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As we start the new year, Columnist Scott Mooneyham isn't about to let anyone forget the scandals and screw ups of 2007.
But the usually cantankerous Wilmington Star News editorial writers let it be known that not everyone in government is a crook.
Meanwhile D.G. Martin pokes a few holes in the "Charlotte Mayors can't get elected statewide" theory.
The Charlotte Observer wrote today that the paper backup systems for touch-screen voting machines had a nasty habit jamming. That should be old news to Guilford County residents, who say about 9 percent of their voting machines get gummed up in 2006.
Charlotte reports that there have been steps taken to reduce the paper jams:
The machine's manufacturer has retooled the printing function so it uses less paper per voter. That means fewer roll changes and fewer jams. Counties also are using different paper that is less affected by humidity.
Hat tip: Dome.
UNC-TV is promoting an upcoming documentary on Jesse Helms titled "Senator No: Jesse Helms."
The 90-minute film is due to premier Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m.
More info at a website put up for the show. Among those interviewed other than North Carolina luminaries: Bono.
The Associated Press reports the state gas tax is now at 30.15-cents-per-gallon, its highest possible rate. (DOR release here.)
That news will prompt a lot of news releases from various corners, particularly Republicans like Bill Graham, who has pegged a large part of his run for governor to his campaign to curb further gas tax hikes. Update: See I didn't even get a chance to hit the send button before this came.
Before the spin machine (on both sides) hits over-drive, here are few things to consider:
It is the intent of the General Assembly to phase out funds transfers from the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund and to other State agencies over a five year period of time. The funds transfers from the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund and to other State agencies would be reduced to fifty percent (50%) of the current funds transfers, effective July 1, 2009. The funds transfers from the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund and other State agencies would be reduced an additional fifty percent (50%) of the amount being transferred on June 30, 2011, effective July 1, 2011. The funds transfers from the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund and other State agencies would be eliminated completely, effective July 1, 2013.
DHHS sent word last night that Sec. Dempsey Benton had a "major announcement" today at 2 p.m. regarding mental health.
I'm sitting in that news conference as this entry auto-posts, but according to DHHS staffers the bare bones of what will be announced include:
For those that are new to the state or haven't googled "North Carolina Mental Health Reform News," there have been stories of problems throughout the state system from local providers to state-run facilities.
"If you had asked me this same question in March or April of last year, I would have laid out a whole plan for you. But since (DHHS Sec. Dempsey Benton ) has gotten into office, we've had some conversations and I've concluded that the plan I had at that point is probably not the best and I'm letting him work through this and I think we'll get some resolution and have to work with the legislators on it."
It sounds like we're going to get a look at what Benton has in mind.
Click here for the news release from DHHS on the changes announced today.
Audio coming in a bit. More coming for tomorrow's paper.
Update: DHHS Sec. Dempsey Benton spent a good long while with us scruffy media types this afternoon.
Click here for audio of Benton's prepared remarks.
Click here for audio of Benton's Q+A with the press.
Sorry it's not more parsed, but I've got to go make some calls.
One of those came in from Gov. Easley's office, who said that Easley had planned on being in the room to back up Benton. However, his mother in law passed this week and he has to be in Wilmington today.
Following up on this post and this post, here is video of NC DHHS Sec. Dempsey Benton talking about what amounts to a pause in the state's mental health reform process while he straightens out the state mental hospitals and crises services. It's the same as the first audio clip in the post below, but I know some of you like the video and I aim to please.
Cross-posted from Decision 2008
I just got this e-mail from political consulting firm Fetzer Stephens:
"As of the first of this year, Fetzer Stephens is no longer engaged with the Graham for Governor Committee. We have appreciated the opportunity to work with the Graham Campaign and we wish them well in 2008."
The firm is one of the big dogs in North Carolina Republican circles, working for the likes of Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr. So what gives?
"There's no sour relationship," said campaign spokesman Aaron Lay. Fetzer Stephens was part of Graham's "Stop the Gas Tax" push last year, and had been managing much of the campaign as a lead consultant up through the New Year.
Graham's new campaign manager, Marty Ryall came on board this week. Other consultants include Strategic Perceptions.
Update: Just in from the Graham campaign:
January 4, 2008 - SALISBURY, NC - Marty Ryall, Campaign Manager for Bill Graham for Governor, issued the following statement today. "Through a cordial and mutual agreement we are no longer working with Fetzer Stephens. We appreciate the work Tom and Mark have done for the campaign and we wish them all the best in the future."
Cross-posted at Decision 2008.
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory has been flirting with a run for governor for a good couple months now. The Meck Deck, Charlotte blog of the John Locke Foundation, picked up a hot tip and e-mailed it out (complete with Drudge-report siren) to us scruffy media types:
Interesting rumor du jour is that Mayor Pat McCrory will have a press conference next week in Jamestown, NC.Why Jamestown - near High Point - of all places? McCrory went to Ragsdale High in Jamestown, where he kicked off his political career by being student body president. Kinda sounds like a set-piece to announce a run for governor, does it not?
Another good reason for McCrory to launch in Jamestown: gets that Charlotte patina off him. From what long-time Republicans tells me, the GOP base is a bit skeptical of the big city mayor coming out to the territories telling folks who it ought to be done. Announcing in Jamestown would play up his connection to the Triad as well as show that he's more than just about Charlotte.
Meanwhile, the Charlotte paper reports McCrory is ramping up his Facebook presence. (Facedook page.) Charlotte also writes that McCrory has been sopping up local support for his run.
The latest entry in North Carolina's blogging universe is ATP Mecklenburg, which seems to be a bit right-of-center with a focus, as you might expect, on the Charlotte area.
Where have all the politics gone?
Just a reminder, I'm posting more campaign-oriented posts at Decision 2008, although I'll continue to cross-post here from time-to-time. (And really, trying to separate politics from government is like trying to separate the white from library paste.) Oh, and there is a handy feed of the top posts from Decision 2008 (as well as Inside Scoop and your comments on this blog) over in the right-hand bar.
On the agenda
Coming up this week:
From those not on the campaign trail...
You may notice that your mix of state government and politics stories is running a bit thin in recent weeks. That's because a lot of the folks who write those are either on the road with the presidential hopefuls or writing about the campaign from back here in the NC.
That said, there were some folks holding forth on state issues this weekend (or a little before):
Bruce Davis, a Guilford County Commissioner, says he will run against Sen. Katie Dorsett in District 28. Both are Democrats so this is a primary showdown.
More from Decision 2008.
For those from other areas of the state, there is a bit of geographic rivalry here. Davis is from High Point. Dorsett is from Greensboro. The two cities don't always see eye-to-eye and High Point has long complained that its larger cousin gets too much attention.
From Gov. Mike Easley's office:
Gov. Mike Easley today announced that six North Carolina universities are again ranked in the top 100 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as the "Best Values" among the nation’s public colleges and universities. The magazine’s February 2008 edition, available Tuesday on newsstands across the nation, ranks UNC at Chapel Hill No. 1 for the seventh consecutive time. Other North Carolina universities included in the top 100 are: N.C. State University (13), Appalachian State (27), UNC at Wilmington (36), UNC at Asheville (40) and UNC at Greensboro (68).
UNCG's bargain price is $4041.00 in-state, $15,309.00 out of state, although room, board and board will bring that up to $9,763.00 and $21,031.00 respectively.
The echoes of hammers building a political gallows will reverberate through the General Assembly today as a special committee convenes to hear evidence in the case of Rep. Thomas Wright. The meeting is scheduled to begin in about 40 minutes.
Yes, there's been a lot of talk about due process and not passing judgment before its time, but leaders of the House Democrats who control the chamber have made it clear that they want to settle things before the session begins. And are any Republicans really going to lay themselves on the tracks to stop this train?
To be sure, the Wilmington Democrat is accused of doing things you don't want your elected officials doing. He has been indicted on six felony counts, including illegally obtaining or misusing campaign money and using the influence of his office to get a loan under fraudulent pretenses. To boot, he had strong ties to former Speaker Jim Black, who is now serving time in a federal pokey in Pennsylvania.
And as many times as we scruffy media types have described House Speaker Joe Hackney as "prickly," my colleagues would describe Wright's behavior toward them with a slightly shorter version of that word.
Still, it's not illegal to be hard to get along with. And while the indictments and evidence presented at a State Board of Elections hearing this summer are damning, a judge or jury has not found Wright guilty of anything yet.
So just by way of caution and context, allow me to offer up a reminder that there is a reason the General Assembly has not gone through the process of casting out one of its own since the 19th century for a reason. At stake is more than the spectacle of blood sport that 21st century politics has become.
For better or worse, the voters of the 18th state House district chose Wright as their representative. By vacating his seat, the legislature is essentially throwing out those votes, depriving not just the man of his office but the people of their preferred leader.
Now let's be clear: if Wright has done the things he's been accused of, it is a fairly easy case to make that he doesn't belong in the legislature.
But what happens if the legislature chucks him out and he's later found in court to be not guilty? Or what happens if he gets thrown out and wins a re-election campaign?
Not likely you say? I'm inclined to agree.
But stranger things have happened.
I stopped into the Wright hearings for a little while today. They were really just getting going.
Neither Wright nor his lawyers were in the room and you can expect to see more than one shot of his empty chair on the evening news tonight.
A cast of thousands (okay, maybe 20-plus reporters) is covering the affair, including my friends at Dome and the Tavern. Because Wright is about 200 miles short of local for our paper, we're going to take the Associated Press story for tomorrow's paper.
Of local note: Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican, is one of six committee members who will recommend what steps the full House should take.
Wright's lawyer is Douglas Harris of Greensboro. A quick check of our archives shows that Harris has handled several murder cases in and near Greensboro but I don't know a lot about him other than that.
If you're really keen on following this, you can listen in online. Go to this link and choose "Appropriations Committee Room (Rm 643)."
Meanwhile, on the N+R's other platforms:
You may have read about the closing of the Gold Toe Moretz plant in Alamance County. The layoffs will affect 430 people, according to the governor's office.
Congressman Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat who represents Greensboro and parts of Alamance, weighed in on the closure this afternoon:
I am deeply disturbed by the loss of jobs that will result in the closing of the GoldToeMoretz manufacturing site in Burlington. Sock mills have been one of the few remaining competitive sectors in the hard hit US- apparel industry. I will keep in mind the hundreds of workers at Gold Toe who will be forced to find new work. I believe we can do more to preserve these jobs and work to help create new high -paying jobs in North Carolina. I will continue to oppose trade agreements like CAFTA that only accelerate the loss of manufacturing jobs at home.This administration has done a woeful job of standing up for American manufacturing in the world market. A global marketplace and free trade mean nothing if it is not fair trade. When the CAFTA was passed, a commitment was made to protect the interests of the domestic sock industry. Today's news doesn't reflect well on that commitment. During consideration of CAFTA, and since it has become law, I have joined with other members of Congress in writing to the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Treasury asking them to honor their promises to protect this industry. I hope they do a better job of listening in the future.
Click here for a copy of the leader to Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson.
Click here for a copy of the leader to Commerce Sec. Carlos Gutierrez.
The Charlotte Observer was the first to report that Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory had filed the paperwork needed to raise and spend money for a run for governor.
Filing such paperwork doesn't commit one to a campaign or even get one's name on the ballot. But it is a leading indicator - people don't generally file campaign finance paperwork just for fun.
Rep. Alama Adams has racked up another couple of awards for her word down here on Jones Street. From the releases:
Is anyone local to Greensboro planning to watch tonight's debate among the candidates for governor? If so, drop me a line at mark.binker@news-record.com.
I've been asked more than once by various folks either we scruffy media types as a group or I in particular have paid so much attention to the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus and its foundation.
After all, the question usually goes, they weren't doing anything illegal.
Well, someone else may have found me a better answer than the one I've been giving, or at least an independent one. Chris Fitzsimon writes a regular column over at N.C. Policy Watch. (Disclaimer for my right-of-center friends, he's very much a progressive.)
He took up his pen writing about the sad tale of Rep. Thomas Wright, who looks to be on the fast track to expulsion.
But as with almost all such sagas, there's a larger lesson to be learned should anyone be paying attention. Fitzsimon writes:
Wright solicited money for the nonprofit from corporations who may have seen the contribution as a way to curry favor with a member of the General Assembly who could be helpful to their legislative interests.That wasn’t necessary illegal. The problem in Wright’s case was that he was soliciting money for a nonprofit that really existed in name only and then putting the contribution in his personal checking account.
The nonprofit itself was the problem in this case, not the solicitation. It is still legal for legislators to ask lobbyists and corporations to donate to a nonprofit, even though both are now prohibited from making contributions to legislators’ political campaigns.
Last session, the reform community pushed for legislation to restrict lawmakers from soliciting money for nonprofits, but the effort failed. There was also discussion of at least making the solicitation and donations public like most campaign contributions, but that didn’t go anywhere either.
The recent attention to Wright’s case may have made lawmakers a little reluctant to ask lobbyists for charitable contributions, but we don’t know because none of that is public. (Eds note: bold mine.)
No one doubts that political contributions buy at least access to elected officials, if not influence. The same logic seems to apply when a lawmakers asks lobbyists for help with a favorite charity. It is about financial resources playing a role in the relationship and ought to be banned.
Sound familiar?
For those who didn't watch the UNC-TV debates last night, Decision 2008 has audio of the Republicans talking immigration and the Democrats talking trash.
Update: Click here for the print version of my debate story. Final thoughts here.
There was a letter to the editor in today's edition that basically cheered DHHS for taking a closer look at the state's ongoing mental health reform efforts.
However, the letter (click here to read it) makes one factual assertion that I think is pretty much wrong:
Once Dorothea Dix Hospital closes, there will be no safety net statewide. These committees might conclude that time should be on the side of the patients and their families for a change, not on the side of politics.
If and when Dix closes (DHHS Sec. Dempsey Benton was circumspect when asked at his press conference earlier this month) it will be replaced by the new Central Regional Hospital.
You can argue whether the capacity at that new hospital is adequate. (And that IS a subject of much debate. In fact, the state has already acknowledged the need to keep "overflow" capacity open at its old John Umstead Hospital.) However to say that there will be "no safety net statewide" overstates the case.
Over at Decision 2008 blog I quoted Treasurer Richard Moore talking about Public Policy Polling:
"That polling outfit, I really don't think you guys should even be carrying it. A good poll does not use a computer," Moore said.
He was speaking after Thursday night's UNC-TV debate among candidates for governor.
Now, I will grant you that I would rather have live operators doing the polling. But PPP puts out a lot of surveys and tracking polls on questions of interest to we scruffy media types find useful, if not definitive.
So, just by way of reality check, let's climb in the way-back machine and go to Richard Moore's campaign blog entry from July 16, 2007 under the title "Pollster: Moore's support grows, Perdue's lead shrinks":
A new independent poll shows State Treasurer Richard Moore gaining on Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue in the Democratic primary for governor. For the second month in a row, the Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey shows the race as a statistical dead heat with Perdue at 34%, Moore at 30% and a plurality voters remaining undecided at 36%.
It also uses a little graph of PPP's work and links to more analysis.
Just saying.
Bev Perdue's campaign put out an ad today that focuses on her background and qualifications. That's a contrast from the ad that Treasurer Richard Moore put out Sunday, that is more forward-looking.
Here's the script of the Perdue ad:
Script: Bev Perdue. She grew up in a home filled with love and faith. And while neither of her parents finished high school, they taught her that with a good education, she could do anything.She became a teacher, went on to earn a Ph.D., and as a health care administrator provided vital services for seniors. Helping others gave Bev a mission in life, here in North Carolina, shaping the future.
A state representative, a state senator, lieutenant governor, leading the fight for Smart Start and helping to create a North Carolina prescription drug plan called the best in the nation. Because of Bev, teachers have higher salaries, 115,000 uninsured kids have health care. And military bases across North Carolina were saved from closure, because one little girl grew up believing she could do anything. And as governor, Bev Perrdue will do what it takes to get it done.
I'm beginning to do my due diligence, but anyone out there see anything I should ask about?
The video version of the ad is on Perdue's website.
The N.C. NAACP has intervene in the lawsuit filed earlier this year that challenges legislative districts across North Carolina.
"The lawsuit has racist implications," said the Rev. William Barber, who heads the N.C. NAACP.
Will have video in a moment.
Update: Barber called the lawsuit "mysterious," saying that while Bob Hunter, the Greensboro lawyer who filed it, is a well-known Republican activist little is known about the plaintiffs.
Rep. Alma Adams, a Greensboro Democrat, also spoke in her capacity as chair of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus. She said that 19 legislators across the state, all Democrats and most African American, would be affected by the lawsuit.
Update: My video upload is taking forever, so Click here for the full audio from the NAACP presser.
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory announced officially that *shock* he's running for governor in Jamestown just a few minutes ago. As he did, a train pulled through town and sounded its horn.
"We knew the train was coming sooner or later," McCrory said.
Same could be said of all the speculation surrounding his campaign for the past two months.
Earlier today I wrote that the NAACP had intervened in the Dean v Leak suit over legislative districts. Audio is attached to that original post. Here is video of the first part of that news conference:
From The Politico:
The main intellectual engine driving Democratic responses to the housing crisis isn’t headquartered in a flashy Washington think tank or K Street suite, but rather in a restored cream-and-brick building on Durham’s idle West Main Street.It's the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Responsible Lending. And on a recent afternoon, Martin Eakes, its chief executive officer, abandoned a half-read printout of the Federal Reserve’s just-released draft of new mortgage lending rules, its response to the subprime market meltdown.
"The proposed rule is worse than I could have ever imagined," Eakes seethed in his Southern drawl. "I had thought that the Bernanke Fed would be different, [but] it is the most pathetic response to a serious crisis that I have seen from any regulator in my adult career."
Remember that game "telephone" you played as a kid. Everyone sits in a circle, the first person things up some silly sentence, and it gets whispered one person to the next until it gets to the last person. Invariably, a simple statement such as, "I like cheddar cheese" gets translated into "I think Ned is a sleaze."
Well, Congressman Howard Coble played his very own version with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
The story, as told by Coble, goes something like this:
Coble and Tom Petri, a Congressman from Wisconsin, were chit-chatting on the House floor earlier this week. Coble has been standing on the sidelines of the Republican presidential nomination but likes for everyone to get a chance to be heard.
"We were just making small talk about the campaign and how interesting it is one guy wins in Iowa, one guy wins in New Hampshire and maybe another wins the next one," Coble said. This was before the Michigan primary night.
Well, anyway, Coble said something to Petri like, "You know, if I would have been in New Hampshire last week, I would have voted for Romney."
Coble thought he was just making idle chatter, speculating away the time between votes.
But unbeknownst to Coble, Petri is a big Romney supporter and took his remarks a little seriously. He got on the horn to the campaign. The campaign calls down to Virginia Foxx - a Romney supporter from North Carolina - who mentions something to Lamar Smith of Texas, who is also a Romney backer.
"So Lamar Smith comes up to me...and said he was glad to hear the news," Coble said.
What news?
That he was endorsing Romney.
Oh, not so much.
"I probably won't endorse anybody because I've got constituents back home who are all over the board," Coble told Smith.
The lesson? One that a guy who has spent as many years in Washington as Coble has should know by now:
"If you open your mouth in this town," Coble said, "it will come back to bite you."
You may recall that Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue has been slagging her Democratic rival, Treasurer Richard Moore over the whole Randy Parton theater deal. The latest example comes from a press release today:
Raleigh, NC - The Bev Perdue campaign today called on Richard Moore to return all contributions from donors affiliated with the Parton Theatre fiasco. According to an editorial in today's Charlotte Observer, Moore's Local Government Commission:"muffed a big one... the commission's members evidently did not review a 2005 feasibility study that predicated the project's success on completion of other facilities in a proposed entertainment complex."
"It's time for him to finally do the right thing," said Perdue spokesman David Kochman.
“He needs to explain why he withheld vital details of the feasibility from the Local Government Commission, return the contributions he received from people involved with the Parton Theatre, and turn over the rest of the documents related to the project."
On December 11, Bev Perdue returned the contributions she received from Rick Watson, former President of the Northeast Partnership, and has declined to accept any other contributions from people known to be involved with the project.
This has been going on for quite a while. (And, to be fair, Moore has been going after Perdue plenty.)
Okay, fair enough. But now does this story from the Associated Press strike anyone as out of kilter?
RALEIGH (AP) _ A state Board of Transportation member resigned Friday after his boss questioned his effort to raise campaign money for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue from people connected to a high-profile commercial project in Roanoke Rapids.Thomas Betts Jr. of Rocky Mount, who represented six northeast Piedmont counties on the board, submitted his resignation to Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett.
Wait a minute, isn't it suppose to be Moore getting a hard time over Parton stuff?
Yes, this is a contributor and supporter of Perdue, not Perdue herself. And everyone who think that distinction is going to stick more than two seconds, raise your hand.
Read on after the jump if you have any doubts about your answer.
I'm off to South Carolina to do some reporting on the Democratic primary and John Edwards' campaign. Will update here as time and travel allow.
Random: The State, which is the newspaper here in Columbia, SC, has endorsed Barack Obama in Saturday's primary.
In Charleston right now. A few thoughts of little import:
The first campaign commercial I saw on local TV last night: for John Edwards. It stressed the fact that he hadn't taken contributions from corporate lobbyists. Obama and Clinton are also on the air.
The first campaign sign I've seen: for Libertarian turned Republican Ron Paul.
I'm off to listen to Danny Glover talk up Edwards at the local longshoremen's hall now.
Update: Click here for Thursday's story.
-=-=-=-=
At least, it seems like I've covered a lot of ground here in South Carolina. I started my reporting day in Charleston and then moved on to Columbia. Right now, I'm sitting in a Greenville train station, waiting for a (late) Amtrak train to move me on up to Spartanburg, where I'm due to meet up with the Edwards campaign in the morning.
First, I should answer the question that will be waiting on my voice mail in the morning: Why am I spending time covering former N.C. Sen. John Edwards' campaign? After all, he's running third here, not making much of a blip in the national news stories, etc... (Usually, the messages will be laced with a few choice words, as well.)
The long and the short of it is this: Edwards is from North Carolina and we have an interest in the guy. The thought is that all our readers, those who support him and those who don't, would have an interest in how his campaign is going, who is working for him, etc...
And, as I mentioned, we haven't been getting a lot of good wire copy on the guy as of late, so it seemed reasonable to expend some resources and check in on the home-state kid.
Alright, for those who need more than the newspaper story for Thursday, the report from the road, in bullet form:
I guess one could be cynical and say that Glover was called in to South Carolina because the majority of the Democratic primary electorate is African American.
Whatever the reason he's here, calling in Glover seems like a good move. People lined up to speak with him after he gave a stump speech at the Longshoremen's' union hall in Charleston.
He will wind up his two-week tour in the state after Saturday's primary. He's done some canvassing and phone calls and it sounds like he has staffed a fair number of events.
The big draw for Obama's crew was Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has become something on a national figure both in his own right and a surrogate for Obama.
Now, the longshoremen I saw weren't exactly a burley lot but they were certainly pretty big physically relative to, say, most of the accountants I know. Let's just say they were all looking up to Booker.
I didn't get a chance to listen in much, but there was quite a bit of nodding.
For those who have never visited a campaign field office, this one was typical: half frat house, half office depot and half (yes, three halves, that's part of the charm) military bunker.
Printers get propped up on two cardboard paper boxes, volunteers wield a cell phones and landlines to encourage folks to go vote, others are dispatched to canvass neighborhoods complete with maps and lists of doors to knock on.
Wright is a big dude and was sent out to pick up a couple of fellow campaign workers in another volunteer's car.
"I've never driven a Lexus before," he said in what I would call an Alabama drawl, if that's not a mixed metaphor. Once he moved his seat back far enough so his knees weren't in the middle of the steering wheel, he did just fine.
For the moment, I'm not inclined to argue with them, although the polling in South Carolina still puts Edwards behind Obama and Clinton. New Hampshire taught us a little bit about polling. Now, the results on Saturday night might make me a bit more skeptical, depending on what they are.
Up next: riding with the campaign on Thursday. If all goes well, I should have something in Friday's paper on that. Meanwhile, if anyone sees the train to Spartanburg, send it my way, will ya?
Update: After a later-than-scheduled train ride, walk and a taxi ride, I've arrived at what I'm told is the outskirts of Spartanburg. I really can't tell for sure, since the fog precluded even a night-time tour of the place. Two final notes:
On the campaign bus in Spartanburg, SC:
Edwards just talked to folks here at the Beacon Drive In, a diner and something of a local institution.
Three notes for the short run:
"I'll work with anyone who wants to do something about payday lenders," the candidate replied. "
Payday lending was a big issue in North Carolina a few years back. But the state essentially regulated them out of business.
Right as he was dropping that line, Danny Glover and Madeline Stowe walk into the diner and wave hello. They're traveling with the campaign.
And yes, Edwards did acknowledge the irony before moving on.
"My first campaign was John Kennedy's," she told me. Crawford was 13 at the time.
The second stop of the day for the John Edwards campaign was the Giant Burger in Laurens, SC.
He used the stop to talk about the economic stimulus deal reached in Washington today. He's not a fan and said that Congress should have held its ground against a president who would have had to sign any deal he was sent.
Here's video of Edwards speaking in front of his bus to us scruffy media types:
(And believe me, shoving that video through my cell phone from a moving campaign bus was no small task.)
Aside from hitting another culinary landmark, the highlight of this stop for me was meeting Dorris Pitts, and lady well into her 70s who stood on a fast food table bench to wave and "wooo!" at Edwards.
"You can't take the country out of me," she said as she shoved her way through the crowd, angling for a hug. "Like Mr. Edwards, I don't forget where I'm from."