Cabarrus Cheap Seats

In this week’s Time Magazine Joel Stein said, “I was told by the very nice election-board workers that in-person early voters come in two varieties: the superinformed and the people Obama supporters pick up off the streets and throw into a van”.

It would be funny if it weren’t true.

Link to interview with Obama voters for those reading via RSS or E-mail

This is the first year in my adult life that I can recall NC being considered a Swing State. (Whether it is or not, I’m not so certain.) I’m not sure that’s a trend I like very much, because in this case it means McCain is in serious trouble.

I think a significant portion of this is because of the candidate that was nominated. I can’t say the candidate that WE nominated, because as with every year, NC has absolutely no influence on the primaries. We may as well hold our presidential primaries in August for all the impact we have. It didn’t matter who any of us in NC wanted, we got handed the candidate that other states picked for us.

How can we correct this? What can be done to give NC a seat at the table during primary season in the future?

I think the most fair method would be to have all primaries done on a single specific day nationwide. Of course, that would require both parties, AND all 50 states to agree on it. Which means it’s probably not a practical goal.

Barring that, how does NC bump it’s primary date up, and give us a seat at the table when it comes time to handle nominations?

We could attempt to leapfrog other states, and have them move their dates up, and all of us end up in a situation where the 2012 nominations take place somewhere around Halloween 2011.

Or…

We could go in together with some other states as a block and commit to a single specific and early date for primaries. I could definately see a regional block of states banding together for something like this. In a way, it’s similar to the “Super Tuesday” scenario, but we’d need to make it early enough in the process to matter.

Any thoughts? Is anyone at the state level looking into this sort of thing at all?

First off - there are some events that y’all should know about over the next 24 hours.

Tonight: Pittenger Rally - Midland Fire Department - meet the guy who’ll hold the gavel in the NC Senate and start holding the Party of Jim Black accountable for a decade of corruption in NC.  Also, you can meet local candidates.

Tomorrow: McCain Rally. Details here. 

5. Council of State:  I’m voting Republican.  Period.  In most cases, I’m alright with it.  In others, it was a little more difficult.  

[Read more →]

As promised in Calebs Post. I give you a post detailing why I won’t be voting for McCain/Palin. (Brad/Thierry: Don’t get said hopes up. The “Obamaid” they sent to my house was poured directly down the drain. [Read more →]

I’ve determined the Powers that be want to do everything to keep me from seeing a Presidential Candidate this year.  From a conveniently scheduled test the last time I had the chance, to a full day of work on Saturday, I keep getting the run around.  But that’s not the point of this post.

Senator John McCain will be in Concord for a Rally on Saturday, October 18 (This Saturday) at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. Doors open at 8am, but I would reccommend getting there early.  You can get tickets from the local victory office, but they don’t guarantee entry, so make sure you’re there on time.

Hope you guys enjoy it, I’ll be here in exile.

Barack Obama wants to raise this guy’s taxes, but didn’t mind cutting them for giant oil companies.

For RSS and e-mail readers, here’s the video:VIDEO

Coming to Midland N.C.
Pittenger for State Lieutenant Governor
Rally
Friday October 17, 2008
7p.m. @ Midland Fire Department
12805 Highway 601

The Cabarrus County Republican Party is excited to announce that this Friday there will be a rally at the Midland Fire Dept. in support of Robert Pittenger’s campaign for State Lieutenant Governor. We are inviting all the conservative Republican candidates. We have already heard from several candidates that they will be here. We are also inviting all citizens who are interested in getting informed and/or involved in the upcoming election. This is going to be one of the most important elections of any of our lives. We look forward to meeting everyone this Friday at the Midland Fire Department.

I just came across a great article posted by The Wall Street Journal that I wanted to share with everyone.  It is a must read, and everyone should pass it along to potential voters.  It deals with Barack Obama’s claims that he is proposing “tax cuts” to 95% of American Families.  Here is my favorite excerpt..

“Here’s the political catch. All but the clean car credit would be “refundable,” which is Washington-speak for the fact that you can receive these checks even if you have no income-tax liability. In other words, they are an income transfer — a federal check — from taxpayers to nontaxpayers. Once upon a time we called this “welfare,” or in George McGovern’s 1972 campaign a “Demogrant.” Mr. Obama’s genius is to call it a tax cut.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385651698727257.html#

Read the rest and let me know what you think.  Also, spread the word.

The candidate forums are on Channel 22, beginning this weekend.  They will apparently be shown Sat & Sun at 9 AM and 6 PM, with the BOE candidates and Commissioner candidates flipping times each day.  I also understand that both can be seen on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. 

You can also see the candidate forums on the web, at the county website.  It is streaming, so there are some interruptions depending on your connection speed.  Here is the link:

http://www.cabarruscounty.us/News/Channel22/programs.html

Once you get to the page, scroll to the bottom - there is a link for both.

UPDATE: Endorsements: Mine (featuring Lew Davidson) and the Independent Tribune Endorsements.  Also, a pretty cool, interactive Candidate Guide from the IT.

As part of my on-going mission to stir the pot,  I’m making this non-partisan election a partisan one; because there’s no such thing as a non-partisan election…just a “party secret” one.

Republicans: incumbent: Holly Blackwelder

previous candidates: David Harrison, Thomas Hill (I don’t remember if he’s run for school board before - but he’s run for everything else), and Lew Davidson;

newcomers: Robert Tizon, Phillip C. Stevens, Toni Wheeler Jenske, Rob Walter and Blake Kiger

Democrats: incumbent: Cindy Fertenbaugh

previous candidates: Mike Helms (similar to Thomas Hill) and Wilma King Means

newcomers: Anna Hood, Tim Furr, and Anne Spence Laukaitis.

Unaffiliated:  incumbent: Wayne Williams; newcomer: Jan A. van Ravesteyn.

Candidates: If you have website you’d like people to check out - just leave them in the comments.  Of course, each one of you with e-mail have an account on this blog.