Hagan live blogging
State Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro, a candidate for U.S. Senate, is doing a live blog over at Blue NC. Click here to tune in.
Here was the original thread by which readers originally submitted questions. The crowd over there seems to be a little restive.
Meanwhile, the other leading Democrat in the race, Jim Neal, has been talking up a weekend encounter over at Daily Kos.
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From the live blogging session:
On earmarks, Hagan wrote: "When I’m in the U.S. Senate, I pledge to post the earmarks I obtain for North Carolina on my website. Furthermore, I believe we need to have an open, transparent system that allows sunshine into the process. Advocating on behalf of your district or state is what you’re elected to do; funding a ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ is not. Special interests projects like $13.5 million for the World Toilet Summit has no business in our federal budget."
When asked about immunity for telecommunications companies on issues related to warrantless wiretaps, she wrote: "At a time of grave national security concerns, the Bush Administration told the telecoms it needed information to protect the nation and they responded. The companies did not benefit, they did what was asked of them. The Administration was the bad actor here, and we must hold them accountable, but we need to move forward and keep America safe. Washington is broken, we all know that, and arguing over who did what isn’t going to help prevent another terrorist attack. The recently passed House bill was a good compromise to find out what the Bush Administration did to get that information and I hope the Senate will pass it and the President will sign it. Our top priority should be to pass a straightforward bill that keeps us safe while ensuring the rule of law, accountability and court oversight."
When asked about gay marriage, Hagan wrote: "I’m close to John Edwards on this - I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and that it’s fundamentally a state issue the federal government has no business getting involved in. But I take a back seat to no one when it comes to equal opportunity and fairness. I oppose ANY form of discrimination and I believe that partnerships should be protected when it comes to financial issues, hospital visits, employment, and housing issues."
Go check out the entire thread, which is turning out to be very worthwhile.