Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
November 7, 2008—ELECTIONS RESULTS EDITION
That cheering you hear is conservationists nationwide celebrating the end of the Bush Reign of Error, as change sweeps the electorate. We review key results nationally and in North Carolina, this week in CIB:
Campaign Watch: Green Day
Of course, our lead story of the week (the year?) is the Obama victory and the change it portends for national environmental policy. This week we include notes on the environmental role in that victory. Looking beyond the presidential contest, we also review a raft of Election Day results of critical environmental significance.
LCV Celebrates Big Day at the Polls: The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) held a nationwide telephone briefing on Thursday to review environmental successes in the 2008 elections. LCV was an early and enthusiastic backer of the historic Barack Obama candidacy. LCV staff reported that its paid and volunteer voter contact efforts targeted green-leaning voters in six swing states (including North Carolina); Obama won all six.
In Congressional contests, LCV is also celebrating a strong performance by its endorsed candidates. Of 116 Congressional candidates endorsed by LCV or its associated state groups, 92 won and only 18 lost. As of Thursday afternoon, six contests (including both the Alaska Senate and House races) were still too close to call. Winners included seven of the 13 contests involving incumbents designated among the anti-environmental "Dirty Dozen" non-honorees. (Two of the other six were the Alaska races.) Full details are at www.lcv.org.
LCV noted that overall it and its 35 state partner groups spent a cumulative $13 million in supporting or opposing candidates in this 2008 election cycle, and that 78% of the supported candidates (Congress and state legislatures) won. Representative of the kind of candidates LCV supported is Gary Peters, who defeated "Dirty Dozen" member Rep. Joe Knollenberg to take Michigan's 9th Congressional District seat. Peters, who was known for his work at the state level to protect the Great Lakes, campaigned for Congress on the issue of reviving the domestic auto industry through investment in production of cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
In North Carolina, LCV went three for five, backing winners Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate race, newly elected Larry Kissell (8th Congressional District), and re-elected Rep. Heath Shuler (11th District). Unfortunately, underdog Congressional contenders Roy Carter (5th District) and Daniel Johnson (10th District) fell short in very tough districts. LCV was particularly jazzed up about its statewide efforts on behalf of the Obama and Hagan campaigns. LCV noted that it spent more than $500,000 in North Carolina to contact voters here over 188,000 times via mail, phone, and canvass. Obama won North Carolina by a razor-thin margin of about 14,000 votes. LCV's ranking of Elizabeth Dole (defeated by Hagan) among its "Dirty Dozen" targets helped to frame Dole's image as an advocate for Big Oil.
CCNC Picks Do Well Statewide: CCNC enjoyed a similarly successful campaign in its statewide and state legislature efforts in 2008. Overall, CCNC's endorsed statewide candidates for governor (Bev Perdue), attorney general (Roy Cooper), and treasurer (Janet Cowell) swept to wins. In legislative races (CCNC's primary campaign focus), all 22 endorsed Senate candidates and 44 of its 48 endorsed House candidates won. (Two House races, one win and one loss, were close enough that recounts are possible.) For more details, here is the legislative contest summary from CCNC political director Brownie Newman:
There is much to report on the positive front from the Legislature. First and foremost, all but one of our pro-environmental candidates were re-elected on Tuesday. Wins include our six state Senators who occupy tough swing districts:
· Donald Davis (D-Greene), District 5 won the open seated created by the retirement of John Kerr. He defeated state Rep. Louis Pate for the position. The CPAC should feel good about supporting Davis in a tough five candidate primary as well as in the General Election. He should be a strong leader on our issues.
· Neal Hunt (R-Wake), District 15 survived the blue wave that washed across much of the urban and suburban areas of the state, winning over Democratic challenger Chris Mintz.
· Josh Stein (D-Wake), District 16 picked up the seat created by Janet Cowell’s run for State Treasurer. Stein was expected to win in the General, but as with Donald Davis, the Conservation PAC can feel good to have supported Stein where it counted in the tough Primary Election as well.
· Steve Goss (D-Watauga), District 45 still stands where lightning has now struck twice. He again won a district that by all objective measures should not be held by a Democrat. Two years ago, the Senate Republicans could be forgiven for overlooking this sleeper race but this year have no such excuse. Goss won re-election in this heavily Republican district by a margin of 53-46.
· Joe Sam Queen (D-Haywood), District 47 won his re-match with Keith Pressnell. For the first time, the race was not a complete squeaker with Queen achieving a 53-46 spread.
· John Snow (D-Cherokee), District 50 cruised to victory in his far western district by a 57-42 margin. Since Snow’s upset win in 2004, the Republicans have so far failed to recruit a strong candidate to run against Snow in a district where they should be highly competitive.
Conservation Council endorsed candidates also fared well in the NC House. Environmental champion and Speaker of the House Joe Hackney will return to the chamber with a strong hand as his Democratic majority retained their overall position in the chamber, offsetting a couple of losses with several pickups. Before outlining our long list of wins in tough districts, let me note the races where our endorsed candidates did not win:
· Barbara Garrity-Blake (D-Carteret) lost her bid to unseat Rep. Pat McElraft in District 13 by a 56-43 margin. Garrity-Blake ran a strong campaign but was swimming upstream in this Republican-leaning district.
· Al Swanstrom came up just short in his effort to unseat Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) in District 36. He lost by the smallest of margins with a 50-49 spread.
· Ed Ridpath lost his race against Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) in District 37 by a 53-46 margin.
· The one CPAC-endorsed incumbent to lose on election night is apparently Jim Harrell (D-Alleghany) who is behind in the vote total by a tiny number of votes.
On the plus side, we have a large number of strong environmental legislators who occupy tough swing districts who retained their seats on election day. Here are races we consider to be of particular note:
· Alice Underhill (D-Craven) retained her seat in House District 3 by a margin of 49-47. Many people continue to believe that Underhill may be the only Democrat that has the capacity to retain this seat.
· Grier Martin (D-Wake) held District 34 by a healthy margin.
· Ty Harrell (D-Wake) won re-election to House District 41 in what was one of the most targeted districts in the state by both parties.
· Alice Borden (D-Alamance) won a blowout in District 63 despite earlier nervousness among Democrats that this seat may be tough to hold this cycle.
· Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga) won re-election to the seat (District 93) he captured two years ago in the Boone area.
· Jane Whilden (D-Buncombe) picked up the District 116, which was vacated by environmental Freshman of the Year Charles Thomas.
· Phil Haire (D-Jackson) won an easy victory in House District 119 although he only narrowly held the seat two years ago.
Complete 2008 CCNC endorsements are posted at www.ccnccpac.org and complete results will be available there soon.
Smart Growth Candidate Prevails in Wake County Voting: In addition to the national and state-level races, there were local elections with environmental ramifications across North Carolina, including both county officials and bond issues. We're not ready yet to provide a survey of noteworthy local results, but we do want to mention one, highlighted a week ago in the last 2008 pre-election CIB.
In a bellweather contest for Wake County Commissioner, smart growth advocate Stan Norwalk defeated incumbent Commissioner Kenn Gardner by a margin of 55-45 out of over 400,000 votes cast. Norwalk, a founding leader of the local planned-growth advocacy group WakeUp Wake County, won despite heavy spending on attacks against him. A group called the "N.C. Homeowners Alliance" tried to paint Norwalk as a kind of Mad Taxer because of his support for the use of land transfer taxes to help pay for the costs of public infrastructure required by new development. This so-called "Homeowners Alliance" was financially underwritten by realtor organization contributions in its campaign of anti-Norwalk mailers and robocalls. Their failure in this contest may indicate that voters are beginning to lose patience with such fulminations.
Washington Watch: Transition Team and EPA Rumors
This is the first presidential election which we can recall in which the prevailing candidate has made a major environmental issue one of the centerpieces of his campaign. For Obama, clean energy has not been a secondary topic or a minor commitment. It has been at the heart of his economic action package—in fact, his centerpiece economic proposal is a ten-year, $150 billion plan for investment in solar, wind, biofuels, and efficient vehicles to address oil dependency, fight global warming, and create enduring jobs.
Given that emphasis, it should come as no surprise that environmental leaders are playing a prominent role in the very earliest acts of Obama's transition from campaign to governance. In fact, the head of Obama's transition team, John D. Podesta, is a member of the League of Conservation Voters' (LCV) national board of directors. Podesta is a former chief of staff for the Clinton White House, who currently heads a major progressive policy research foundation, the Center for American Progress. Another member of the Obama transition team, Carol Browner, is former EPA head under Clinton and also a current member of the LCV board of directors. (By the way, CCNC executive director Carrie Clark is another of the 30-member LCV board. Pretty rarified company...)
Obama's emphasis on environmental policy means that the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency is likely to have real influence within his administration. Therefore, we take note of the early rumors on who may be in line for that post. Among the supposed candidates: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance and a leading environmental activist. Other names making the list of rumored possibilities include Lisa Jackson, head of New Jersey's Dept. of Environmental Protection; Robert Sussman, former deputy administrator of the EPA under Clinton; Kathleen McGinty, who has been an aide to Al Gore, chair of the Clinton Office of Environmental Policy, and head of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection; Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board; and Dan Esty, a leading Obama energy advisor who heads Yale's Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
11/08/2008
11/03/2008
Because He's Black
Vote for him - because he's Black
by Greg Palast for HuffingtonPost.com
No question, Mr. Bruce was my favorite teacher in junior high.
I went to this Loser-ville school in the San Fernando Valley. It was all Chicano kids and working class white losers like me. Everyone had to take 'metal shop' so we could work the bottom-end jobs in the Chevy plant.
My brain was dying - until Mr. Bruce showed up, the new science teacher. DOCTOR Bruce, actually - the only Ph.d teacher in the place.
At lunch hour, instead of hanging out in the teachers' lunchroom, Mr. Bruce would invite me and my friends into his classroom. Over coffee made on a Bunsen burner, he would talk about topics from Einstein to Buddha while munching on this strange stuff called "organic" food.
He was simply like no adult I'd ever met - an exceptional guy who could make us dull-brained students sizzle.
My parents had him over for Sunday brunch and he talked about his work as a 'honey-dipper' in the Deep South where he grew up. The honey-dipper was the guy who hunted for lost glasses and whatever else was dropped in outhouse cesspools. Dr. Bruce said he enjoyed the work because it taught him pleasures of quiet grace, of dignified acceptance.
The kids were crazy about him, but not all the parents. Some called to complain about the school hiring him.
So he left. Months later, Mr. Bruce mailed me a letter from Japan where he'd taken a university post.
It's odd, but it was only this year that I put it all together: his exclusion by the other teachers, his job as a honey-dipper, his need to escape America.
Dr. Bruce, of course, is Black.
So, I'm going to do something that Dr. Bruce would think little of. I'm going to vote for the Black man. Because he's Black.
The truth is, I'm wary of Barack Obama. His cozy relations with the sub-prime loan sharks who funded his early campaign; his vote, at the behest of his big donor ADM corporation, for the horrific Bush energy bill.
But there's one thing that overshadows policy positions, one thing he cannot change once in office: the color of his skin. The same as Mr. Bruce's.
I'm going to say something that I know the Obama campaign will just hate; but that many others are feeling but won't say out loud. We must vote for Barack Obama because he's Black.
For four centuries, our nation has poisoned itself with the corrosive venom of racism. From the slave trade, to our still-segregated schools, to the Bush family stealing the White House by cynically, and sinfully, calling Florida Black voters felons; to the exile of a brilliant science teacher four decades ago.
The time has come to cleanse the wound that will not heal.
********
Greg Palast's investigative reports appear on BBC Television and in Rolling Stone Magazine. Palast is the co-author, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of "Steal Back Your Vote," the investigative comic book available for no charge at StealBackYourVote.org and www.GregPalast.com
Palast is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Fellow for investigative reporting.
by Greg Palast for HuffingtonPost.com
No question, Mr. Bruce was my favorite teacher in junior high.
I went to this Loser-ville school in the San Fernando Valley. It was all Chicano kids and working class white losers like me. Everyone had to take 'metal shop' so we could work the bottom-end jobs in the Chevy plant.
My brain was dying - until Mr. Bruce showed up, the new science teacher. DOCTOR Bruce, actually - the only Ph.d teacher in the place.
At lunch hour, instead of hanging out in the teachers' lunchroom, Mr. Bruce would invite me and my friends into his classroom. Over coffee made on a Bunsen burner, he would talk about topics from Einstein to Buddha while munching on this strange stuff called "organic" food.
He was simply like no adult I'd ever met - an exceptional guy who could make us dull-brained students sizzle.
My parents had him over for Sunday brunch and he talked about his work as a 'honey-dipper' in the Deep South where he grew up. The honey-dipper was the guy who hunted for lost glasses and whatever else was dropped in outhouse cesspools. Dr. Bruce said he enjoyed the work because it taught him pleasures of quiet grace, of dignified acceptance.
The kids were crazy about him, but not all the parents. Some called to complain about the school hiring him.
So he left. Months later, Mr. Bruce mailed me a letter from Japan where he'd taken a university post.
It's odd, but it was only this year that I put it all together: his exclusion by the other teachers, his job as a honey-dipper, his need to escape America.
Dr. Bruce, of course, is Black.
So, I'm going to do something that Dr. Bruce would think little of. I'm going to vote for the Black man. Because he's Black.
The truth is, I'm wary of Barack Obama. His cozy relations with the sub-prime loan sharks who funded his early campaign; his vote, at the behest of his big donor ADM corporation, for the horrific Bush energy bill.
But there's one thing that overshadows policy positions, one thing he cannot change once in office: the color of his skin. The same as Mr. Bruce's.
I'm going to say something that I know the Obama campaign will just hate; but that many others are feeling but won't say out loud. We must vote for Barack Obama because he's Black.
For four centuries, our nation has poisoned itself with the corrosive venom of racism. From the slave trade, to our still-segregated schools, to the Bush family stealing the White House by cynically, and sinfully, calling Florida Black voters felons; to the exile of a brilliant science teacher four decades ago.
The time has come to cleanse the wound that will not heal.
********
Greg Palast's investigative reports appear on BBC Television and in Rolling Stone Magazine. Palast is the co-author, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of "Steal Back Your Vote," the investigative comic book available for no charge at StealBackYourVote.org and www.GregPalast.com
Palast is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Fellow for investigative reporting.
11/02/2008
You Know This Election Is Important
[from Dan Besse]
Fellow conservationists,
I was out early yesterday afternoon working an early-voting line. By late afternoon, I was canvassing door-to-door for Obama. I'm going back out again later this afternoon.
You already know why this election is important. It pits the ticket of drill-baby-drill, double-the-nukes, and follow-the-Bush against leaders who understand what we have to do to fix climate change and save our planet for our children.
The early voting numbers are in, and early turnout was extraordinary. More than one-third of registered voters in North Carolina have already voted. Based on the makeup of the turnout so far, best estimates are that Obama is ahead by as much as six points among those who have already voted in our state.
But the other side has just kicked off its famed 72-hour get-out-the-vote machine. They're starting their "surge" (and by now, I'm sick and tired of that word). The outcome of the election for president (and senator, and governor, and on down the line) hangs in the balance of what we do between now and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
That's what WE do to get out our own voters. Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday--please take two hours--or more, if you can--to help get out the vote. Call your local Obama office to sign up for a shift on the phones, on the doors, or at the polls. And if you don't have your local office contact info, here's a link where you can get it:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nchome
I wouldn't be pestering you two days before the vote if I didn't know that this is both the most important and the closest election in North Carolina in my lifetime. And that what we do now will decide the outcome.
A lot of folks are arguing about whether North Carolina will be red or blue come Tuesday night. Well, I want it to be green! Let's make it happen. Thanks! Dan
Fellow conservationists,
I was out early yesterday afternoon working an early-voting line. By late afternoon, I was canvassing door-to-door for Obama. I'm going back out again later this afternoon.
You already know why this election is important. It pits the ticket of drill-baby-drill, double-the-nukes, and follow-the-Bush against leaders who understand what we have to do to fix climate change and save our planet for our children.
The early voting numbers are in, and early turnout was extraordinary. More than one-third of registered voters in North Carolina have already voted. Based on the makeup of the turnout so far, best estimates are that Obama is ahead by as much as six points among those who have already voted in our state.
But the other side has just kicked off its famed 72-hour get-out-the-vote machine. They're starting their "surge" (and by now, I'm sick and tired of that word). The outcome of the election for president (and senator, and governor, and on down the line) hangs in the balance of what we do between now and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
That's what WE do to get out our own voters. Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday--please take two hours--or more, if you can--to help get out the vote. Call your local Obama office to sign up for a shift on the phones, on the doors, or at the polls. And if you don't have your local office contact info, here's a link where you can get it:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nchome
I wouldn't be pestering you two days before the vote if I didn't know that this is both the most important and the closest election in North Carolina in my lifetime. And that what we do now will decide the outcome.
A lot of folks are arguing about whether North Carolina will be red or blue come Tuesday night. Well, I want it to be green! Let's make it happen. Thanks! Dan
11/01/2008
Today, Saturday Is Last Day to Vote Early
The Moore County Board of Elections decided to extend the hours during which you can early-vote Saturday. All three early voting locations--the Agricultural Center in Carthage, the new Recreation Center in Aberdeen, and the Old West End Gym-- will be open until 5 pm.
If you have not early-voted already, please consider voting today.
If you need directions to one of the voting locations, or should you need any information about candidates, please call the Moore County Democratic Party HQ between 9 am and 1 pm. The number is 947-1933.
Races for President and the Senate are going to be close in North Carolina. Every single Democratic vote is extremely important. Please make sure your voice is heard!
If you have not early-voted already, please consider voting today.
If you need directions to one of the voting locations, or should you need any information about candidates, please call the Moore County Democratic Party HQ between 9 am and 1 pm. The number is 947-1933.
Races for President and the Senate are going to be close in North Carolina. Every single Democratic vote is extremely important. Please make sure your voice is heard!
10/28/2008
Who Will Take the Electoral College?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7693060.stm
10/23/2008
Telemarketer Over the Edge
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/opinion/23collins.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
10/22/2008
$3 Million to Re-elect Elizabeth Dole
http://www.kayhagan.com/action/buyingherseat
[Dole has been ineffective in office, has been rubberstamping Bush policies, is now having to 'buy' her seat.
Elect Kay Hagan, endorsed by Democrats, conservationists, educators. And vote early!]
[Dole has been ineffective in office, has been rubberstamping Bush policies, is now having to 'buy' her seat.
Elect Kay Hagan, endorsed by Democrats, conservationists, educators. And vote early!]
10/19/2008
10/17/2008
It's Already Stolen
ROLLING STONE: IT'S ALREADY STOLEN
Investigation by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast released today
Don’t worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report out today in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of "GOP vote tampering" on a massive scale.
- Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.
Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.
- While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of 'Jim Crow' tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.
- A fired US prosecutor levels new charges - accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as "fraudulent."
- Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called "caging” ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone duo predict that, this November 4, it will be far worse.
There's more:
- Since the last presidential race, "States used dubious 'list management' rules to scrub at least 10 million voters from their rolls."
Among those was Paul Maez of Las Vegas, New Mexico - a victim of an unreported but devastating purge of voters in that state that left as many as one in nine Democrats without a vote. For Maez, the state's purging his registration was particularly shocking - he's the county elections supervisor.
The Kennedy-Palast revelations go far beyond the sum of questionably purged voters recently reported by the New York Times.
"Republican operatives - the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics," report Kennedy and Palast, under the cover of fighting fraudulent voting, are "systematically disenfranchis[ing] Democrats."
The investigators level a deadly serious charge:
"If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat McCain at the polls - they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering."
Block the Vote by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Greg Palast in the current issue (#1064) of Rolling Stone. [Media enquiries - Dave Falkenstein, Sunshine Sachs & Assoc, via interviews@gregpalast.com.]
Note - Kennedy and Palast are releasing, simultaneously with the Rolling Stone investigative report what they call, the vote-theft 'antidote': a 24-page full-color comic book, Steal Back Your Vote, which can be downloaded or obtained in print from their non-partisan website, StealBackYourVote.org
For updates and video reports, go to RollingStone.com, www.GregPalast.com and StealBackYourVote.org.
Investigation by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast released today
Don’t worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report out today in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of "GOP vote tampering" on a massive scale.
- Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.
Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.
- While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of 'Jim Crow' tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.
- A fired US prosecutor levels new charges - accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as "fraudulent."
- Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called "caging” ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone duo predict that, this November 4, it will be far worse.
There's more:
- Since the last presidential race, "States used dubious 'list management' rules to scrub at least 10 million voters from their rolls."
Among those was Paul Maez of Las Vegas, New Mexico - a victim of an unreported but devastating purge of voters in that state that left as many as one in nine Democrats without a vote. For Maez, the state's purging his registration was particularly shocking - he's the county elections supervisor.
The Kennedy-Palast revelations go far beyond the sum of questionably purged voters recently reported by the New York Times.
"Republican operatives - the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics," report Kennedy and Palast, under the cover of fighting fraudulent voting, are "systematically disenfranchis[ing] Democrats."
The investigators level a deadly serious charge:
"If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat McCain at the polls - they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering."
Block the Vote by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Greg Palast in the current issue (#1064) of Rolling Stone. [Media enquiries - Dave Falkenstein, Sunshine Sachs & Assoc, via interviews@gregpalast.com.]
Note - Kennedy and Palast are releasing, simultaneously with the Rolling Stone investigative report what they call, the vote-theft 'antidote': a 24-page full-color comic book, Steal Back Your Vote, which can be downloaded or obtained in print from their non-partisan website, StealBackYourVote.org
For updates and video reports, go to RollingStone.com, www.GregPalast.com and StealBackYourVote.org.
10/15/2008
9/19/2008
Blocking the Black Vote
Lost Homes, Lost Votes: Are Republicans Trying to Block Foreclosed Homeowners from Voting in Michigan? * The Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign have filed a federal lawsuit to block a controversial voter suppression tactic in Michigan. The Michigan Messenger reported this week that the chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of a Republican effort to challenge some voters on Election Day. Listen/Watch/Read
www.democracynow.org/2008/9/18/lost_homes_lost_votes_are_republicans
Historic 2008 Election Could See Unprecedented Attempts to Bar African American Voters * As we continue on the subject of voter suppression and race, we turn to Queens College political science professor and bestselling author Andrew Hacker. In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, Hacker writes, "Obstacles to getting blacks to vote have always been formidable, but this year there will be barriers—some new, some long-standing—that previous campaigns have not had to face." Listen/Watch/Read
www.democracynow.org/2008/9/18/historic_2008_election_could_see
www.democracynow.org/2008/9/18/lost_homes_lost_votes_are_republicans
Historic 2008 Election Could See Unprecedented Attempts to Bar African American Voters * As we continue on the subject of voter suppression and race, we turn to Queens College political science professor and bestselling author Andrew Hacker. In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, Hacker writes, "Obstacles to getting blacks to vote have always been formidable, but this year there will be barriers—some new, some long-standing—that previous campaigns have not had to face." Listen/Watch/Read
www.democracynow.org/2008/9/18/historic_2008_election_could_see
9/13/2008
Conservation Insider Bulletin, Sept 12
Conservation Council of NC Endorsements: Here it is—CCNC's comprehensive November endorsement slate! Included are 48 N.C. House candidates, 22 N.C. Senate candidates, and three Council of State candidates. The slate includes Republicans and Democrats, incumbents and challengers. Endorsement decisions are made by the CCNC Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Conservation PAC board. Factors taken into account include the voting and leadership record of incumbents, issue questionnaire responses, recommendations from local environmental leaders, and candidates' interest in receiving the CCNC endorsement. Drumroll...the envelope please:
N.C. House:
Alice Underhill, District 3, (D-Craven)
Angela Bryant, District 7, (D-Nash)
Marian McLawhorn District 9, (D-Pitt)
William Wainwright, District 12, (D-Craven)
Barbara Garrity-Blake, District 13, (D-Carteret)
Robert Grady, District 15, (R-Onslow)
Carolyn Justice, District 16, (R-Pender)
Danny McComas, District 19, (R-New Hanover)
Joe Tolson, District 23, (D-Wilson)
Jean Farmer-Butterfield, District 24, (D-Wilson)
Larry Hall, District 29, (D-Durham)
Paul Luebke, District 30, (D-Durham)
Mickey Michaux, District 31, (D-Durham)
Dan Blue, District 33, (D-Wake)
Grier Martin, District 34, (D-Wake)
Jennifer Weiss, District 35, (D-Wake)
Al Swanstrom, District 36, (D-Wake)
Ed Ridpath, District 37, (D-Wake)
Deborah Ross, District 38, (D-Wake)
Linda Coleman, District 39 (D-Wake)
Ty Harrell, District 41, (D-Wake)
Margaret Dickson, District 44, (D-Cumberland)
Rick Glazier, District 45, (D-Cumberland)
Lucy Allen, District 49, (D-Franklin)
Jimmy Love, District 51, (D-Lee)
Joe Hackney, District 54, (D-Orange)
Verla Insko, District 56, (D-Orange)
Pricey Harrison, District 57, (D-Guilford)
Alma Adams, District 58 (D-Guilford)
Maggie Jeffus, District 59, (D-Guilford)
Earl Jones, District 60, (D-Guilford)
Alice Bordsen, District 63, (D-Alamance)
Melanie Goodwin, District 66, (D-Richmond)
Larry Womble, District 71, (D-Forsyth)
Larry Brown, District 73, (R-Forsyth)
Bill McGee, District 75, (R-Forsyth)
Julia Howard, District 79, (R-Iredell)
Jim Harrell, District 90, (D-Alleghany)
Cullie Tarleton, District 93, (D-Watauga)
Tricia Cotham, District 100 (D-Mecklenburg)
Becky Carney, District 102 (D-Mecklenburg)
Ruth Samuelson, District 104 (R-Mecklenburg)
Martha Alexander, District 106 (D-Mecklenburg)
Bob England, District 112, (D-Rutherford)
Susan Fisher, District 114, (D-Buncombe)
Jane Whilden, District 116, (D-Buncombe)
Ray Rapp, District 118, (D-Madison)
Phil Haire, District 119, (D-Jackson)
N.C. Senate:
Marc Basnight, District 1 (D-Dare)
Don Davis, District 5 (D-Greene)
Doug Berger, District 7 (D-Franklin)
Charlie Albertson, District, (D-Duplin)
Neal Hunt, District 15, (R-Wake)
Josh Stein, District 16, (D-Wake)
Bob Atwater, District 18, (D-Chatham)
Tony Rand, District 19, (D-Cumberland)
Ellie Kinnaird, District 23, (D-Orange)
Tony Foriest, District 24, (D-Caswell)
Bill Purcell, District 25, (D-Scotland)
Katie Dorsett, District 28, (D-Guilford)
Linda Garrou, District 32, (D-Forysth)
Stan Bingham, District 33, (D-Davidson)
Fletcher Hartsell, District 36, (D-Cabarrus)
Dan Clodfelter, District 37, (D-Mecklenburg)
Malcolm Graham, District 40, (D-Mecklenburg)
Austin Allran, District 42, (R-Catawba)
Steve Goss, District 45, (D-Watauga)
Joe Sam Queen, District 47, (D-Haywood)
Martin Nesbitt, District 49, (D-Buncombe)
John Snow, District 50, (D-Cherokee)
Council of State:
Beverly Perdue, Governor
Roy Cooper, Attorney General
Janet Cowell, Treasurer
Between now and November, CIB will return to certain key endorsements for more detailed review.
Carter Attacked for Green Stance: CIB has previously noted U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx's (R-NC5) enthusiasm for the drill-everywhere-now campaign of the OilHeads leading her November ticket. This week, we observe that she is fundraising on the issue with email blasts attacking her opponent (Roy Carter) for his more moderate stance. Foxx rails against the "liberal Democrat Congress" and warns that her opponent is running TV ads against her, saying, "He is a radical environmentalist named Roy Carter who has criticized my support of the "all of the above" energy plan. He is already toeing the liberal Democrat party's line by opposing drilling in America's vast oil resources in Alaska and offshore." Of course, with a sorry 10% rating on the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard for all of the last three years, one doesn't have to be out of the American mainstream to qualify as a "radical environmentalist" on the Foxx scale. In fact, we'd worry about a candidate that she doesn't attack on that score.
(CIB Editor's Note: CCNC does not make endorsements in federal contests. Opinions expressed regarding candidates in those races are those of the Editor only, except as noted when reporting endorsements or comments from other parties.)
Coast Watch: Hatteras Settlement Upheld
When is a judicial "consent decree" not a consensus? When one side takes the issue to Congress. Local off-road vehicle fans in Dare County are trying to get Congress to overturn a federal District Court order setting out times and limits on beach driving along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Conservationists and the National Park Service (NPS) are defending the order.
This spring, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle issued an order (by consent agreement of the parties) to restrict beach driving in the national park, in order to protect wildlife that use the beach for nesting. Birds and sea turtles using the beach include several endangered species. The NPS reports that survival rates of one endangered bird are already up.
Disgruntled off-roaders, supported by the Dare County Commission, went to Congress, where U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) introduced legislation to dump the limits. This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted down the bill by the narrowest of margins, 11-12. It was a party-line vote with the Democrats siding with conservationists and wildlife and the Republicans voting against them and for the off-road drivers. (Raleigh News & Observer, 9/11/08.)
CIB suspects that Teddy Roosevelt is spinning in his grave. Dole and Burr should watch out for a night-time visitation from the ghost of the original Rough Rider.
Administrative Watch: Moreau Steps Down at EMC
To the sorrow of many conservationists, long-time N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) chair Dave Moreau announced last week that he intends to step down as commission chair. Moreau was appointed to the post by Gov. Jim Hunt in 1993 and has served in the role since that time through the administrations of Hunt and current Gov. Mike Easley. That's a total of 15 years, including two full six-year terms and the first three years of a third.
In a letter to Easley dated September 2, Moreau indicated that he was available to serve until Easley or his successor named a new chair. Moreau's current term as an EMC member does not expire until 2011. The appointment as chair of the EMC is made separately and lasts at the pleasure of the governor.
Moreau is a scientist and former head of the planning school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the N.C. Water Resources Research Institute based at N.C. State University. He has led the EMC through intense controversies over both air and water quality issues, including wetlands rules, nitrogen oxides limits, mercury restrictions, riparian buffer rules, drinking water reservoir cleanup plans, and stormwater management controls. He does not always side with environmental advocates, but is broadly respected among the environmental community for his expertise and open approach.
Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club, called Moreau's retirement the "end of an era".
N.C. House:
Alice Underhill, District 3, (D-Craven)
Angela Bryant, District 7, (D-Nash)
Marian McLawhorn District 9, (D-Pitt)
William Wainwright, District 12, (D-Craven)
Barbara Garrity-Blake, District 13, (D-Carteret)
Robert Grady, District 15, (R-Onslow)
Carolyn Justice, District 16, (R-Pender)
Danny McComas, District 19, (R-New Hanover)
Joe Tolson, District 23, (D-Wilson)
Jean Farmer-Butterfield, District 24, (D-Wilson)
Larry Hall, District 29, (D-Durham)
Paul Luebke, District 30, (D-Durham)
Mickey Michaux, District 31, (D-Durham)
Dan Blue, District 33, (D-Wake)
Grier Martin, District 34, (D-Wake)
Jennifer Weiss, District 35, (D-Wake)
Al Swanstrom, District 36, (D-Wake)
Ed Ridpath, District 37, (D-Wake)
Deborah Ross, District 38, (D-Wake)
Linda Coleman, District 39 (D-Wake)
Ty Harrell, District 41, (D-Wake)
Margaret Dickson, District 44, (D-Cumberland)
Rick Glazier, District 45, (D-Cumberland)
Lucy Allen, District 49, (D-Franklin)
Jimmy Love, District 51, (D-Lee)
Joe Hackney, District 54, (D-Orange)
Verla Insko, District 56, (D-Orange)
Pricey Harrison, District 57, (D-Guilford)
Alma Adams, District 58 (D-Guilford)
Maggie Jeffus, District 59, (D-Guilford)
Earl Jones, District 60, (D-Guilford)
Alice Bordsen, District 63, (D-Alamance)
Melanie Goodwin, District 66, (D-Richmond)
Larry Womble, District 71, (D-Forsyth)
Larry Brown, District 73, (R-Forsyth)
Bill McGee, District 75, (R-Forsyth)
Julia Howard, District 79, (R-Iredell)
Jim Harrell, District 90, (D-Alleghany)
Cullie Tarleton, District 93, (D-Watauga)
Tricia Cotham, District 100 (D-Mecklenburg)
Becky Carney, District 102 (D-Mecklenburg)
Ruth Samuelson, District 104 (R-Mecklenburg)
Martha Alexander, District 106 (D-Mecklenburg)
Bob England, District 112, (D-Rutherford)
Susan Fisher, District 114, (D-Buncombe)
Jane Whilden, District 116, (D-Buncombe)
Ray Rapp, District 118, (D-Madison)
Phil Haire, District 119, (D-Jackson)
N.C. Senate:
Marc Basnight, District 1 (D-Dare)
Don Davis, District 5 (D-Greene)
Doug Berger, District 7 (D-Franklin)
Charlie Albertson, District, (D-Duplin)
Neal Hunt, District 15, (R-Wake)
Josh Stein, District 16, (D-Wake)
Bob Atwater, District 18, (D-Chatham)
Tony Rand, District 19, (D-Cumberland)
Ellie Kinnaird, District 23, (D-Orange)
Tony Foriest, District 24, (D-Caswell)
Bill Purcell, District 25, (D-Scotland)
Katie Dorsett, District 28, (D-Guilford)
Linda Garrou, District 32, (D-Forysth)
Stan Bingham, District 33, (D-Davidson)
Fletcher Hartsell, District 36, (D-Cabarrus)
Dan Clodfelter, District 37, (D-Mecklenburg)
Malcolm Graham, District 40, (D-Mecklenburg)
Austin Allran, District 42, (R-Catawba)
Steve Goss, District 45, (D-Watauga)
Joe Sam Queen, District 47, (D-Haywood)
Martin Nesbitt, District 49, (D-Buncombe)
John Snow, District 50, (D-Cherokee)
Council of State:
Beverly Perdue, Governor
Roy Cooper, Attorney General
Janet Cowell, Treasurer
Between now and November, CIB will return to certain key endorsements for more detailed review.
Carter Attacked for Green Stance: CIB has previously noted U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx's (R-NC5) enthusiasm for the drill-everywhere-now campaign of the OilHeads leading her November ticket. This week, we observe that she is fundraising on the issue with email blasts attacking her opponent (Roy Carter) for his more moderate stance. Foxx rails against the "liberal Democrat Congress" and warns that her opponent is running TV ads against her, saying, "He is a radical environmentalist named Roy Carter who has criticized my support of the "all of the above" energy plan. He is already toeing the liberal Democrat party's line by opposing drilling in America's vast oil resources in Alaska and offshore." Of course, with a sorry 10% rating on the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard for all of the last three years, one doesn't have to be out of the American mainstream to qualify as a "radical environmentalist" on the Foxx scale. In fact, we'd worry about a candidate that she doesn't attack on that score.
(CIB Editor's Note: CCNC does not make endorsements in federal contests. Opinions expressed regarding candidates in those races are those of the Editor only, except as noted when reporting endorsements or comments from other parties.)
Coast Watch: Hatteras Settlement Upheld
When is a judicial "consent decree" not a consensus? When one side takes the issue to Congress. Local off-road vehicle fans in Dare County are trying to get Congress to overturn a federal District Court order setting out times and limits on beach driving along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Conservationists and the National Park Service (NPS) are defending the order.
This spring, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle issued an order (by consent agreement of the parties) to restrict beach driving in the national park, in order to protect wildlife that use the beach for nesting. Birds and sea turtles using the beach include several endangered species. The NPS reports that survival rates of one endangered bird are already up.
Disgruntled off-roaders, supported by the Dare County Commission, went to Congress, where U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) introduced legislation to dump the limits. This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted down the bill by the narrowest of margins, 11-12. It was a party-line vote with the Democrats siding with conservationists and wildlife and the Republicans voting against them and for the off-road drivers. (Raleigh News & Observer, 9/11/08.)
CIB suspects that Teddy Roosevelt is spinning in his grave. Dole and Burr should watch out for a night-time visitation from the ghost of the original Rough Rider.
Administrative Watch: Moreau Steps Down at EMC
To the sorrow of many conservationists, long-time N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) chair Dave Moreau announced last week that he intends to step down as commission chair. Moreau was appointed to the post by Gov. Jim Hunt in 1993 and has served in the role since that time through the administrations of Hunt and current Gov. Mike Easley. That's a total of 15 years, including two full six-year terms and the first three years of a third.
In a letter to Easley dated September 2, Moreau indicated that he was available to serve until Easley or his successor named a new chair. Moreau's current term as an EMC member does not expire until 2011. The appointment as chair of the EMC is made separately and lasts at the pleasure of the governor.
Moreau is a scientist and former head of the planning school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the N.C. Water Resources Research Institute based at N.C. State University. He has led the EMC through intense controversies over both air and water quality issues, including wetlands rules, nitrogen oxides limits, mercury restrictions, riparian buffer rules, drinking water reservoir cleanup plans, and stormwater management controls. He does not always side with environmental advocates, but is broadly respected among the environmental community for his expertise and open approach.
Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club, called Moreau's retirement the "end of an era".
7/17/2008
2/25/2008
No Security for Obama
Dallas Police Ordered to Stop Weapons Screening Obama Crowds
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022208E.shtml
Jack Douglas Jr., writing for Dallas Star-Telegram, reports, "Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022208E.shtml
Jack Douglas Jr., writing for Dallas Star-Telegram, reports, "Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena."
2/16/2008
2/10/2008
2/07/2008
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