NC turning blue

[grantcart]

I can understand Obama getting close in NC but Dole losing?

Is North Carolina Turning Blue?
Washington Post: In Insecure Times, A State Once Firmly Republican Now Wobbles

This great WP article shows how folks in NC are just getting tired of being pressed by GOP policies.

One Republican sold his car and now has to walk - and he is voting for Obama.


"I sold my vehicle and started walking," Cruz said. And walking can make you wonder. At some point, in her mind, the bigwigs not buying dogs, the depressed economy and the looming presidential election all sort of congealed into one big thought: "It is time for a change." That's what she concluded. "Anybody has got to do better than the Bushes, and I'm a Republican."

A Republican? For John McCain? "No. Because he worked under the Bushes. I'm for Obama."

clip

North Carolina is in the midst of a transformation its people are grappling to comprehend. The state long has been a fat red dot on the electoral map, voting Republican in every presidential election since 1976. Some believe it may be turning blue before their eyes; polls over the past month consistently have shown Obama and John McCain in a dead heat. Since January, approximately 550,000 voters have been added to the rolls, a third of them African American, and Democrats have won the registration battle by more than a 5 to 1 margin over Republicans. Pockets of political enthusiasm keep surfacing in the most unlikely places -- even at a motel for itinerants on Wilkinson Boulevard.

"If this were 2012, I'd be willing to say this is no longer a red state," said Ferrel Guillory, a longtime observer of the state's politics and director of the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina. "I don't know if North Carolina is as far along as Virginia is, but the Obama campaign may be accelerating that. We'll see."

Early voting began last Thursday in the state, and as of Tuesday, 543,004 had already voted -- 306,493 Democrats and 147,276 Republicans.

The Obama campaign, with the greatest resources, has opened 45 offices in the state, compared with McCain's 35. This past weekend, Obama made his sixth appearance in North Carolina since winning the nomination in late August, compared with three visits for McCain since May 6. Still, the state's political structure is notably bifurcated: conservative and progressive simultaneously, power concentrated in both parties. Democrats have controlled the governor's mansion for four consecutive terms, so now it is the GOP gubernatorial candidate, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who is running on the change theme. Republicans occupy both U.S. Senate seats, but Elizabeth Dole is in danger of losing hers in November. Her enemy: change.



read the whole article here http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/politics/washingtonpost/main4538298_page2.shtml

[aasleka]

1. Hopefully, while she was helping Congress GOP fundraise she ignored us.

She is never IN NC anyway.

[alison]

2. Oh, how I hope so!

As someone who's lived in NC for over 3/4 of my life, I would love to see this state turn blue. Liddy Dole essentially took for granted the seat that Helms handed to her, and didn't even consider Kay Hagan to be a threat until after Hagan barraged her with campaign ads. I sincerely hope that Hagan holds on (or even increases her lead!) for the next couple of weeks.

[grantcart]

5. welcome to DU

[tekisui]

3. Hagan and the DSCC have put out some very good ads against Dole.

No one likes her here.

[Alter Ego]

4. If Liddy Dole loses we will carry NC.

Mark my words.

[Supersedeas]

6. Liddy is the lamest carpet-bagging excuse for a Senator in these United States

[hedgehog]

7. Did someone say Weebles?

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/Rally/

[mscuedawg]

8. If so...Oh happy day!!!! She's as vile as her VP wanna be....

[Arugula Latte]

10. She really is a horrid woman.

I have to admit I sort of liked Bob Dole a little bit. He wasn't as reprehensible as most Republicans, and he had a good sense of humor. (Of course I wouldn't have voted for him if you'd held a gun to my head.) Still, I didn't DESPISE him, and that is actually high praise from me.

Liddy Dole, on the other hand, just makes me want to ... well, I can't say. :grr:

[mscuedawg]

12. I once worked for ReMax and went to FL for their annual convention...

"Libby" was the guest speaker...her condescending manner was nauseating...but what was worse was all the groupies on their feet at her every word...it was painful...

:hi:

[grantcart]

9. this article has some really hear warming stories in it

[ccharles000]

11. wonderful