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Lots of NC news today; that doesn’t happen often…
Billy Kennedy has earned the endorsement from Howie Klien’s Blue America — charging up that the race is on to topple bigoted, ignorant extremist Virginia Foxx (Wingnut-NC) from her perch representing the 5th Congressional district.
You can “meet” Billy today over at C&L at 2PM ET. He’s definitely a breath of fresh air, not a Blue Dog by any stretch of the imagination. His election would send a much-needed message to the tools of the DCCC, which again doesn’t see the value of supporting a candidate like Kennedy. Look at this BS reasoning that craps on the constituents of the 5th:
Democrats have said that her bizarre and extremist presence in Congress does them more good than harm and that there’s no reason to run any candidates against her since she is probably the single least effective member of Congress.
Do they not deseve better representation? What kind leadership is that in our party? Kennedy’s message is and cognizant that wedge issues have no place in either party.This is the kind of “support” that tells you Kennedy needs and deserves netroots support if that is what Dems call “strategy.” Kennedy:
Dishonest politicians try to divide us and pit us against each other in order to win an election on wedge issues. Politicians of both political parties emphasize wedge issues so they can distract us and avoid talking about the serious problems we face. It is a tactic used to confuse us in order to hide how they really vote about bread and butter issues.
More and better jobs, a commitment to Medicare and Social Security, real discussions about whether or not we should commit our young people and our nation to war, health care reform, and the failure of bailouts and subsidies to corporations are not wedge issues.
I will not run a wedge campaign. I want to focus on what all of us can do to improve our lives. I plan to listen to my constituents and hear what’s important to them because I respect other people’s points of view. I will not allow my opponent to play “gotcha” politics on these questions of individual liberty.
I want to make it clear. I support freedom and equal rights for all people. I will protect all individual constitutional rights, without allowing politicians to pick and choose which Amendments deserve to be taken seriously.
Even when a candidate or political party wins an election through the use of a wedge issue, once they arrive in Washington they do nothing to further its cause. That is when it becomes painfully clear that the candidate never had any real commitment to the issue itself. The candidate simply used the issue to try to fool the people and win the election at any cost.
You can join in the chat here at 2PM ET.
Billy Kennedy’s web site:billykennedyforcongress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/billy4wnc
If you feel so inclined, can donate to Billy Kennedy’s campaign directly through ActBlue.
2 Comments
Kennedy on fire with the very first questionUPDATE: And he’s already on fire in the chat:
Q from Howie: Billy, welcome to Blue America. I think I speak for our whole community when I say we admire the courage and dedication it takes to run for Congress, espousing progressive approaches to governance in a district that is so weighted towards the GOP. Virginia Foxx is not a well-liked character in the blogosphere but, obviously, she has been re-elected several times since Richard Burr went to the Senate. Normally the DCCC seems to advise that candidates in districts like NC-05 run as “Republican-lite” alternatives to extremists like Foxx. I don’t think anyone could accuse you of being Republican-lite. When I read your positions, like the one quoted above about the positive role government can play in society, I wonder if you can turn that kind of idealism into electoral victory in November. If you strip away the racism, bigotry and paranoia that infests much of the tea party movement, I see some of that idealism in your campaign being expressed by these folks as well. Is it worth trying to reach out to the local tea party folks?
Kennedy: As for your first question, if the DCCC is advising candidates to run as Republican-lite in red districts, then I would respectfully argue that is a losing proposition. Democrats don’t win in these districts by becoming more like their right-wing opponents. We don’t win in these districts by reaching for “slightly less extreme.” Selling out both working people and our values at the same time isn’t a winning strategy in my opinion, not for either the long term or the short term. It isn’t a winner for our Party either.
We win in these districts by continuing (or returning to) the true principles of the Democratic Party of the People. A Democratic Party that stands up strong against corruption and against the political and financial forces that work to pad the pockets of the rich and powerful over the interests of working class Americans and the poor.
People respond to hate and fear because they are scared–because they are losing their jobs, health care, and their faith in government to do anything to make their lives better. People are losing their hopes for theirs and their children’s futures. We Democrats have to show that we can do something to help with these bread and butter issues for the people of our districts and nation. Until we can prove that, people will continue to lash out at whatever or whoever is close by. That’s the nature of fear.
I believe government can work for the people, and I believe working Americans of all political stripes want a government that works for their interests. I’ve been making a lot of calls into my district. People have fallen on really hard times. What has Foxx done for them? Nothing. What will she do if re-elected? Nothing still.
The problem is, instead of proving we Democrats can produce on this front, some of us are up there in Washington jamming up the progress. This feeds into the 30 years plus of right-wing talk (and action to prove the talk) that government is “bad.” I intend to force a hole in that logjam, and I intend to do this not strictly as a matter of ideology, but rather to help the people of my district. American interests are hurt by the self interested rather than by government itself.
Yes. I can turn idealism into victory. I’ve worked for campaigns in the past that have done just that. We Democrats got Steve Goss into the State Senate here by returning to the message of the working peoples’ Democratic Party-his district in many places overlaps mine. Steve is now serving his second term and is beloved by the people of this district because he lives by the principles of the Party of the People.
DCCC can take a hike!In 2004, a dedicated Democrat I knew named Robin Weirauch decided to run up against Paul Gillmor, an entrenched Republican who didn’t even live in the district! He instead lived in a ritzy suburb of Columbus so his well-connected wife could represent the area in the Ohio Senate.
For a first-time campaigner, she gave Gillmor a run for his money, and in fact outspent her many times over, and lost by a 67-32% margin.
In 2006, with better name recognition, and a larger campaign, she was able to scare Gillmor into spending, IIRC, six figures for his seat, the first time in a long time. On Election Day, Robil lost by an even narrower margin — 56-43%
Then in 2007, Gillmor passed away in his new “home”, which he set up after selling the family farm he once claimed as his residence, thus forcing a special election.
Because this was the only major election going on in the country, massive amounts of spending and volunteers came through Bowling Green, Ohio, where Robin had her campaign.
This time the DCCC took notice and decided to help.
Their first big mistake was not listening to the county chairs, who knew their counties, and knew how to campaign in a rural district, as opposed to the suburban and urban areas.
One thing the DCCC shot themselves in the foot was a heavy reliance on phone calls. The closer the election came, the more phone calls went out. Unfortunately, people were called three and four times a week, and the voters let it be known they didn’t appreciate being called so often, but I guess the DCCC didn’t read the letters to the editor.
The second thing which the DCCC did to ruin Robin’s campaign was refusing to order and distribute yard signs! They are very big in our part of Ohio, mainly due to the fact that most live folks in houses with yards. It’s also a way of showing your neighbors whom you’re supporting in a campaign.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many calls we got at our county Democratic office from people either complaining about the phone calls, and/or asking about yards signs. I told the callers just exactly why we didn’t have yard signs — the DCCC.
That’s why when I get a piece of bulk mail from them, I tend to just throw it in the shredder, but I’m tempted to save the shreds and send it back to them, letting them know how they shredded a campaign into the toilet that had the best chance since 1939 to go for a Democrat, because they refused to listen to the local experts.