The Fix is In - North Carolina Republican Senate Primary

[BDawg]

Sigh... Just like with the 2000 Presidential Election, the Republican party has put it's entire force behind one person before the primary has even taken place.

Dubbya has already backed Elisabeth Dole, and she's so confident she's going to win the primary, she's not even bothering to show up at any of the the Republican debates or round tables. This is going to be a real fair election. I'll have to go to the primary just so I can vote against the Kansas carpetbagger.

I'm afraid that NC citizens are going to be sucked into voting for Dole just because of her celebrity status, but we can hope they wise up.

IMHO, this is very similar to Hillary moving up to NY (carpetbaggers go to the south, not to the north, so the term doesn't apply ) to run for their seat.

Personally, I'd rather have someone who doesn't agree with my principles, but is local represent me than someone who does and is just using my state for furthering his career.

On the other hand, if Erskine Bowles wins the Democratic nomination, it should be a good fight with two big wigs fighting for the seat. No matter what, the campaigns will be cleaner than anything run by the Helmes people.

 

[Linflas]

Isn't Elizabeth Dole actually a North Carolina native? That would make her nothing like Hillary Clinton alone.

 

[shiner]

Dole is originally from NC. Why attack the Republicans for preferring a certain candidate? That happens everywhere with both parties. Nice try but you need to go reload your sling shot and try a better shot next time.

 

[BDawg]

<< Dole is originally from NC. Why attack the Republicans for preferring a certain candidate? That happens everywhere with both parties. Nice try but you need to go reload your sling shot and try a better shot next time. >>



Sure, Dole was born in NC, but that really doesn't make her a North Carolinian. While she was attending Duke (University of New Jersey, Durham), she was quoted as saying she wanted 2 things in life. 1. To never have kids. 2. To get out of NC as fast as possible. Plus, Dole hasn't lived in NC in decades...

The reason I'm attacking them (the party, not individuals) is because it doesn't always happen like this. Remeber the '92 presidential election? The field was full of evenly experienced Democrats, and it was a quality race the entire way.

When you have situations such as this one, you have a bad race and you don't give the citizens a chance to truly figure out who the best person is...just the "most electable."

Shinerburke incorrectly assumes that this is another pinko, commie, tree-hugging liberal attacking his way of life and has to give his incredibly pathetic knee jerk reaction. I really feel for you accepting everything you're told to accept.

I'm not pro-Democrat or pro-Republican in this. I'm just after the best person to represent my state. People like shinerburke who accept the status quo are the reason we have people like Jesse Helms, Fritz Hollings, Strom Thurmond, and Robert Byrd.

 

[Shantanu]

The key difference between Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton is that the former is actually a decent human being. In politics, it's generally a good idea to nominate the individual who has the best chance of winning, and also adheres closely to the party's philosophies. That is why Elizabeth Dole is a good person to nominate.

That is also why this little old lady is going to crush whatever psuedo-progressive redneck, sack-of-sh|t, left-of-Lenin candidate your heroes at the North Carolina Democratic party nominate. Cheers.

 

[UNCjigga]

I'm a Democrat, but I don't like Ersky Bowles (and yes, I DID graduate from Chapel Hill!) If he takes the Dems nomination then I'm voting Republican. Besides, it'd be nice to replace Helms with a woman.

 

[shiner]

Thanks for assuming what I think....

If you kid yourself and think that only Repubs get in line behind who they consider to be the "best" person to run then you are truly blind. Have you ever been involved in a political campaing, have you ever run for office? I've done both and have seen how the system works from the inside and yes, both parties do it. You can try bringing up Presidential politcs to prove your point but that is falsehood. Maybe the 92 Demo race was wide open but that was because all their guys were lackluster choices. Just look who won, if he was the best of the rest then the rest need to be shipped off to some island where they can't hurt anyone. Just because the party chooses to back someone doesn't mean they will win. We had a special Congressional election here a few months back and the state party heavily backed one person, they had all the money, and were the Governor's wife. Guess what? The people spoke and she got her ass handed to her.

 

[AU Tiger]

The truth to the matter is that Dole is the best chance the Republicans have for winning in NC. With the exception of presidential elections, NC tends to lean towards the democratic party. The eastern part of the state tends to be very democratic, but these democrats aren't the liberal democrats that dominate the media, they are the good ole boy democrats.

 

[BDawg]

<< If you kid yourself and think that only Repubs get in line behind who they consider to be the "best" person to run then you are truly blind. >>



I'll have to re-check what I said before, but I'm pretty sure I mentioned Republican and Democratic names in my list...



<< Just because the party chooses to back someone doesn't mean they will win. >>



I didn't say she'd win. I think if it's her vs. Boles, it will be a good race (which I think I mentioned in my first parargraph).



<< and also adheres closely to the party's philosophies. >>



I have no idea what she believes...she's never been elected to any office, and she won't attend any of the debates. People are just being told she's good and they'll probably vote for her because of it.



<< sack-of-sh|t, left-of-Lenin candidate your heroes at the North Carolina Democratic party nominate. >>



I don't recall saying I'm a democrat. I don't recall saying I vote democrat. I never vote down party lines, I always try to vote for who I think is the best candidate regardless of party. One thing for sure, I'll never vote for the same worthless, ultra-conservative, Hitler-esque authoritarian candidate you would back (heh, I've broken the Hitler rule of internet debate, but I think it was balanced by the Lenin usage).



<< The truth to the matter is that Dole is the best chance the Republicans have for winning in NC. >>



I don't know why that is taken as granted. People's opinions might change if they see her debate issues with other qualified candidates. Heck, one of the "lackluster" individuals from the '92 Democratic primaries beat an incumbant, old-school Washington DC politician who had a 90% approval rating during his term. Just goes to show, there is no safe bet, you better weigh all of your options.

 

[swayinOtis]

he's right, i think. many people will vote for mrs. dole because of her quasi-celebrity status. that and NC is notoriously conservative. she fits the bill.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

No one is complaining about the "people" backing someone that can win for the party. The problem evolves from the fact that Timothy Cook, Jim Snyder, Doug Sellers, Dr. Ada Fisher, Dr. Jim Parker, and Dr. Venkat Challa may have ideas that put Libby Dole to shame as a GOP candidate. The people don't know b/c they've never heard of most of them. Then again in the absence of a war chest no one knew or cared about GWB. The party should support candidates that represent the people and party first and foremost. Then you work your arse off to get those people elected. Several county level GOP events have become Elizabeth Dole lovefests. Sometimes they tell the other candidates not to even bother showing up much less being able to speak. Why exclude these people that have supported the NC GOP for decades in favor of a person who appears to believe she can be anointed as party candidate instead of winning by the quality of her ideas?

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

he's right, i think. many people will vote for mrs. dole because of her quasi-celebrity status. that and NC is notoriously conservative. she fits the bill.

It hopefully will not get that far. At some point she will have to prove she's more rose than blooming onion. She's been meandering to the right to try to mute some of the criticism over some of her past stances. For instance, she used to support gun-control. Now she's waffling in part b/c DEMOCRATS in NC consider gun control something you do to keep from missing your target.

NC is not notoriously conservative. NC is a rather moderate state on balance. It is just barely more urban than rural but most people are moving into the 'burbs and many are rodents . . . I mean, Northerners. Call us quasi-conservative if you like but Helms has narrowly won his seat several times. He wins b/c a lot of Tarheels think like him (NC citizens but not many in Chapel Hill) and he does whatever it takes to win. His replacement will be more moderate b/c Helms (and his ilk) have outlasted their usefulness to NC . . . now if only we could get MA to dump Ted.

 

[BDawg]

Uh oh...BaliBabyDoc doesn't agree with the status quo either...

Perhaps someone should check to see if we weight the same as a duck?

 

[BDawg]

Ick...I wondered under which rock they found Ari Fleicher...apparently, he was E Dole's spokeman during her 2 week presidential campaign.