countries.

This is the man who worked in a mill town. A man who has seen a way of life disappearing because of NAFTA, CAFTA and Republican fiscal incompetence.

This is a man who has lost so much because Robin Hayes lied to the people of the 8th District when he promised he would vote against CAFTA, but voted for it, failing miserably to protect jobs in the district.





This is the mill Robin Hayes closed.











In July 2005, Robin Hayes broke his word to the folks living and working in the 8th Congressional District. He had promised to vote against CAFTA - a free trade agreement that would have made an already precarious unemployment situation even worse for the district. Initially, Hayes voted no, but caved to pressure from the Republican Party leadership.

This piece is dedicated to the men and women who lost their jobs and have struggled to train for new positions. This is dedicated to the families that continue to struggle and to the man who wants to help lead this district and these families toward a better future.

Please help Larry Kissell bring honest and effective leadership to North Carolina's 8th Congressional District. This link is to the Netroots fundraising page, or you can snail mail a contribution using the address you'll find at Larry's site.

Our challenge for today is to see if we can boost Larry over 10,000 individual ActBlue contributors. It's agressive, but this campaign needs money for this final push. Nobody has given this race much of a chance, but the voters are coming on strong with heavy Democratic turnout in early voting. Larry Sabato says that if there is going to be a big upset tomorrow night it will likely be this race. It will be this race.


From the bottom of my heart, Thank you. I've said it before and feel I can't say it enough - this community has inspired, supported, financed and cheered this campaign on every step of the way the past few months. All of us with our boots on the ground and our ears to the phones are doing everything we can to make sure this one is NOT a moral victory.

Special thanks to Lance McCord for the shot of the city street. It is actually from Greensboro, but all other location shots are from Kannapolis, NC. Kannapolis was the home of Pillowtex, which put 4000 people out of work when it closed. Robin Hayes family used to own the mill. The two smokestacks showing are what remain of the original mill. They are the Fieldcrest and Cannon smokestacks. Robin Hayes is a Cannon. His family's fortune is intact.

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.

Larry Kissell, NC-08: A Man of the People

This was originally posted on August 4, 2006. I am reposting it today. This event has been called one of the most ingenious campaign ideas of the season by pols, bloggers, political reporters and other candidates. As a matter of fact, it was copied by several candidates, though none were as successful as Larry's event.



Most of you have heard about Larry Kissell's ingenius idea to sell gas at $1.22/gallon in RANT's great diary from yesterday. The results are in and it was an overwhelming success for many reasons. Yes, over 500 people were served. Yes, the news coverage has been terrific. Yes, the many different points represented by this gesture seem to all have been made quite successfully.



Local news stations and the print media were all represented. The best coverage so far has been from local channel 14, the local answer to 24 hour news. Please watch the video. It is great. My favorite interview is with the gentleman who says:

"I think he's finally got an idea of what everybody should have been doing a long time ago, which is care about the common person,” driver Monty Allen said.

Please click on the link above. The video portion truly is worth watching and from what I can tell, the messages were heard.

Other local media reports can be found from WWAY out of Wilmington, The Wilmington Morning Star , The Charlotte Observer, WXii12, Fayetteville Observer, WCNC6 out of Charlotte, WHNS Fox Carolina (Beth Troutman, the woman who took on Hayes in '04 is with this station.) , WVEC out of Hampton Roads, Va., The Raleigh News & Observer and The Myrtle Beach Sun News.

The event brought Larry a bit of recognition from some national media as well including CNN..... and the bloggers - we've all seemed to love the promotion. The DCCC blog posted a nice piece and The National Journal's House Race Hotline carried the story as their spotlight piece. While acknowedging that the DCCC had not put this race on the "red to blue" list, HRH visited some praise on the campaign.

One of the most creative campaign events this cycle is taking place today in Biscoe, NC where teacher Larry Kissell (D) is paying for motorists to receive $1.22/gallon gas -- the same price it was when Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC 08) was elected. Over 500 cars have lined up for the promotion, effectively shutting down the town of 1,700. And the local radio and TV stations have been highlighting the event, giving the campaign free publicity.

:::snip:::

But other, better-funded second-tier candidates who are struggling to get press attention would be well-served by looking "outside the box" for campaign promotions like this.

All of the media sources have made note that the Kissell campaign is paying for the difference in gas price out of campaign funds and Hotline had to pay attention to the low cash on hand figure, but none of them - not one - mentioned that Larry couldn't have bought this amount of press with the money that will be spent to pay for this promotion. And, no amount of money can generate the same amount of good will that was spread through the community by this act of generosity. Imagine that. A campaign promotion based on generosity. What a novel idea.

Let's contrast this - the filling of over 500 gas tanks of the common people - with the stunt that Kissell's opponent, Robin Hayes performed a couple of months ago. He had a ceremonial filling of the gas tank of his urban assault vehicle with E85 in one of the 7 gas stations that sells it in the state of North Carolina. He announced legislation that he would introduce in the House which would offer incentives to gas station owners who installed E85 pumps. This, of course, after receiving $5000 in campaign contributions from the Petroleum Marketer's of America Association PAC only weeks before. PMAA represents independent gas station owners, a group that will directly benefit from Hayes' bill. [Editorial note: This photo is from a parade and not the stunt and the vehicle was an SUV. I didn't have a picture of that event.]

Yesterday, I drove the hour and a half to get to Biscoe. I wasn't going to buy gas, I was going to witness what I felt would be an amazing event. It was amazing, in so many ways. First, it was hot. Very, hot. But, I was walking outside in the sun while hundreds of people waited in their hot cars to fill up their tanks with gas at 1998 prices. Many waited over 2 hours to get their gas. You want to know what the surprising thing was? Instead of complaining about the long line or the heat these people thanked Larry. They were all smiles. They were gracious and they were grateful.

I made my way to the end of the car lines to thank the police officers who had come to help. Now, I'm not with the campaign in an official capacity, but I've worked a lot of campaigns and it's just one of those things you do. I struck up a conversation with James Myrick, the Chief of Police in Biscoe and I mentioned how surprised I was at how happy everyone seemed to be even with the long lines and the heat. That's when he introduced me to this thing called perspective.

These people are hurting. They're out of jobs or have low paying jobs. These are good people, but they're hurting. We've lost a lot of industry here.

And that's when the cliches I use in my blog posts became real people. When I talk about "the backbone of America" or "the working class", I will now be able to put a face to that. And it's a face that smiles with gratitude for inexpensive gas even after sitting for hours in the hot sun.

Larry walked up and down the rows of cars shaking hands and making sure everyone knew there was plenty of gas and their wait would be worth it. Many waited for him to approach and some even called him over. There was the swinging grandma (her words, not my own) from Mr. Gilead and the teacher from Greensboro who came to support a fellow teacher and spent the time in her car cutting out laminated name tags and other classroom decorations.




Did I mention it was hot?







Larry didn't leave until the last gas tank had been filled. The folks who knew Larry would get out of their cars to give him a hug. Everyone shook his hand and thanked him for what he was doing. Some didn't know who he was before they came out yesterday to buy gas. Now they do. Hundreds of them. Better than any piece that can be mailed and thrown away, this experience will be talked about and spread around the district. You simply can't buy this kind of publicity.

After meeting Larry in April, I knew why I wanted Larry to run. He's humble, honest and intelligent. After meeting the people waiting for hours in the heat to buy gas, I now know why Larry runs. People in the 8th District, real people - not cliches - are hurting. They truly need someone who will stand strong for them. Larry cares about these people. That's why Larry Kissell is running for congress. The people.

Ahhhh, The Love of a Good Woman

A little pot in the meatballs instead of meatballs in the pot.

A Plea for Help To Congressman Robin Hayes

Dear Congressman Hayes,

I have a few questions for you and request your help in answering them.

I'm in a bit of a quandary. You see, a man of high position has allegedly violated my rights. I thought I'd bring the problem to you and ask you what you would do in the same situation.

Here are the details:

On August 4, 2006 I published an article/blog post about Larry Kissell's big promotional gas event that was held in Biscoe, North Carolina. I personally attended and took photographs of the event. I own the copyrights to these photographs. I have never released these photographs into the public domain.

Around October 11, 2006 I received some disturbing news. A friend recognized one of my photographs on a political mailer that a candidate for Congress had sent to her home address. Once I received the mailer from my friend, I immediately recognized the photograph of Larry Kissell as one I had taken and used on my web site. I had not given permission for anyone to use that photograph.

I didn't know what to do. I don't usually sell my photographs, and I don't like the idea of my intellectual property being used without my permission. I took some time to think about it and I spoke with an attorney to help me decide what the best course of action would be.

I'm not a litigious person. However, I do believe in standing up for my rights. It isn't about money. It's about doing what's right. That is something with which I'm sure you would agree.

I decided to send the person/campaign who had used my photograph without authorization a Cease and Desist letter. In the letter, I made certain very reasonable demands, without first jumping into court. That letter was dated October 14, 2006 and was mailed on October 16, 2006. The person/campaign was given 14 days to comply with my requests.

According to US Postal service records, the letter was received on October 17, 2006. I am working under a reasonable assumption that the letter was opened immediately, because during this time campaigns are responsible for sending in 48 hour notification of contributions to the FEC.

To my shock, three days after receiving my Cease and Desist letter (as verified by the delivery confirmation through the US Postal service) the heart of the photograph in question - Larry Kissell's face - once again showed up on a promotional mailer sent out by this same candidate. On Friday, October 20, the mailer was received at the home of my friend. The portion of the photograph was printed on the front and back of the mailer. Since it was the focal point or heart of the original photograph, it was still protected by my copyright and, once again, should not have been used without my permission.

I hope you can imagine how this made me feel. I had tried to be reasonable and handle this situation myself and yet this candidate/campaign had used my copyrighted photograph a second time without my permission, after being informed I owned the copyright on the image and after receiving my specific demand that they not use it again. I know it sounds outrageous and bizarre, but it's apparently true.

You might be able to advise me of some avenues to take. However, before you do, let me save you some time and tell you the steps I've taken to this point.

First, I contacted the Federal Election Commission. As you know, candidates for federal office must be very careful about filing accurate returns to the commission. They must be certain to claim "in-kind" donations for anything of value they receive and use in the course of promoting themselves for office. I figured that my photograph must have value since it was used not once, but twice. I searched this congressman's FEC filings and I don't find an in-kind donation that would cover the use of my copyrighted photographs on the mailers. The two people I spoke with at the agency were amazingly helpful and friendly and instructed me on the method for filing a formal complaint. Admittedly, the law doesn't specifically cover in-kind donation given without the "donor's" consent. Apparently, this is a loophole, but not one that I can imagine a respected member of congress would be caught stepping through. Hopefully, my notarized letter and fully documented formal complaint to the FEC will help seal this loophole so that others aren't tempted to use it.

After a brief conversation with the folks at the US Attorney's offices in Winston Salem and Greensboro I decided to see if a copyrighted image was considered stolen property by the US Postal service. I'll be sure to let you know once the postal service responds to my inquiry.

I've spoken with an attorney and professional photographer. Everyone has been very helpful but seem to be a bit amazed that I'm simply interested in standing up for myself by urging this person to take responsibility for his actions.

On Monday, October 30, 2006 I received a letter from the congressman's attorney. Let's just call this lawyer Mr. Judge N. Jury so we don't give away his identity without his permission. What Mr. Judge N. Jury doesn't seem to understand is that there's this pesky little thing called the copyright law. When I sent my letter and informed the congressman that I owned the copyright to the picture he was, in my opinion, doubly obligated to honor my rights. I say doubly because I didn't have to send the letter at all to assert these rights or to make them enforceable. A photograph, article or any other copyrightable material does not have to be marked in any way in order for the rights of the owner to be protected. I didn't have to assert anything. The copyright law takes care of all of that for me.

Apparently, Mr. Judge N. Jury disagrees with my requests. I wonder what you think, Congressman? Do you think an average citizen should be able to protect her property from being used by someone without her permission? Do you think an average citizen should have her rights trampled by the wealthy or the powerful? What do you think, Congressman?

Mr. Judge N. Jury happily informs me that the photograph is no longer being used and that the congressman,

is accordingly willing to consider this matter closed.

Well, I just bet he is! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to allegedly violate someones rights and then be able to exonerate oneself by contending......... it's no big thing because I'm not going to do it anymore? I sure wish I was rich and powerful.

Thanks for listening, Congressman Hayes. I look forward to your response.

Your average citizen,

SD

Awwww Poor Ann Coulter

I wonder if they'll let her wear her little black dress in the pokey? According to CNN, things aren't looking so hot for Ann. Karma sucks, doesn't it?

Larry Kissell Interviewed on Fox News Rising

Beth Troutman, Robin Hayes' opponent in 2004 interviews Larry Kissell. He did a great job.