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Fightin' Words
posted at 2007-10-23 23:13 | Last modified 2007-11-26 17:08
Homosexual panic?
Thank you, Rob Christensen, for finding a newsworthy way to talk about Dem Senate hopeful Jim Neal’s sexual orientation.
Neal said he's gay during an online chat Saturday at BlueNC. When it was picked up by the AP Monday, the story elicited not one, not two, but three “urgent” alerts. Three? Come on, folks. For the sake of reference, this weekend's rape charge against a sitting Lumberton city councilman didn’t rate even one “urgent” alert on the state wire.
By today, the panic had simmered down to a more measured
consideration of what Neal’s orientation might actually mean in terms of his
race against incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole. The story even got play in national media like
USA Today and Gay.com.
The consensus so far seems to be that
the jury’s still out – and Dole’s campaign, for now, is staying well above the
fray. But NC Dems seem to be running
scared anyway. According to Christensen’s
story,
"Kerra Bolton, a Democratic Party spokeswoman, said the party was "open and inclusive," but noted that Neal could still have a primary."
With friends like those, who needs a primary?
Bio wars
Fresh off gaining the endorsement of Emily’s List (a big surprise to many of her detractors), Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue is bringing the fight back to her competitor Richard Moore.
Perdue spokesman David Kochman yesterday accused Moore of claiming a degree he doesn’t actually have. The details are here; but in a nutshell, Kochman says Moore earned a diploma – not a degree – from the London School of Economics, yet failed to correct reports that got it wrong. (Déjà vu time: that’s the same accusation the Moore campaign lodged against Perdue and her PhD.)
Meantime, Perdue’s got plenty of troubles at home. Her sons are defending themselves in federal court in New Bern against civil action stemming from a 2003 boat accident that injured several people.
The AP reports Emmett Perdue admitted he’d been drinking before the accident, but said that wasn’t the cause of the wreck. Emmett Perdue also acknowledged in court he’s been cited for DWI in California. Perdue says the accident happened because the other boat didn’t have its lights on. The trial is expected to wrap up near the end of the week.
McHenry’s house
Roll Call’s been looking into Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC 10).
The Monday article is subscription only, but basically, Roll Call found that
McHenry has neglected to disclose 300K worth of interest in three properties,
and that he bought a house at about 2/3 of its market value from a campaign supporter,
Gaston County Commissioner Allen Fraley.
McHenry’s spokesman says everything was conducted “on the open market.” That’s a little hard to reconcile with Roll Call's take:
"…Last summer McHenry, his four siblings and a business partner sold a 40-acre plot to a local developer for $1.5 million. The developer, Charlotte-based E.C. Griffith Co., plans to soon break ground on a 1,000-plus-unit suburban housing development. McHenry made a short-term profit of at least 200 percent on the deal."
Not too shabby for a buyers’ market. And as you'd expect, liberal bloggers have been having a field day with it, particularly PageOneQ and PatGoByeBye. So get your grain of salt on, and then go read.
Kinnaird: Back in…and facing a primary
State Sen Ellie Kinnaird (D-Orange) ended months of
speculation today by announcing she’s running for re-election. That wasn’t good news for Orange County Commissioner
Mike Nelson and Carrboro Alderman John Herrera.
Both had publicly expressed interest in succeeding Kinnaird, but the Senator
said she was hoping a woman would run for her seat.
Nelson and Herrera have both pulled out, while a third contender, Orange Co commissioner Moses Carey, says he’s still running. Dome has more here.
Comments? Drop me a line.
