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Monday Late: Hot on the Trail
posted at 2008-04-28 23:56 | Last modified 2008-04-29 10:25
NC hearts Hillary?
Senator Hillary Clinton will be in Raleigh bright and early tomorrow morning to pick up the endorsement of Superdelegate/ Governor Mike Easley.
After a whirlwind 8am tour of the Biotech Training Center at NC State, they’ll hold a joint “event” at 8:30am at the McKimmon Center. Doors open at 7:00am.
As a night person, I’m truly grateful that NPR’s David Greene is covering this one, but I have to wonder how Easley will fare. He’s a noted insomniac who likes to work in the wee hours, and I can’t recall him ever doing a public event before 10am. Get that man an espresso, stat.
Okay, so...
If you’re surprised by Easley’s move, you shouldn’t be. If his February pronoun slip wasn’t a big enough hint about where his sympathies lay, his “Nascar Dad” profile should’ve nailed it. He’s a textbook Clinton voter.
But I don’t agree with today’s Jones St. rumor that Easley’s angling for a VP slot. It wouldn’t make any sense: he wouldn’t bring anyone to the ticket she doesn’t already have. (On the other hand, there’s always a chance at a cabinet spot – like, say, Education maybe?)
Still, the timing couldn't have been better, or less coincidental, I'd bet. New PPP tracking numbers out today show HRC making some headway in NC last week, which means it's the ideal time to play a trump if she's holding one.
The new poll also showed Dem hopeful Bev Perdue widening her lead over her gubernatorial rival Richard Moore. As PPP's Tom Jensen puts it, Moore's "mud" might not be sticking. Or at least not to Perdue.
Hunt weighs in
Former Gov and party patriarch Jim Hunt weighed in today on the Dems’ bitter gubernatorial battle.
Hunt has longstanding ties to Moore and Perdue, and said complimentary things about both of them. But he told WRAL’s David Crabtree that Moore’s attacks on Perdue’s civil rights record “crossed the line” – and if anyone knows what that looks like, it’s Hunt. The story’s here.
Moore spokeswoman Julie White defended the attacks on Perdue as “truthful”:
“She has stated she fought for civil rights all her life. The record shows that this is clearly not the case.”
Hunt was neither the only ad critic today nor the most blunt. Voter rights group Democracy NC offered this strongly-worded statement about ads on both sides:
"We deplore the use of ads by the North Carolina Republican Party and by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore which use racially charged images to manipulate voters. The consultants for these groups may wish to make money with this kind of deception, but the responsible clients and the broadcasters should recognize the damage they do and just say NO.”
That statement was part of a release that also addressed a robo-call campaign Democracy NC says “is designed to depress participation by black voters in North Carolina’s May primary.”
Lamont who?
According to Democracy NC and others, some guy named “Lamont Williams” is making robo-calls to black neighborhoods.
"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you.”
Want to hear it? Reader and Durham Dem chair Kevin Farmer sent me a copy:
Listen Now!
The problem, of course, is that the April 11th mail-in registration deadline was long past by the time this April 24th call went out. So any would-be voter who takes Lamont’s advice instead of going to a one-stop site will miss out on his or her chance to vote in the primary.
Turns out Lamont’s a popular guy: he made some calls in Ohio, too. The NC Board of Elections wants your help in figuring out who he is.
Even more troubling: the same reader who tipped me off to this said he received a similar robocall from someone who represented herself as “Michelle Obama.” Correction: Kevin Farmer wrote back to clarify that the "Obama" call was not a voter-fraud call - just a garden-variety GOTV robocall. Whew. So it isn't quite that nasty -- not yet, anyway.
Comments? Drop me a line.
