Ill-mannered outsiders spend millions to sway state’s voters
North Carolinians’ votes are so valuable that outsiders are spending more than $20 million to influence them. That’s not flattering, however. It’s infuriating.
Attack ads run by out-of-state organizations have made it a misery to turn on the television. Most portray Senate rivals Kay Hagan and Elizabeth Dole, and gubernatorial contenders Pat McCrory and Bev Perdue, as something like a public menace. And that’s not even considering the presidential race.
It’s impossible to pick out the most offensive untruths and distortions, but one egregious example takes aim at Hagan. An ad sponsored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee calls her a “creation of Washington power brokers.” That ought to sound stupid to Greensboro-area residents who elected Hagan to the state Senate five times and knew her as a community leader before that. But what do Washington Republicans care?
Not to be outdone, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been the biggest outside spender in the Dole-Hagan race, funneling millions into televised hits on Dole.
Out-of-state individuals have gotten involved, too. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that novelist John Grisham of Virginia is one celebrity who has donated the maximum allowed $4,600 to Hagan’s campaign plus thousands more to the Democratic committee working on her behalf.
A U.S. Senate seat is a national office, so outside interest is understandable even if unwelcome. But other organizations are injecting millions into the governor’s race, a strictly state affair.
The result has been an unrelenting negative tone to all the campaigns. Whoever wins these elections will take office with nearly half the voters holding a poor image of him or her, thanks to all the attacks. North Carolinians should resent the big-money meddling by ill-mannered outsiders and make up their own minds.
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Hmmmnnnnnnn, like minded candidates, Al Franken and Kay Hagan. There's a photo accompanying this article showing the Communist inspired, Code Pink holding a banner that says, "We support the killing of American troops!" Hmmnnnnn, like minded. I wonder if Hagan refused, or returned the money!
When choosing who to support in politics, different people have various standards. Some are single issue voters and won’t cast a ballot for a candidate who disagrees with them on a specific issue, such as eliminating secret ballot elections. Others choose a candidate based on specific areas of concern, like national security or fiscal responsibility. And still others may seek out candidates they believe most closely shares their values.
This weekend, liberal, Hollywood Democrats are choosing to support the candidates they believe most closely represent their values. This Saturday, the Hollywood crowd is hosting a fundraiser for like-minded Senate candidates who include Tom Allen of Maine, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Mark Udall of Colorado, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Al Franken of Minnesota, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mark Begich of Alaska. The group has pledged a minimum of $100,000 for each candidate. Not a cheap investment, even for such an affluent group of Hollywood fat-cats.
Posted on October 25, 2008 11:21 AM