Election day is Tuesday Nov 2nd.

Early voting will be the Thursday October 14th to Saturday October 30th period.

Who are you voting for? Why?

6/22/2010 9:04:17 PM

King Burr bitches, because he opposed the Obama Agenda

6/22/2010 9:06:06 PM

For what its worth, it was her primary opponent who had the Washington Democratic backing. I watched the 3 primary debates, and in the last one when they were asked to give one example of how they have taken a stance against the President their answers were very revealing. Cal spoke for a while, saying little of substance, and the moderator then said something like "I didn't hear an answer, try again" and his answer then was that he was even more pro-jobs than Obama. Elaine said that's easy, I opposed his Afghanistan surge, among other things. I have no worries that she'll oppose the President's agenda when needed.


Burr on the other hand is...

Obstructionist - Even with the military. In addition to participating in filibuster threats, he held up Duckworth's nomination to a key position in the office of veteran affairs despite her strong qualifications. He specifically also let generals travel from Korea and Hawaii to Washington DC for a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee and then canceled the meeting as a part of a larger party wide effort of obstructionism to not even let meetings happen.

Economy - When he was first learning of the severity of the recession he told his wife to go to the ATM day after day taking out all the money it would allow b/c he was convinced that in a few days "the last thing that would come out of the ATM is money" (I can't recall his exact quote, but that isn't far off) which earned him the nickname Bank Run Burr. And, after his meeting with representatives from Goldman Sachs, who then gave the max allowed contribution to his campaign, he took a strong stand against Wall Street Reform.

Washington Incumbent - This one might not be a big deal to everyone, but I know for some people they don't like politicians who have been in Washington forever, and Burr has been in Washington for nearly 2 decades. But after nearly 2 decades its hard to name any big Burr accomplishments.

Women's issues - He voted against Frank's anti-rape amendment which passed with many Dem & GOP votes. He also voted for domestic violence to continue as a pre-existing condition.

Gay Rights - He's against repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell and favors an amendment to the US constitution to write in a ban of gay marriage.

Environment - He tends to rate horribly here. According to Wikipedia: "Burr has generally received low ratings from environmental-protection organizations. In 2007-2008, for example, he received a rating of 0% from Environment America[17], 12% from the League of Conservation Voters, and 29% from Republicans for Environmental Protection."

6/22/2010 9:25:08 PM

And democrats voted against a bill that would ban the government from subsidizing viagra to sex offenders. big deal. politics all around...

6/22/2010 9:27:36 PM

Burr backed the Navy during the OLF fiasco. Fuck him.

6/22/2010 10:27:20 PM

Turd Sandwich versus Giant Douche etc

6/22/2010 10:30:16 PM

Reminder that Richard Burr voted against H.R. 3326, which allows government contractors to sue their company if they get gang-raped while overseas. This bill was drafted after a KBR employee was gang-raped by her coworkers in Iraq and unable to sue her company because they forced her to sign a contract saying she couldn't. Burr voted against this bill.

Burr also voted against (and helped defeat) S.1955, which would have forced insurance companies to stop ignoring state laws that provided protection for victims of domestic violence, specifically when it came to denying them insurance coverage.

6/22/2010 10:44:51 PM

Quote :

"Turd Sandwich versus Giant Douche etc"

6/22/2010 10:54:55 PM

We do not need to send anyone to Washington that will help keep advancing the Obama agenda.

We need to stop or slow his progressive goals. Sending Elaine will not help this end.

6/23/2010 12:33:26 AM

I guess sending a lock/step GOP senator is better?

6/23/2010 8:20:29 AM

I like Ken, but he couldn't go 3 sentences without praising Obama, Cal given 2 tries in a row at a debate couldn't criticize the president on anything, and Elaine didn't flinch before criticizing the president on areas where she disagreed. A few of the local news stations ran the story as Elaine beat Cunningham & Establishment, since he was the DSCC/Washington backed candidate and she wasn't. Given the 3 main options from the Democratic party we ended up with the least pro-Obama of the bunch. And lets face it, given her age, she's not going to Washington to stay for 3 or 4 decades like some people do. On the other hand if incumbent Richard Burr wins again that will easily push him over the 2 decade threshold of being in Washington with no end in site.

[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 9:06 AM. Reason : .]

6/23/2010 8:56:54 AM

From Elaine's website...

Quote :

"Create a public health insurance option to provide more choice and drive down costs for consumers by creating competition in the industry now holding Americans hostage to spiraling costs. "

She wants single payer..gov't controlled health-care.

Quote :

"The solution lies in shifting our infrastructure from a carbon-based system to one based on clean energy, a change that will result in a dramatic shift in our economy."

Looks like she's in favor of cap n tax.

She may disagree with Obama around the fringes. But at heart, she looks like a hard-core liberal in love with Big Gov't.

6/23/2010 10:02:37 AM

exactly - who gives an F if she can recite meaningless words of disagreement with the president.

6/23/2010 10:04:50 AM

Strange, those are two reasons why I would vote for someone. I guess we just disagree!

6/23/2010 10:55:48 AM

I guess you just don't understand basic economics. Oh wait, we already knew that.

6/23/2010 11:17:24 AM

I just think we have a different understanding of how to operate the government, that's all!

6/23/2010 12:28:59 PM

Democrat robot vs. Republican robot

I'll take the Democrat

6/23/2010 12:45:07 PM

Quote :

"I just think we have a different understanding of how to operate the government, that's all!"

Agreed

6/23/2010 11:02:27 PM

[/unite the clans]

6/24/2010 8:57:15 AM

Quote :

"Survey of 500 Likely Voters in North Carolina June 23, 2010 Election 2010: North Carolina Senate Richard Burr (R) 44% Elaine Marshall (D) 43% Some Other Candidate 7% Not sure 6% Margin of error: +/- 4.5"

6/24/2010 2:56:39 PM

Burr is just a downright scumbag. I don't know how he even won his party's primary the first time around.

Kinda interesting site:
http://republicanagainstburr.blogspot.com/

6/24/2010 10:08:06 PM

^
I agree. But while Burr is a tool..we don't want to add any more votes to the Obama agenda. We've got to get some off-setting balance back into the fed. gov't.

6/24/2010 10:37:53 PM

I'm not going to vote for Burr for a stupid reason like that. If anything Marshall has shown herself also likely to vote against many of Obama's initiatives. Hell, who is the libertarian candidate? I'd even take a look at them over Burr.

6/24/2010 11:49:23 PM

^x4 That was the new Rasmussen poll that gave Burr the 1 point lead. Public Policy Polling's last few polls had Burr & Marshall hovering about 1 to 7% points apart (Burr's lead). Marshall may be the underdog against Burr with his incumbency, but Ras & PPP seem to agree that its not by much.

I wonder where it will be after the next round of tv ads & debates?

6/25/2010 1:43:08 AM

I'm not a fan of Burr at all, however...

Quote :

"From Elaine's website... [quote]Create a public health insurance option to provide more choice and drive down costs for consumers by creating competition in the industry now holding Americans hostage to spiraling costs. She wants single payer..gov't controlled health-care. The solution lies in shifting our infrastructure from a carbon-based system to one based on clean energy, a change that will result in a dramatic shift in our economy. Looks like she's in favor of cap n tax."

That's all I need to know to vote for Burr. Thanks for the info EarthDogg

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 1:05 PM. Reason : quote]

6/25/2010 1:04:01 PM

AHA, ITT a conservative pretends like Elaine Marshall had a chance with him...

To show us how evolved and open-minded he is.


No matter though...he's not actually gonna vote anyway.

6/25/2010 1:32:08 PM

^^ They're not likely to revisit healthcare during the rest of Obama's term, and probably not a second one, if he gets it.

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 1:55 PM. Reason : blargh]

6/25/2010 1:54:44 PM

^He doesn't actually care.

He wouldn't vote for Marshall in a million years.

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 2:13 PM. Reason : ]

6/25/2010 2:12:24 PM

Those quoted things are fairly boilerplate Democratic campaign planks at this point, so it's not like she's saying anything there that no one else with the Dem nomination might have said.

6/25/2010 2:14:57 PM

^That's not entirely true, otherwise we'd have an energy scam already voted in. There are enough Democrat holdouts in the Senate to prevent this.

I'm not voting for anyone that supports a carbon tax, cap 'n' trade, etc. Would I like to vote out a GOP incumbent that's been getting too comfy in Washington? Absolutely. But to do it and risk the new person voting for that energy scam? Not a chance.

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 2:39 PM. Reason : g]

6/25/2010 2:34:27 PM

I can't wait for a carbon tax! (This is a serious post!)

6/25/2010 2:36:00 PM

I can't wait for a baseless tax to reduce my standard of living! (this is a sarcastic post)

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 2:41 PM. Reason : ]

6/25/2010 2:40:33 PM

Elaine Marshall

Quote :

"Create a public health insurance option to provide more choice and drive down costs for consumers..."

EarthDogg

Quote :

"She wants single payer..gov't controlled health-care."

You don't know what words mean, do you?

[Edited on June 25, 2010 at 6:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/25/2010 6:09:25 PM

Classic Conservatism!

6/25/2010 6:10:12 PM

Quote :

"They're not likely to revisit healthcare during the rest of Obama's term, and probably not a second one, if he gets it."

They're going to have to. None of the problems were solved with the bill. In fact, the legislation only makes worse the root problems that were already there. The cost of healthcare will continue to spiral out of control, while unemployment will continue to increase, and people are going to demand that the government "do something about it." At that point, we'll find some way to fuck the system over even harder.

6/25/2010 6:17:19 PM

No worries, EarthDogg & d357r0y3r have pointed out in the Lawson thread that getting out of Afghanistan is the most important issue for the 2010 election. Burr's website says we need to stay for several more years (which sounds longer than the July 2011 Obama start withdrawal plan), Elaine was the most anti-war candidate of all the Democratic candidates even challenging President Obama on that. So I have no doubt Dogg will be voting Marshall.

6/25/2010 6:19:36 PM

The first debate for the general election happened today. I tried to follow it a little bit here:

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=597500

The libertarian guy really went on attack, especially against Burr calling him a corporatist over and over, highlighting his ties to Wall Street (which includes Goldman Sachs among others) and lobbyists... and saying he's disappointed in Burr's vote for TARP & supporting corporate welfare. Elaine did some too, highlighting his ties to big oil (including Haliburton, & BP among others). But the libertarian guy was really serious about 1) attacking Burr, 2) pointing out that he's a CPA over & over.

I did like the libertarian guy's line about Burr spending time trying to create a US constitutional ban on gay marriage saying that's not conservative, that's intolerance. Both he & Elaine are anti-war, whereas Burr is still in the several more years camp.

I hope they keep the libertarian guys in the debates... that is if Burr is up for many more debates. He may just do 1 or 2 early on, so he can say he has debated, and then cut off the flow close to election time so that the only way to reach out is big money ad buys.

6/26/2010 11:07:37 PM

It worked for Bev Purdue. She got spanked by the libertarian and McCory in the debates, so she stopped attending. Good thing voters don't watch debates.

6/27/2010 9:09:51 AM

Old people like to vote, and they showed this debate both Saturday & Sunday morning. Old people like mornings right?

Anyways, I hope they keep this libertarian guy around for the debates. While generally I'm in favor of opening up debates & the ballot box to libertarians, greens, and all parties, specifically this guy is good at attacking Burr (although he attacks them both, just Burr more) and he's more likely to draw more votes away from Burr than Marshall. And when Rasmussen Reports & Public Policy Polling are both calling this such a close election, that difference could help.

6/27/2010 4:51:11 PM

Quote :

"Old people like mornings right?"

It's when they watch their soaps.

[Edited on June 27, 2010 at 5:22 PM. Reason : v Duly noted.]

6/27/2010 4:56:13 PM

Talk shows and game shows in the morning, soaps after lunch.

6/27/2010 4:57:33 PM

Brief clips from the debate during the 6:00 news so they know which pretty face to vote for, then off to bed.

6/27/2010 5:53:24 PM

Was this debate not archived online anywhere?

6/28/2010 12:34:57 AM

Quote :

"I hope they keep the libertarian guys in the debates.."

As a libertarian, I like Mike..but I'm going with Burr only so that we can slow down Obama.

6/28/2010 10:25:03 AM

Quote :

" * Burr: Not on his game yet. I covered his 2004 race, and he can be a fierce debater. But yesterday, he seemed unfocused and underprepared. His opening statement was apologetic, his closing muddled. He had a couple of good moments, but more often fell back on folksy charm and platitudes better suited to a party event than the State Bar. * Marshall: Did very well, as she should’ve – she’s been through two elections already this year, so she’s had to get her game in gear, and that helped her yesterday. On key message points, she was sharp, focused, and fired up. She still needs work on her extemp answers, though – her thoughts run ahead of her words sometimes, jumbling her arguments. * Beitler: Very good. He probably had the most polished message of the three. but his academic delivery didn’t carry the kind of energy likely to propel voters to the polls."

- Laura Leslie, WUNC

Quote :

"Throughout the debate, Marshall looked the most fired up of the three. She really had to convince the Democratic base she has a shot at unseating Burr, and it would seem to me she might have given supporters something to smile about."

-News & Record

Quote :

"So who won? Elaine Marshall did, convincingly, and I have to believe that even Richard Burr's staffers told him afterward that he can't get through an entire Senate campaign saying absolutely nothing about every issue."

-The Independent Weekly


The reviews for Elaine weren't perfect, but they seem to think either her or the libertarian won, and they definitely agree she was the most fired up. I'm glad the first general election debate came so soon after the primary finished and right after Cal endorsed Elaine. It quickly juxtaposes Elaine to Burr in a way that I think will help bring many of the Cal supporters on board.

6/28/2010 8:33:10 PM

A vote for anyone but Burr is a vote for the terrorists.

6/29/2010 6:36:50 PM

the Burr incident should finally hit the media soon

we've all known about it at work for a few days now, but we were told by the Att'y General to remain quiet

6/29/2010 8:25:11 PM

Voters don't care about incidents. They care about which good ole boy will protect us from the terrorists.

6/29/2010 8:28:36 PM

show us some evidence of that, smc.

6/29/2010 8:29:33 PM

Certainly:

http://burr.senate.gov/public/

6/29/2010 8:30:41 PM