The Senate campaign as viewed from D.C.
CQ Politics has up what may be a very serviceable profile of North Carolina's U.S. Senate race but I kind of tuned out after this graph:
Hagen spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan asserts that, while costly, the primary gave Hagan an opportunity to introduce herself to voters statewide and made her a more recognized figure. She also is now free to campaign full-time, as the state Senate’s annual session ended last week. This opens up her schedule after weeks of legislating during the week and campaigning on the weekends, with a focus on grass-roots events at local establishments such as diners and lunch counters.
First off, there's a pretty simple fact error here, which is the General Assembly is still in session. (And legislative historians would probably be troubled by the use of "Senate Session," since the House and Senate generally are tied at the hip in terms of adjournment, but I digress.)
It also ignores the fact that Hagan has not been completely constrained by the legislative session. She gave up her leadership post as a budget writer earlier this year. And a quick check of her votes shows some "excused absences" for less exciting days on the legislative calendar. (That said, I have seen her at some committee meetings, so she's not taking a pass on the whole session.)
And the CQ piece fails to note the real handicap of the legislature being in session. Legislators are prohibited from taking money from lobbyists or their principals during a legislative session. That may not sound like a big deal, until you think about the fact that just about every deep-pocketed interest in the state has a lobbyist for something or other.