Hagan campaign confusing
Let me first say I've been covering politics at some level or another off and on for about a dozen years, from towns of under 1,000 residents to Congressional campaigns. I take nothing, and I mean NOTHING, about a campaign personally. Everyone has different ways they want to go about their job, I have my way, and we see how things work out.
Now to the news of the day:
Dome reports that Kay Hagan showed up to file the paperwork necessary to get on the ballot today. Lots of candidates make this a big production and I largely ignore these little shows because: 1) everyone does them and quite frankly there's too many political critters out there for me to attend every one; 2) the candidate is displaying no more skill than those he or she should have acquired by the third grade, namely the ability to fill out a form and follow directions.
Hagan was apparently escorted by her new campaign manager, Crystal King. Dome details the following exchange:
Kay Hagan has hired a campaign manager.And here's the first and last quote you might hear from her:
"I do not go on the record," said Crystal King, unprompted, to two reporters Monday after one of them asked her name, David Ingram reports.
King had just started to usher Hagan out of the State Board of Elections after filing as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
Not exactly a warm greeting.
Huh.
So let's flashback to last week when I was working on a a piece about Hagan, Jim Neal and progressives.
I had originally given Hagan a buzz on her cell phone in the morning and ended up talking to her later in the day. But in between, campaign spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan gave me a call to chat me up. Fair enough.
After learning what the story I was working on was about, Flanagan took it upon herself to get me a written quote. (This is another story, but when I KNOW a candidate or other live human is available to spend five minutes on the phone, I don't typically deal in written quotes. They sound phony, pre-thought-out and half the time don't address the question.)
What's relevant in this case is who the quote is from: Crystal King, who Dome says doesn't go on the record. That struck me as odd, or at least calls into question by what she meant.
So in the interest of full disclosure - and at the risk of aggravating people I would really like to keep talking to me - here is Flanagan's e-mail, which contained a quote from King, which was very definitely on the record.
Hi Mark -- good speaking with you earlier. Looking forward to meeting you soon!Statement below from Crystal King, Kay's campaign manager:
"Progressives are an important part of the Democratic community, and their desire and energy to replace a Washington politician like Elizabeth Dole is just as strong as Kay's And the Hagan campaign is doing everything thing we can to earn their votes in the primary -- and have them as a foundation for a winning general election campaign. The issues Kay's been highlighting: changing course in Iraq and reinvesting in America, taking care of our vets, and finally getting something done to make health care more affordable will appeal to voters all across the state of North Carolina."
The quote also mentions that Hagan will be announcing more campaign staff and a re-launch of the website in coming days.
What to make of this? I'll leave that to y'all.
Comments (5)
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What to make of this? I'll leave that to y'all.* Mark
More confuse now than being on the record? Somewhere in my religious training, I was told that the author of confusing was the devil.....It appears that Crystal King, Kay's campaign manager is either the devil or the anti-christ in training at this point of the campaign?
Posted on February 26, 2008 12:11 PM
Good stuff. This story has lots of people talking, which I consider one of the things that matter most.
Posted on February 27, 2008 9:58 AM
In a recent Democratic gathering in Martin County, State Sen. Kay Hagan said she wants to go to Washington, D.C. because she views Washington, D.C. as a dysfunctional place and wants to clean it up. When Dr. Howard Staley stood he responded to Hagan by saying that ��Washington, D.C. is not dysfunctional -- but Washington is trying to manage a dysfunctional society.�
What I believe voters should be doing is looking at the overall picture of this senatorial race. The goal of the race is to beat U.S. Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Which candidate can you picture going up against Sen. Dole? Which candidate has the education, and quick wit to go up against Dole?
The narcissm and arrogance of Jim Neal is not going to cut anything � not even butter. He is not electable. Hagan is not savvy enough -- nor is she educationally prepared enough to win against Dole. Can you picture her in a debate with the style she has of a sixth grader running for class president up against Sen. Dole? Hagan says she wants Dole to take her ruby slippers and go back to Kansas. Well, Mrs. Hagan, U.S. Sen. Dole is not from Kansas! She is from Salisbury, N.C.
When push comes to shove, Hagan fails to adequately answer questions put to her. If she says, I want to give North Carolinians a voice in Washington one more time, I think I will puke. This is the goal when any U.S. Senator is elected. They become the voice for everyone of those in the state they represent! What she touts is never anything of profound resolution. Hagan does not strike me as having enough fortitude to prevail the strong winds of the impending political storm blowing and pounding about the borders of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Duskin Lassiter -- no matter how much encyclopedia knowledge he brings to the table -- has not advanced enough yet to apply what he has memorized between his redundant uses of �ladies and gentlemen.� The only two candidates, who seem to be worth the trouble of wading through the over-spending of advertising hoopla of Neal and Hagan propaganda, are Dr. Howard Staley and Marcus Williams.
When I look at these two men -- I am inclined to choose Staley first -- but maybe Marcus can run for the next U.S. Senate seat in two years? Right now, North Carolina voters need to use their best judgment and vote on a candidate who is intellectually strong enough to go up against Dole.
I am sure the Republican Party is sitting back and enjoying the divisions that have erupted like an ongoing downpour through the Democratic Party. If you really want to get issues resolved with the least amount of money wasted � choose a candidate who stands apart from excessive political advertising. Excessive advertising dictates to voters how to vote.
Voters need to think on their own. Ideally, they should not allow themselves to be dictated to by candidates who shove their ways into their mailboxes and dinnertime between the evening news and advertisement telephone calls. Such advertising is frivolous and unbalanced. I would like to think that most voters can wade through the garbage and see the shining coin underneath it all.
Voters must care enough to do their homework. Read the newspapers � not their opinions � but the unbiased news reports. If you can�t trust your local newspapers to deliver equal, balanced and unbiased reporting � read the AP New wires. They seem to make it their business to strive for unbiased reporting.
Visit all of the candidates� sites. Call the candidates on the telephone if you need to. Dr. Staley has numbers up for voters to get in touch with him. He invites their questions. Don�t be shy. He�s not ever going to put his nose up to any citizen in this state. He does not side step any issue � nor is he likely to avoid or dance around single-issue groups� questions. Every group makes up in totality the majority � but all require someone who is not in this race for the glory, or prestige, or for narcissm, or because someone put them up to it.
Dr. Staley is � but a human being willing to step away from his career and make the needs of this state and this country the focus of honest-effective and operational resolutions. When you vote, vote your conscience; otherwise, the voting process is degraded. If you are going to be a lazy voter � those candidates with the bulk of political advertising are depending on it. They don�t want you to think for yourself � only to remember their names so that you will respond like a robot absorbed in the powers of suggestion and fill in the spot next to it.
Above all, remember not to lie to yourself about the qualifications of these senatorial candidates. Remember what William Shakespeare wrote in his play Hamlet, �to thine own self be true.�
Posted on April 17, 2008 3:09 PM
In a recent Democratic gathering in Martin County, State Sen. Kay Hagan said she wants to go to Washington, D.C. because she views Washington, D.C. as a dysfunctional place and wants to clean it up. When Dr. Howard Staley stood he responded to Hagan by saying that ��Washington, D.C. is not dysfunctional -- but Washington is trying to manage a dysfunctional society.�
What I believe voters should be doing is looking at the overall picture of this senatorial race. The goal of the race is to beat U.S. Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Which candidate can you picture going up against Sen. Dole? Which candidate has the education, and quick wit to go up against Dole?
The narcissm and arrogance of Jim Neal is not going to cut anything � not even butter. He is not electable. Hagan is not savvy enough -- nor is she educationally prepared enough to win against Dole. Can you picture her in a debate with the style she has of a sixth grader running for class president up against Sen. Dole? Hagan says she wants Dole to take her ruby slippers and go back to Kansas. Well, Mrs. Hagan, U.S. Sen. Dole is not from Kansas! She is from Salisbury, N.C.
When push comes to shove, Hagan fails to adequately answer questions put to her. If she says, I want to give North Carolinians a voice in Washington one more time, I think I will puke. This is the goal when any U.S. Senator is elected. They become the voice for everyone of those in the state they represent! What she touts is never anything of profound resolution. Hagan does not strike me as having enough fortitude to prevail the strong winds of the impending political storm blowing and pounding about the borders of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Duskin Lassiter -- no matter how much encyclopedia knowledge he brings to the table -- has not advanced enough yet to apply what he has memorized between his redundant uses of �ladies and gentlemen.� The only two candidates, who seem to be worth the trouble of wading through the over-spending of advertising hoopla of Neal and Hagan propaganda, are Dr. Howard Staley and Marcus Williams.
When I look at these two men -- I am inclined to choose Staley first -- but maybe Marcus can run for the next U.S. Senate seat in two years? Right now, North Carolina voters need to use their best judgment and vote on a candidate who is intellectually strong enough to go up against Dole.
I am sure the Republican Party is sitting back and enjoying the divisions that have erupted like an ongoing downpour through the Democratic Party. If you really want to get issues resolved with the least amount of money wasted � choose a candidate who stands apart from excessive political advertising. Excessive advertising dictates to voters how to vote.
Voters need to think on their own. Ideally, they should not allow themselves to be dictated to by candidates who shove their ways into their mailboxes and dinnertime between the evening news and advertisement telephone calls. Such advertising is frivolous and unbalanced. I would like to think that most voters can wade through the garbage and see the shining coin underneath it all.
Voters must care enough to do their homework. Read the newspapers � not their opinions � but the unbiased news reports. If you can�t trust your local newspapers to deliver equal, balanced and unbiased reporting � read the AP New wires. They seem to make it their business to strive for unbiased reporting.
Visit all of the candidates� sites. Call the candidates on the telephone if you need to. Dr. Staley has numbers up for voters to get in touch with him. He invites their questions. Don�t be shy. He�s not ever going to put his nose up to any citizen in this state. He does not side step any issue � nor is he likely to avoid or dance around single-issue groups� questions. Every group makes up in totality the majority � but all require someone who is not in this race for the glory, or prestige, or for narcissm, or because someone put them up to it.
Dr. Staley is � but a human being willing to step away from his career and make the needs of this state and this country the focus of honest-effective and operational resolutions. When you vote, vote your conscience; otherwise, the voting process is degraded. If you are going to be a lazy voter � those candidates with the bulk of political advertising are depending on it. They don�t want you to think for yourself � only to remember their names so that you will respond like a robot absorbed in the powers of suggestion and fill in the spot next to it.
Above all, remember not to lie to yourself about the qualifications of these senatorial candidates. Remember what William Shakespeare wrote in his play Hamlet, �to thine own self be true.�
Posted on April 17, 2008 3:09 PM
In a recent Democratic gathering in Martin County, State Sen. Kay Hagan said she wants to go to Washington, D.C. because she views Washington, D.C. as a dysfunctional place and wants to clean it up. When Dr. Howard Staley stood he responded to Hagan by saying that ��Washington, D.C. is not dysfunctional -- but Washington is trying to manage a dysfunctional society.�
What I believe voters should be doing is looking at the overall picture of this senatorial race. The goal of the race is to beat U.S. Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Which candidate can you picture going up against Sen. Dole? Which candidate has the education, and quick wit to go up against Dole?
The narcissm and arrogance of Jim Neal is not going to cut anything � not even butter. He is not electable. Hagan is not savvy enough -- nor is she educationally prepared enough to win against Dole. Can you picture her in a debate with the style she has of a sixth grader running for class president up against Sen. Dole? Hagan says she wants Dole to take her ruby slippers and go back to Kansas. Well, Mrs. Hagan, U.S. Sen. Dole is not from Kansas! She is from Salisbury, N.C.
When push comes to shove, Hagan fails to adequately answer questions put to her. If she says, I want to give North Carolinians a voice in Washington one more time, I think I will puke. This is the goal when any U.S. Senator is elected. They become the voice for everyone of those in the state they represent! What she touts is never anything of profound resolution. Hagan does not strike me as having enough fortitude to prevail the strong winds of the impending political storm blowing and pounding about the borders of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Duskin Lassiter -- no matter how much encyclopedia knowledge he brings to the table -- has not advanced enough yet to apply what he has memorized between his redundant uses of �ladies and gentlemen.� The only two candidates, who seem to be worth the trouble of wading through the over-spending of advertising hoopla of Neal and Hagan propaganda, are Dr. Howard Staley and Marcus Williams.
When I look at these two men -- I am inclined to choose Staley first -- but maybe Marcus can run for the next U.S. Senate seat in two years? Right now, North Carolina voters need to use their best judgment and vote on a candidate who is intellectually strong enough to go up against Dole.
I am sure the Republican Party is sitting back and enjoying the divisions that have erupted like an ongoing downpour through the Democratic Party. If you really want to get issues resolved with the least amount of money wasted � choose a candidate who stands apart from excessive political advertising. Excessive advertising dictates to voters how to vote.
Voters need to think on their own. Ideally, they should not allow themselves to be dictated to by candidates who shove their ways into their mailboxes and dinnertime between the evening news and advertisement telephone calls. Such advertising is frivolous and unbalanced. I would like to think that most voters can wade through the garbage and see the shining coin underneath it all.
Voters must care enough to do their homework. Read the newspapers � not their opinions � but the unbiased news reports. If you can�t trust your local newspapers to deliver equal, balanced and unbiased reporting � read the AP New wires. They seem to make it their business to strive for unbiased reporting.
Visit all of the candidates� sites. Call the candidates on the telephone if you need to. Dr. Staley has numbers up for voters to get in touch with him. He invites their questions. Don�t be shy. He�s not ever going to put his nose up to any citizen in this state. He does not side step any issue � nor is he likely to avoid or dance around single-issue groups� questions. Every group makes up in totality the majority � but all require someone who is not in this race for the glory, or prestige, or for narcissm, or because someone put them up to it.
Dr. Staley is � but a human being willing to step away from his career and make the needs of this state and this country the focus of honest-effective and operational resolutions. When you vote, vote your conscience; otherwise, the voting process is degraded. If you are going to be a lazy voter � those candidates with the bulk of political advertising are depending on it. They don�t want you to think for yourself � only to remember their names so that you will respond like a robot absorbed in the powers of suggestion and fill in the spot next to it.
Above all, remember not to lie to yourself about the qualifications of these senatorial candidates. Remember what William Shakespeare wrote in his play Hamlet, �to thine own self be true.�
Posted on April 17, 2008 3:09 PM