archived: 18 - 24 Sep, 2005         Back                 Next

                        GOV. EASLEY           

While Hurricane Ophelia was not as devastating as Hurricane Katrina, Gov. Easley’s leadership during the event is receiving high praise.  NC Spin writes: 

Governor Mike Easley is at his best in times of emergency, as he proved once again this week. He and Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Beatty correctly assumed that Hurricane Ophelia was a threat to the people and property of our state and went into action early and decisively. They organized the emergency preparedness teams, men and women who work selflessly for long hours, and hit the ground running. While we don't know for sure at this writing the full extent of the damage we can state for a fact that we were proud of our Governor, state employees, volunteers, and relief agencies in North Carolina (including FEMA) for being on top of this emergency in our state. Thanks from a grateful state! 

Democrats should be proud. 

                        THE 8^TH  

Democrats have lost one viable challenger to unseat Rep. Robin Hayes in the 8^th Congressional District.  Rep. Hayes has twice promised his constituents that he would not vote for trade agreements and then switched his vote.  The most recent example is CAFTA. 

It had been rumored that State Rep. Rick Glazier would seek the seat.  Rep. Glazier announced this week that he will not run: 

Glazier, in his second term representing a Cumberland County district in the state House of Representatives, said Wednesday he wanted to focus his efforts on the General Assembly. "I can work on things that make a difference right now," he said, citing education, health care, emergency preparedness and the military as examples.

Glazier's decision leaves Tim Dunn, a Fayetteville lawyer, as the only announced opponent to incumbent Republican Robin Hayes, now serving his fourth term in the U.S. House.  – Charlotte Observer 

Democrats should continue the hunt to recruit great candidates. 

                        ON DOLE 

Sen. Dole heads the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee; and she is drawing some fire from the far right wing of her Party.  Republicans are concerned that they could lose control of the US Senate.  Democrats need to pick up six seats.   

But, there are Republicans and then there are Republicans.   

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who opposes much of President Bush's agenda, including the tax cuts that helped pulled the U.S. economy out of a slump, is currently the Senate's most vulnerable Republican.

With good reason: Just the mention of Chafee's name in the West Wing triggers scowls, according to my sources. To say this renegade Rhode Islander, who admits he didn't vote for Bush, is not a GOP team player is putting it mildly. But in the battle to keep the Democrats from making gains in the Senate next year, Bush's election strategist Karl Rove and the Senate's Republican campaign chief Elizabeth Dole are clearly in Chafee's corner.

The reason: Chafee's leftist positions on social and economic matters seem to appeal to Democrats and independents in a state that is overwhelmingly Democratic (after all, they elected the Republican). Rove and Dole may not like his voting record, but they think he has the best chance of holding on to a seat that is one of the Democrats' top targets in what could be a tough election year for the GOP.

Thus, when Cranston, R.I., Mayor Stephen Laffey, a former investment banker and Republican supply-sider, told them he intended to challenge Chafee in next September's GOP primary, they tried to talk him out of it. To sweeten the deal, Dole and the state's Republican governor, Don Carcieri, urged him to run for lieutenant governor, putting him in a strong position to seek the governorship.

But Laffey didn't bite. He announced his Senate candidacy last week, triggering an unusual situation in which Rove, Dole and other top GOP officials are actively working to help defeat him in the coming primary fight. – Human Events 

Sen. Dole’s support of Sen. Chafee could hurt her with the radical right true believers in North Carolina.  Democrats should stay tuned.