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Doug,

Maybe the message to republicans ought to be, "stand up for what is right, not what is politically expedient to your party" that would be a breath of fresh air

And what's the message to Democrats in North Carolina?

Convicted Felon Connie Mack Berry, Jr.'s crackpot internet based campaign for his wife, Rachel Lea Hunter, was a complete failure in North Carolina for a second time in a row! Three cheers to Rachel Lea Hunter's failure and her husband's retirement from NC politics.

Best wishes in Berry's pending SBI investigation and here's wishing he has to appeal to Goebels.

Doug, did you see that the $1 million lucky ballot measure in Arizona failed?

Doug, I voted for four Republicans yesterday. Only two of them won. The other two had a real shot as I think they were positioned popularly on the issues. I can't speak for the entire state, but in Guilford County, I'd be pointing fingers at candidates "too busy" to campaign and a local GOP that doesn't seem interested in reaching out to independents or across party lines even though they account for only 36% of registered voters.

Great point about the state legislature, Doug.

I would suggest that 100 years of single-part rule on the state level has led to the type of corruption that you see with Jim Black, etc. The Democrats know they won't be punished for their cronyism, so they continue to do it. Heck, if Black can get re-elected, I'm not sure any powerful Democrat will ever get voted out of state office. There's no incentive to be responsive - or responsible - to the voters.

And although I vote Republican, I also wouldn't like to see them have a monopoly on the state legislature. Like most things, politics works better when you have competition. Both sides need to know that they will get voted out if they aren't doing the job. That's what keeps politicians honest and responsive.

But in North Carolina, we don't have competition, at least on the state level. The Democratic Party dominates state-level politics - much to the detriment of the people.

mikeg: I agree with you about congressional Republicans but, like Stormy, wish the message were delivered to Raleigh Democrats.

Z: I had missed that. Good news.

Roch: Good points. Maybe John Blust, although unopposed in his own election, should have stumped hard for other Republicans with a "clean up Raleigh" message.

just saying: Do you think North Carolina has now become a blue state?

Part of the reason is that the news coverage and analysis of the Black situation was lacking. There would be an occasional headline, and that was it. Meanwhile, the national Republican woes were treated as an ongoing story by most of the NC media.

It really seems as though the Black story has been under the radar for the most part and not treated as that big of a deal when it is an enormous scandal- bigger than Meg Scott Phipps which was also not covered particularly aggresively.

More than 475,000 North Carolinians, including more than 32,000 Guilford County residents, voted for her. I have to assume that was because they had absolutely no idea what they were doing.* Doug

Doug! You just call 475,000 Voters stupid and dumb for voting for RLH. I believe the total at the moment is close to 600,000 or close to 41% of the vote or 30,000 more than Republican Chief Justice Candiate Rusty Duke. It appears that you have the same problem as Ed and a few other addicted obessive fools thinking that you have save the Great State of North Carolina from RLH and justice. Shame on you to cont' to smear RLH and her amazing campaign that shook your faith in Democracy.

Sam, Phipps went down after Gov. Easley called for her to resign. He's been silent about Jim Black. I suppose he didn't want to risk losing a Democrat-controlled legislature. As for news coverage of Black's scandals, I think there's been plenty. Its impact depends on the ability of people to read, listen and understand.

Connie, my apologies. Rachel is up to nearly 600,000 votes at latest count. There are more uninformed voters in North Carolina than I thought, although not enough to elect her to the state's highest court. If she wants to be a judge, she should first try getting some experience at the District Court level.

just saying: Do you think North Carolina has now become a blue state?

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On the local/state level, it always has been, Doug. The Democrats have controlled the General Assembly since Reconstruction and, with two exceptions, have controlled the Governor's office during that time.

As a result, the Democratic Party is powerfully entrenched in state-level politics, even though N.C. voters often vote Republican in national elections.

I don't see this as schizophrenia as much as I see it having to do with the levers of power. Most voters don't know much about various state-level candidates, so they vote for the ones with the most name recognition. Those tend to be Democrats, who are better-funded and have the party politics machine behind them. The N.C. Republican party hasn't been able to match those resources yet.

A competitive two-party system would be the best thing for the state's voters, in my opinion.

Statewide, our stable is just better than yours.

Seriously, is there anyone in the pipeline for the GOP for Governor of the caliber of either Richard Moore or Bev Perdue?

We even have Roy Cooper waiting in the wings. I think Republican problems at the state level stem from categorically refusing to nominate centrists who can appeal to Democratic voters (still the registered majority) on state issues. Federal races are a different story, where national defense/low tax/smaller government, even when not practiced, can at leats be preached by Republicans. But at the state level, people expect a certain level of service and performance from their elected officials and their government. With rare exception, the Ferrell Blount's and Marcus Kindley's of the world continue to put up outrageously off the wall candidates for state government positions.

Meanwhile, competent, moderate, pro-business Democrats rack up wins. Easley, Cooper, Moore, Perdue - these are not wild-eyed radicals. They are technocrats with a populist streak, and they win.

Doug, NC a blue state? No, not yet.

I think that North Carolina has an identity problem..it doesn't know whether it is a blue state or a red state. Basically, the cities in the state are blue, and the non-urban areas are red. Guilford County reflects that clearly with Greensboro and High Point being very Democrat and liberal and the county being very Republican and conservative. While it appears that North Carolina made a big move to Democrats this election, Heath Shuler epitomizes the fact that many of these new Democrat representatives are Conservative Christians. People were looking for a change, and they got it, but the non-urban areas are still basically red in nature.

Connie Mack,

Aint it awful that Madame Justice still can't get no r-e-s-p-e-c-t. Pitiful, no doubt.

Still, getting 600,000 votes is interesting, almost as much so as the election of Mike Nifong and the re-election of Jim Black. Sometimes there is just no acocunting for what people will do and think when they get to vote.

Convicted Felon Connie Mack Berry, Jr. is once again being dishonest. Rachel Lea Hunter's current vote count is 595,026 votes or 37% of the total vote. 5000 votes is nowhere close to coming to 600,000.

Shame on you Connie for continuing to deceive the public about your wife! You, single handedly, have done more to destroy her reputation and career than any of her racist comments or wild conspiracy theories.

Regarding North Carolina Republicans, they are in a serious state of disarray. Former Chairman Bill Cobey used his position to bolster his failed candidacy for the Republican nomination of Governor in 2004. Now his replacement, Ferrell Blount is attempting to do the same thing. Blount will lose if he runs for Governor. Marcus Kindley is more of a nut than Vernon Robinson.

NC Republicans should be very upset over the lies and deception that NCGOP staffers and officials have passed off to them. The folks seeking to lead NCGOP (Blount, Cobey, Peaslee, Pope) are more concerned about using their position to bolster their political careers, not their party. And it shows!

John Burns, I'm not sure if I would call "Tax Hike Mike" Easley either moderate or pro-business. Seems to me his tax 'n' spend policies have put North Carolina's economy behind many of its neighbors.

I would agree that the GOP hasn't exactly nominated a great crop of candidates in recent years (Richard Vinroot being Exhibit A). But it still confounds me that Democratic scoundrels like Jim Black and Earl Jones keep getting re-elected year after year.

I would suggest that the lack of strong GOP candidates comes back to the political infrastructure. The N.C. Republican Party doesn't have the resources or the know-how (I'm honestly not sure which)to promote its candidates as well as the Democrats. There are good Republican candidates out there who could succeed in state-level offices, but unlike their Democratic counterparts, they aren't able to attract that level of name recognition needed to run state-wide.

If you are going to analyze why you have problems winning, begin with a bit of self-analysis of the mindset that would characterize Mike Easely as liberal.

Anyone with that mindset is already standing so far to the right of the field of play they are in the hot-dog stand.

Come back on the field, and let's play ball.

Connie, my apologies. Rachel is up to nearly 600,000 votes at latest count. There are more uninformed voters in North Carolina than I thought, although not enough to elect her to the state's highest court. If she wants to be a judge, she should first try getting some experience at the District Court level.* Doug

Doug! Are suggesting that Judge Rusty Duke Flagship 568,000 Republican voters were also stupid and dumb for voting for him, as you proudly say about the new amazing 600,000 RLH voters. Do you think Judge Duke should start all over as a trial Judge in his judical career to get a fresh start? You can't have it both way Doug? You should be apolizing to the voters as a editorial writer for making such a stupid statement about them being stupid. What's the next statement Doug? " Let them eat Cake while voting?"

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Dear Bill,

Considering I had to battle not only the Republican Party, but the Democratic Party leadership and the legal establishment, that these people had to cheat to win the election by breaking the law, considering that I had no financial support from anyone, I put up a hell of a fight. My opponent and everyone in the legal community was sweating bullets at the thought that someone like me could win. At least I made them really work for their stolen victory.

I figured “Liefong” would win. Although their was another candidate on the ballot and a write-in candidate, he really had no serious opposition. After seeing two DAs and others that the governor appointed to office, I can say that these are not educated and the best to serve. They are nothing but sycophants that are good at sucking up to those in power. They were poor choices all around.

Today I am proudly changing my party registration to “Independent” and I am taking Professor Butler Shaffer’s and your position of abstaining from voting. The political process is too corrupt. It cannot be changed. Once in awhile someone does break through, but this is few and far between.

I don’t advocate violence, but Thomas Jefferson said that “"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I know what he meant.

Rachel

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Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2006
From: WILLIAM ANDERSON
To: Rachel Lea Hunter for Supreme Court

Subject: good fight

True MJ,

You gave a good fight. I am heartsick about your loss, and the fact that

Liefong "won" the recall in Durham. Oh, well, at least we have divided

government in Washington. The color of the tick changes from red to blue,

but the host remains the same....

Bill

William L. Anderson, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
Frostburg State University
Frostburg, Maryland
301-687-4011

_______________________________________________

Connie, Rusty Duke IS a trial judge and has been for many years. He was much more qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court than RLH. The sore loser routine isn't very impressive.

I'm just happy that nut-case Rachel Lee Hunter didn't win. Sheesh, what a judicial disaster that would have been...

Connie, Rusty Duke IS a trial judge and has been for many years. He was much more qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court than RLH. The sore loser routine isn't very impressive.* Doug

Doug! You are aware there are two seating Supreme Court Judges who in their judical life never sat as a sitting judge anywhere in North Carolina. I agree that Judge Duke was not impressive since the RLH campaign beat him by 30,000 votes. Now that is impressive. That's odd Doug! Sounds like you are the sore winner instead of the hundreds of postive responses we are getting today.
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Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006
From: carol wolman
To: Rachel Lea Hunter for Supreme Court
Subject: Re: THANK YOU AGAINST ALL ODDS

Rachel Lea Hunter News AlertDear Rachel,

What a wonderful, inspiring story! I'm proud to be on the same planet with you! Thanks so much for doing what you did!

Love, light and peace,

Carol Wolman, MD
ex nonpartisan write-in candidate for Congress
California District 1
member, Longhouse Coalition

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THANK YOU AGAINST ALL ODDS

Dear Friends & Voters,

Its hard to believe that this ordeal is finally over, although the results were not what I expected. My opponent received about 59% of the vote and I had 41%, or 600,000 votes although the results are still not official.

I still received 30,000 more votes than the Republican challenger for the Chief Justice seat, and he, unlike myself, had party support and adequate funding.

Raw numbers tell one story, but they don't tell the whole story. When you consider that I had to battle the NC GOP-Mafia, the leadership of the state Democratic Party and their shenanigans in not listing me on the party website, absolutely no funding from anyone since I refuse donations, the legal establishment that threatened to abrogate your right to vote for judges if I was elected, and those fine folks at fair.judges.net (which are anything but fair) and comprised of those who would rather break the law and accept a fine rather than see me elected, I did extremely well.

And I can say I tried. When I decided to run, the words of God came to me through a book that I read. God said, "are you sure that you want to do this? You will be mocked and vilified. I have sent many teachers to Earth and you have killed every one of them." I thought to myself, I know the consequences but I feel compelled to try as other teachers have felt compelled to try, including Jesus Christ. He could have led a life as a simple carpenter, gotten married and raised children. But he didn't and felt compelled to teach and against the Sanhedrin and those in power. He upset the applecart and made those in power feel especially uncomfortable. And what did he get for his efforts? An excruciatingly hideous death on Earth and glorious life in heaven.

I too, upset the applecart and made those in power extremely uncomfortable. Everyone from my opponent to the legal establishment was sweating bullets, terrorized with fear that I would prevail. How could I do so when I faced insurmountable odds? But I tried anyway, despite the mocking, despite the hatred and insults hurled at me, despite the lack of funds, despite all that I endured. And I endured much more abuse than any other candidate could ever hope to endure while at the same having to deal with my brain tumor, surgeries and radiation. So my detractors can gloat all they want over the election results. Truthfully, it is they who are the real losers in life and they will get the kind of corrupt government they deserve. I, however, know what kind of character I truly have and can hold my head up proudly and proclaim that I tried.

Along the way, I have been a Republican and a Democrat. I have met some great people and I would like to thank those county chairs that stuck by me even when the state party leadership went in the other direction. My comments about the NC Democratic Party leadership are not directed at them.

I have seen the evils committed by both political parties and the games, whether directed at myself or at other candidates. It is what I said at the outset, that politics is all about power and control. No matter which party temporarily gains the upper hand, know that "the beast" as I have termed it controls both sides. Someone like me cannot win, as it is a rigged game. The only way to really prevail is to suck up to and ingratiate yourself with beast, to give the beast some leverage so it can control you.

Early on I was interviewed on a radio show and a caller asked me why I wanted to run when the political and judicial system is so broke and corrupt. At last I have an answer. There is something in the human spirit that compels us to try. It is the spirit that compelled Jesus Christ; it is the same spirit that compelled me.

I have tried and I did not succeed. I hope that in some small way, I have inspired others to try as well. As for me, I realize that the system is broken and corrupt and badly so. For this reason, I have changed my party affiliation. I am no longer a Democrat. Nor will I be a Republican. I owe no one thanks or support or loyalty to any party after how I was treated. I am now an Independent. However, I have exposed the ugly side of politics for what it is. In light of what I have seen and experienced, I will do as many others have done. I am opting out as there is no point in voting for "the lesser of two evils" or people when there is not "a dime's worth of difference" between them. I will no longer participate in an evil and corrupt system.

We need to change our whole system and our whole society. I do not foresee such change, at least by peaceful means. I am not advocating violence or bloodshed by anyone. We experienced the French Revolution and can see where that led, so I have no wish to revisit it. But, as Thomas Jefferson said, ""The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I know what he meant. I laid it all on the line just like our founders. I have done my part to refresh the tree of liberty with my sacrifice and I will work with others of like mind, behind the scenes, to make liberty a reality, not just a dream.

Rachel Lea Hunter