The chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has delivered his scoring of HR 3962 to members of Congress and the news isn’t good. Not only does it look like the bill will wind up costing more than projected by the CBO, the pledge that the bill [...]
On Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. we will have a live blog discussion with U.S. Senate candidate, Elaine Marshall. We are lucky that James was able to get this set up in the middle of all the frantic activity surrounding the healthcare debate and the on again, off again [...]
In an email to members this morning, Progressive Democrats of America calls HR 3962, "a very bad bill."
This bill is, so far, a very bad bill that will further enmesh corporations into our government and our daily lives without addressing the problem. It diminishes all of our rights, not [...]
After a vote to weaken and limit coverage for women, the U.S. House passed landmark health care reform legislation.
OK, so it is bi-partisan by only one vote. Joseph Cao from Louisiana voted Yea.
[...]Ahhh, Stupak and fellow Dems and Republicans want to force women using the public option to buy a supplemental plan to cover abortions even though the Capps Amendment preserves/protects the Hyde language which basically says no federal dollars will be used to pay for abortions.
Rep. Capps said current federal language [...]
I don't know if you have been following the debate on the floor of the House, but I've noticed a trend with the last two committees given time to speak. The Republicans of (I think Ways and Means) screamed and yelled about it being a freedom killin', job killin' bill. [...]
If you've been following the announcements coming out about the healthcare debate over the past two days they have certainly included some mixed messages. A couple of days ago I received an email from PDA (Progressive Democrats of America) excited that Speaker Pelosi was going to allow a 20 minute' [...]
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to a group of veterans discuss the importance of working toward energy indepence. They were traveling throughout North Carolina, as well as other states, to tell about their experiences and share their view of energy independence as a national [...]
Reprinted with permission from the author. Dave Ribar is a Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he teaches several graduate classes and conducts research on issues and programs related to poverty. He has previously taught at The George Washington University and at Penn State [...]
I'm not surprised Larry would keep his promise. I might not always agree with his fiscal conservatism, but I agree that we don't improve healthcare in this country by taking away almost $400 billion in benefits from senior citizens. What are octogenarians to do? Go get jobs for the benies?
Kissell's' [...]
I can barely express how excited I am to congratulate Asheville and BlueNC blogger, Gordon Smith, who won a seat on the Asheville City Council. Gordon, who blogged as Screwy Hoolie and has been blogging longer than BlueNC has been in existence, beat Republican Carl Mumpower handily. Mumpower ran for [...]
Congratulations Mark Kleinschmidt, Chapel Hill's next mayor. In the early days of BlueNC Mark posted about death penalty cases and kept us current on actions we could take to help end state sponsored killings in North Carolina. He is smart, kind and progressive. He will make a great mayor of [...]
Anthony Foxx is Charlotte's next mayor. He is the first Democrat to serve as mayor in 22 years. Turnout was around 21% and it looks like Democrats were turning out during early voting. To go along with their new mayor, Charlotte Democrats will now hold an 8-3 advantage on the [...]
GOTV efforts are especially critical tomorrow for Chapel Hill's mayoral candidates. Mark Kleinschmidt trails Matt Czaikowski by one point. Tom Jensen does note that the polling does not include cell phone only users which means a lot of students aren't being polled. For full results go to PPP's blog.
There's [...]
Last week candidates for local office filed campaign finance reports and the news was good for Charlotte mayoral candidate, Anthony Foxx. He leads his Republican opponent in money raised and cash on hand. In the latest filing period, Foxx reports raising almost $250,000 and Lassiter reports raising $137,000. As of [...]
I've shared some of my veggie pictures with you and now it's time to share some of my flowers and other treats from my garden. I don't have that many. Our land was pretty wild and weedy when we bought it and I'm struggling with just how much I want' [...]
Andrew Whalen, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Democratic Party has released a statement. It's easiest simply to reprint it.
Today, in a unanimous vote, the State Board of Elections fully exonerated the North Carolina Democratic Party of any violations of election law.
Evidence presented during the hearing [...]
Last Thursday I had the great pleasure of attending the 80th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue. I've written about the event before. It is a must-do on the political calendar in Mecklenburg County each year. The weather was beautiful and the cars lined up for miles to drive through' [...]
Rep. Larry Kissell has never once said he would not support a public health insurance option. In the latest whip count Kissell acknowledged he will support a bill with a public option as long as it meets the same criteria President Obama set out - it must be deficit neutral, [...]
Yeah, I noticed it too. All of a sudden BlueNC had all these posts from some unknown organization asking for your money. It's bad enough that candidates want our hard earned cash, but now we have some upstart PAC wanting us to donate so they can support young candidates. What's [...]
The Charlotte Observer editorial board endorsements are out for the Charlotte City Council and while I would have liked to see a 3-1 split for Dems, they didn't do a shabby job of picking strong candidates.
After winning for years without the CharO endorsement, Susan Burgess finds herself in the' [...]
Our recommended diaries block is back up and running. Please make sure you vote using the little star graphic under each dairy. We will have the top three up for now, but as things heat up during election season we can increase that number to accommodate all the excellent diaries [...]
Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening the North Carolina Conservation Network will be meeting in Charlotte. I'm not going to be able to make it, but it isn't too late to RSVP.
Date: 10/20/2009 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Hosted By: NC Conservation Network
Jessilyn Kemp, Organizer jessilyn [...]
A group of veterans, some from North Carolina, will be touring the state to speak up for energy independence as a national security issue. This tour is part of Operation Free which is a program of the Truman National Security Project. Please find the stop closest to you and [...]
The Charlotte Observer editorial board announced yesterday that it is endorsing Anthony Foxx for the Charlotte mayoral race.
In the end, though, we back Foxx. We think he is a better fit for what Charlotte needs at this point in its evolution as a city.
:::
We believe the next mayor needs [...]
By now you've probably noticed two new graphics in the inner sidebar. They will be part of a rotating graphic display once we have all of the pages and graphics set up. For now, you can click on the Burr Files graphic and you will be taken to posts that' [...]
According to Public Policy Polling the mood has shifted dramatically in North Carolina. In their latest poll, respondents favor Republicans across the board in generic match-ups. They are favored when polling for both federal and state offices.
There are two key reasons for the early Republican lean: independents are [...]
The new recycling law that bans all plastic bottles in landfills is creating some confusion. In the past week I've had several people ask me about the law and a friend called to tell me her grandparents are scared about being arrested, so they plan to drive each month to' [...]
He hasn't completed the first year of his four-year term in office and Barack Hussein Obama has become the fourth U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Al Gore is the only Vice President to have earned that honor. The last president to win was also the last president' [...]
Last night Larry Kissell got a little help raising money for his 2010 bid from Vice President Joe Biden. The fundraiser was held in the historic Cleveland Park home of Susie and William Taylor.
There were around 60 people in attendance including Charlotte Democrat Mel Watt, NC-12. Rep. Watt has been [...]
With the promise of 1700 jobs the North Carolina General Assembly and Forsyth County promised up to $280 million in tax and cash incentives to lure Dell Computers to Forsyth County. Dell never lived up to that promise. In March of this year it was reported that planned layoffs would [...]
John Lassiter is still avoiding cameras which causes a problem for residents of Charlotte who don't have the time, transportation or desire to grab a map of Charlotte and head out to a candidate forum. We heard last week that Lassiter had cancelled his appearance at the televised WTVI/League of' [...]
Wind turbine research is moving right along in North Carolina and we have UNC and Duke Energy to thank for it.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
In a pilot project designed to harness the power of the ocean breezes along North Carolina’s coast, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and [...]
Our events calendar and input forms are functional again. Please check out the calendar at the bottom of the page or click here.
Any registered user can put an event on the BlueNC calender. Simply hover over or click on the "create content" tab in the top menu bar under [...]
I'm still working on getting the events calender fixed. I want to make sure folks see this event put on by the Women's Caucus of the North Carolina Young Dems. Please go to the Facebook event page to find out more.
Please join the Women's Caucus of the Young Democrats' [...]
During her campaign in 2008, Kay Hagan traveled to rural areas of the state and held kitchen table discussions with residents of those counties to discuss the need for broadband expansion. Yesterday she announced that North Carolina would get a little over $2 million to expand broadband to underserved areas [...]
There is an effort underway to bring the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte in 2012 started (I believe) by Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem and Democratic National Committeewoman, Susan Burgess. Charlotte is a great city and it has a lot to offer. Cultural amenities, shopping and athletic events are spread throughout [...]
Sites like BlueNC, Facebook, Pam's House Blend, DailyKos and Twitter have helped open up a whole new avenue for reaching voters and many candidates are taking advantage of these new tools - tools that are newer to some than to others. Lately, though, I've overheard more than a few local [...]
In his latest fund-raising email North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr apparently doesn't believe telling the truth will work, so he resorts to scare tactics and misinformation to raise money. He gives three reasons why we should send him our hard-earned money.
The U.S. Senate is in the midst of' [...]
Charlotte Republican mayoral candidate, John Lassiter, has surrendered. He’s thrown up his hands and is walking away from an opportunity to inform Charlotte voters about his experience and his vision for the city.
Lassiter doesn’t offer a prior professional, family or personal obligation as an excuse for missing the League of [...]
There are really only two hobbies that I enjoy more than blogging - gardening and working on campaigns. To me gardening also includes canning and preserving the bounty from my garden. We are in the height of pepper season and contrary to popular belief, you don't pick them already pickled.' [...]
With the success of the Lynx Blue Line, transit is all the rage in and around Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Nothing new, though, they're still either raging for it or against it. If you move beyond the noise-makers you find the Charlotte Area Transit System(CATS) faced with the same' [...]
Richard Burr is touting a new poll out by Rasmussen that shows him ahead of Kenneth Lewis, a newcomer to the political scene, and Congressman Bob Etheridge who is well-known in one congressional district. He leads both by double digits. What he fails to tell us is that he still [...]
I will take this post off the front page once I have finished upgrading Drupal core and all of the modules. Please use this thread to report any problems you have with the site after upgrades.
Thank you,
Betsy
[...]Cross-posted from NCPolitico
A couple of weeks ago Anthony Foxx held a press conference in support of the proposed streetcar in Charlotte. I attended to support my mother, Patsy Kinsey, who stood by Foxx as he spoke. She was given an opportunity to speak and did so, reinforcing her [...]
Those of us who have grown up or lived in Charlotte have experienced first hand the disdain the rest of the state feels towards Charlotte. In recent years Mayor Pat McCrory has done everything in his power to exacerbate the problems.
For the first time in many years, Democrats in Charlotte [...]
Ask anyone who has run a strong, viable campaign for local office and they will probably tell you that it was one of the hardest things they've ever done. Local candidates work harder for each vote than candidates on any other level. Their campaigns aren't typically well-funded, so getting voters [...]
Kenneth Lewis, candidate for U.S. Senate, will blog live with us on Tuesday evening, September 22, from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Please use this thread to leave questions for Kenneth. Please do not use this thread to discuss other candidates who may or may not have announced.
We will transfer [...]
The primary elections are over here in Charlotte and the dust is settling. With a slate of newcomers prepared to fill out the at-large seats on council, the voters chose to keep experienced, effective council members in the districts - and they voted for them with overwhelming margins.
Patsy Kinsey (my [...]
Thank goodness that is over. Yay Mom! Yay Pam! Yay Jane! Yay Tim! Yay Neil! Yay Dan! Yay Luther! Yay Sandra! Yay Craig! Yay Steve!...............and everyone else.
Back to work. I know a blog that needs some module upgrades and is due for a few blog posts. [...]
While I've been away from BlueNC, North Carolina's 8th District lost a wonderful friend when former Congressman Bill Hefner died. He was truly loved in the 8th District. Last night, members of North Carolina's congressional delegation along with both Republican and Democratic members of Congress payed tribute to Mr. Hefner' [...]
Thank you, Senator Kennedy. Thank you for always reminding us that as Democrats we are unified under one core belief - that we are here to help lift others up.
Sleep well.
[...]Just got my grubby little paws on the actual letter that Cal Cunningham sent to Richard Burr. Deciding against a political confrontation at this stage isn't necessarily a sign Cal is avoiding debate. It may be the only legal thing he can do. Entering the debate might just signal to' [...]
According to Senator Burr, he is refusing to debate Ken Lewis on healthcare. His reasons are horse shit.
Dear Friend,
I wanted to let you know about 2 very important events coming up this week related to healthcare.
The first event is a live call in show on UNC-TV concerning the issue [...]
I kid you not.
"Health care reform has to happen, the worst product that could come out of this debate is if we got nothing," Burr said.
Then he went a little off-script and may have strayed a bit from his "official" statement.
"We're leaving to an elected official the ability'" [...]
Kenneth Lewis has challenged Richard Burr to a debate on healthcare. According to the story at ENC Today, Lewis noticed Burr had no healthcare town halls on his schedule for this week. Lewis decided to help him fill out his calendar.
Burr has been out and about. He's tagging along' [...]
Anyone here remember Dennis Wicker, the former Lt. Gov? According to the CharO he is considering a run against Richard Burr.
There are no old websites from which to harvest information, so we'll have to settle for the tidbits out there now. (Maybe Greg can find more for us.)
Wicker' [...]
D-A-L-L-A-S Woodhouse might not have been driving the bus when the wheels came off, but he was certainly a passenger as the bus was driven uncontrollably over the cliff. While D-A-L-L-A-S bristles at the claim that AFP keeps him on a short leash his inability to control the effluent [...]
Recently the DC press has taunted North Carolina Democrats over our seeming inability to recruit a top-tier challenger to run against Richard Burr in 2010. While the DC press is looking for a big name, Democrats in North Carolina are looking a little deeper. We know we don't need what' [...]
I am heading to the beach for my first non-blogging vacation in four years. I will return on Saturday. Sure, I might pop in if I find somewhere with internet, but I doubt I'll go driving around looking for that spot. This was a surprise trip, so I spent much' [...]
Yesterday we learned a little about Kenneth Lewis, the only Democrat who has declared to run for U.S. Senate as a challenger to Richard Burr. You can read part 1 of this series by following this link. Today, we will take a look at his approach to campaigning and [...]
Kenneth Lewis is the only declared candidate running for U.S. Senate against Richard Burr. On Friday he gave me an hour of his time for an in-depth, on the record interview. If, like I did, you had dismissed him as a political unknown, I encourage you to read further and [...]
Please sign this letter to Ben Nelson and his gang of moderate Senators who want to delay health care reform even longer.
[...]I'm packing my kids off to the beach for a week with my mother and working on several projects around the house. I'm not exactly looking forward to time away from my girls. We have so much fun talking politics. They're even more liberal than I am.
I guess to make' [...]
Producing content for BlueNC is a daunting task, one that has become more and more daunting as the site has grown. In the early days we had a very active team of front page writers, but as the years have gone by, many of our writers have moved on to [...]
On Friday I will be interviewing Kenneth Lewis, the only candidate who has declared a run for U.S. Senate to challenge Richard Burr. Here is your chance to participate.
Please post your questions for Kenneth in the comments below. I may not be able to get answers to them all, but [...]
Congressional Quarterly has a post up outlining the 2010 Senate races that rates the challenge to incumbent Richard Burr as "serious" even if there isn't a top tier challenger in the race. That's not a criticism of Kenneth Lewis. It doesn't mean he isn't a good choice or won't make [...]
Not long ago we were promoting action plans to help Congressman Brad Miller push his mortgage cramdown legislation through the U.S. House. The bill might not have been named after him, but his fingerprints were all over it. He was recognized for his hard work by some of his peers [...]
I love you all, but I'm spending my day outside in my garden. The tomatoes are scrumptious this year. My hubby is smoking a Boston Butt so we can have homemade barbecue tonight and I'll make some hot vinegar barbecue sauce to go along with it.
How are you spending your [...]
Filing has closed for those wishing to run for local office and three of our own will be on the ballots in different cities in North Carolina.
Gordon Smith, a long-time friend and front pager at BlueNC is running for city council in Asheville. Gordon has been blogging for years [...]
Apparently, any Republican with a pulse is a potential candidate for the 8th District no matter how unlikely the candidacy. CQ is pushing the rumor that Pat McCrory is a potential candidate for a run against Larry Kissell. I guess they had to have something to talk about.
Pat McCrory [...]
We elected June Atkinson. She won fair and square. Bev Perdue didn't like the way we voted and she appointed someone else to handle the duties we thought we'd elected June Atkinson to perform. On Friday, a judge will rule whether June will retain those duties that we elected her [...]
First, let's get this out of the way - Robin Hayes is not running for congress. I don't care how many times he says he plans to run if nobody steps up to challenge Larry. He raised $644, has about $18,000 on hand and carries $180,000 in campaign debts. Ignore [...]
If Paul Shumaker and his Carolina Strategy Group cohorts thought they were going to ever cut it as a legitimate polling firm, I imagine they are rethinking their strategy of releasing a piss-poor, "seriously flawed" poll as a means of launching the firm onto the national political stage.
We're having guests over for homemade pizza. All the veggies are from my garden and the tomato sauce is made from tomatoes out of my garden. Just went to pick cantaloupes and a rabbit had eaten an entire melon leaving only a small part of the rind. This is the' [...]
Remember when we thought torture and warrantless wiretapping were the whole damned iceberg that was going to sink the Bush presidency? What if they were just the tip of the iceberg? Please go read this piece. Note the tame headline, the friday release (one of the days chosen to [...]
First Richard Burr whines about all the polls conducted by Public Policy Polling showing him not doing so well against an unnamed opponent. On June 7th Burr was quoted as saying:
"I think it's ridiculous to go through hypothetical head-to-heads," Burr said.
"The next election is not even something I'm'" [...]
BlueNC will be down for maintenance at 10:00 p.m. We will be upgrading Drupal Core and several modules. It will take a while. Expect glitches. Let me know if something isn't working as expected once the site is back up and running.
' [...]The following letter was sent to Nancy Pelosi by 19 conservative Democrats. North Carolina's Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre were among those who signed the letter.
June 25, 2009
Dear Honorable Pelosi:
As the debate on health care reform continues and legislation is produced, it is imperative that the' [...]
Filing for local office opens at 8:00 a.m. this morning and my mother decided she was doing it first thing. Then we decided at the last minute we would invite family and friends for coffee before and after filing at this new little local coffee shop. Then we decided to [...]
Thanks to the pool reporter traveling with Vice President Biden we have a more colorful, emotional accounting of the swearing in ceremony of 237 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who became citizens of the United States on the 4th of July while stationed in Iraq. While most of these men [...]
Happy Independence Day! I'm typically a sentimental fool on the 4th. I love history and am prone to bore my children to tears with stories about how things used to be.
When I was a little girl I went through a long period of time when my desired grownup profession was' [...]
Hinting that she can't take the heat in this "new political environment," Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska.
' [...]The following is the summary of the public option from Senate HELP Committee.
A Strong Public Option
The Community Health Insurance OptionA strong majority of Americans believe that a strong public option is an important component of any health reform bill that keeps costs down, expands coverage, and offers American families a [...]
I have obtained a copy of the letter that Senators Kennedy and Dodd distributed to their colleagues on the HELP committee. It's public information, so will post the entire letter.
Dear HELP Committee Member:
No issue is more important to our constituents - or to our economy - than health [...]
Senators Kennedy and Dodd sent a letter to the rest of the HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee outlining the final plan from the committee. The plan has a smaller price tag than originally reported and will provide coverage for 97% of Americans. It has a healthy public [...]
BlueNC will be down for maintenance tonight for a few hours. I'm sorry for the late notice and the inconvenience.
I will take the site down around 10:00 p.m.
Thanks.
' [...]I'm not sure if former state senator Hugh Webster is insane or just bat shit crazy, but whatever it is, it is our fault.
YANCEYVILLE - Hugh Webster was in a fighting mood Monday just before jury selection began in his trial in Caswell County Superior Court on embezzlement' [...]
I'm going to post the entire press release with one bit of commentary. The news isn't all bad. Larry isn't anti-environment. It's actually one of his strengths. His district has some of the counties with the highest unemployment in the state and high unemployment is a chronic condition for them.' [...]
How in the world did the freshman senator from North Carolina wind up as the key figure in the health care debate? How can one lone moderate Democrat on a committee of liberal Democrats sink the public option?
Fact is, Kay Hagan alone won’t sink the public option. Kay Hagan alone [...]
I understand the situation. I know it wouldn't be easy for you to charge and collect sales tax on North Carolina purchases. I know it's a pain in the ass. It's a pain for the rest of us.
By closing my affiliate's account, you have not only lost me as' [...]
Most of us are still shaking our heads at the National Enquireresque headline hovering over Mark Johnson's articles at the CharO and the N&O this week.
NC House votes to protect gay kids
The headline crafted for S.C. Governor Mark Sanford should come as no shock. Whoever wrote it is [...]
It couldn't possibly be his strong faith that led him astray. I mean, the only reason heterosexuals cheat on their wives and husbands is because of the threat of gay marriage. Right?
' [...]Mark Binker and Laura Leslie are allowing us to carry their Twitter feeds during the SVPA debate. Harder than it looks, so will copy and paste.
Final update:
#NCGA: Bullying bill, S 526, passes 58-57. Sent to the governor.
# #NCGA House S526 House votes 50-63 not to suspend [...]
There is one final hour before the North Carolina House convenes to cast the final vote on the School Violence Prevention Act. If you do nothing else during this hour, please look up your representatives phone number and email address and please let them know that you support this legislation. [...]
