LorieByrd.com

Vote for Renee Ellmers in Ten Buck Fridays

I have been so busy working for Renee Ellmers' campaign that I have not blogged much lately, but had to come back to let you all know that Renee has been nominated for the Ten Buck Fridays moneybomb.  Please go vote for Renee!  Ask all your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to do the same. 

If you don't already know what an incredible candidate Renee is, go read more about her at ReneeforCongress.com.

Pantano for Congress

In my early days of blogging and column writing one of my most frequent topics was the war in Iraq.  I was appalled by much of the media coverage and the fact that many Democrats were willing to not only ignore the good work being done in the field by our troops, but to go so far as to smear them in an attempt to gain political advantage.   It should not be surprising that the story surrounding the primary in NC District 7 struck a nerve with me.  The latest news from the losers in that primary race is disappointing to say the least.

The Politico headline says, “GOP Split Clouds McIntyre Race:”

Two unsuccessful Republican candidates in North Carolina have turned their guns on the primary election winner, endangering the party’s hopes of defeating longtime Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) in November.

GOP voters in the 7th District on May 4 nominated Ilario Pantano, a charismatic Iraq warveteran with a personal story many find compelling and a past encounter with military justice that gives others concern.

Among the latter is Will Breazeale, the second-place finisher and 2008 nominee against McIntyre, who told POLITICO on Wednesday he would do what he can to keep Pantano from winning the seat. He said the third-place finsher, Randy Crow, would join him at a news conference Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C., to discuss their plans.

“We’re going to work against him,” Breazeale — also an Iraq veteran — said. “If the Republicans don’t like it, they can kick me out.”

Breazeale says he has a moral obligation to oppose the nominee because of his actions in Iraq.  “It takes a military man like me to explain to civilians how bad that is.”  Here is how Breazeale “explained” it following his primary defeat:

Buyers remorse is a tough pill to swallow. I cannot help but think that perhaps many who voted for Ilario Pantano are now realizing their nominee's claim to fame is the execution of two unarmed Iraqis? In turn, they are already attempting to set up a scapegoat (me) in order to justify his inevitable, massive failure in November.

Breazeale argues that Democrat incumbent McIntyre will use the issue against Pantano in the general election.  If McIntyre is stupid enough to go that route I predict the tactic will be every bit as effective as it has been for Breazeale, and might even ensure the first Republican in 140 years takes the seat.

When Ace of Spades wrote about Pantano’s primary win last week the first comment to his blog post was, “What are the odds his Dem challenger outright calls him a murderer anyway, even though he was cleared?”  The response from another commenter was, “If it happens, I think the campaign will effectively end, since the D will have just ended his chances of victory and indeed his political career.”  They accurately predicted the tactic, but got the party wrong, although the accusations do sound a lot like those of one Democrat – Rep. John Murtha, who declared the Marines in Haditha guilty before all the evidence was in.  Several years ago Pantano commented on Murtha’s charges in the Washington Post.

Breazeale has announced he will be calling a press conference next week to continue this attack on Pantano.  He is currently reaching out to various media outlets (most recently The Daily Beast), but I can’t help but wonder if he might regret doing so if some of his own past is dredged up in the process. That would not only embarrass Breazeale, but it would continue to take attention away from the choice voters have to make in November.

Now that Will Breazeale and Randy Crow have lost, the focus of the race should be on the differences between Pantano and McIntyre rather than grandstanding by those no longer in the running.  Pantano has pointed out that in spite of voting with Republicans on some issues, McIntyre’s vote is for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House.  I expect to hear Pantano cite that and many other differences frequently over the next six months.

For those concerned about the charges against Pantano, as Jammie Wearing Fool points out, “Pantano's history is out there for all to see and he isn't hiding anything. A simple Google search will tell you everything you need to know.”

Beginning in 2005, Blackfive’s Matt Burden followed Pantano’s case in a seven part series of blog posts ending with news that the murder charges were dropped.  Burden wrote, “I know Marines who commanded Pantano…every single one of them support Pantano.  Every. Single. One. The ones that I know would follow Pantano to hell and back.”  Burden enthusiastically endorsed Pantano in February.

The Politico headline cited in the beginning of this post is incorrect.  The Republican party is not split.  Pantano’s two opponents lost and instead of honoring the wishes of the voters of NC’s 7^th congressional district, and the overwhelming victory they handed Pantano with 69 percent of the vote, the men are desperately trying to stay in the game.  To do so they may attempt to split the party, but that is not going to happen. 

Iliano Pantano is a strong candidate.  He is young and energetic, as well as media savvy and a wonderful speaker.  Most important, he appears ready to do the work necessary to win the race.  His “100 Days of Work” videos remind me of Charles Kuralt’s On the Road reports – in both production and entertainment value. (In the first video his barber talks with Pantano in a down home southern drawl about Mr. Smith going to Washington and “filly-bustering.”) 

 Read Matt Burden’s Blackfive posts regarding the charges against Pantano – all of which have been dropped.  Read Pantano’s book, Warlord.  Go to Pantano’s website and watch some of his 100 days videos and read his blog posts.  While there watch his interview with Jon Stewart about the book.  Then decide whether or not he is a candidate you might want to support.

Pantano recently posted the following note to supporters about his strategy going forward,

“We have much to do, but let’s do it softly, and with honor and dignity. We are not looking for fights nor do we need to be disrespectful. Imagine a U-boat, that has just fired torpedoes and now moves quietly underwater to a new attack position. Don't ever confuse kindness, and civility with a lack of steely resolve. So get out there and smile. Kill them with kindness. These times are too critical and this race too important to succumb to emotion or foolish rancor. We will win by our rigorous faith and our discipline.”

If you would like to help Pantano prevail in November and be the first Republican to win the NC 7^th district seat in 140 years you can visit his website and contribute to his campaign.  If you are short on cash or live far from his district, his campaign has suggested ten ways you can help him from the comfort of your own home.

Update:  In the middle of the night when I wrote this post I misspelled Ilario Pantano's name in the post title.  I have corrected the mistake and apologize for that and any other mistakes I might find.

Crossposted at Wizbang.

What the Democrats in Congress should fear most

Plain and simple, what is driving many Democrats in Congress into early retirement is the fear (strike that, realization) that the voters back home are beginning to pay attention to what they do in DC.  There are many politicians that talk a good game at home.  They have convinced voters that they are representing their concerns.  They have convinced voters that all those other politicians in Congress are the problem, not them.  Trouble is, thanks to alternative media, the voters at home no longer have to depend on those in the mainstream media, or even those in the conservative media, for their information.  If they have a computer and an internet connection all they need to know about what their representatives are doing in Washington (chiefly how they are voting) is available with a few keystrokes.  The American people are feeling empowered like never before.  They showed up at town hall meetings and made their opinions known. Their representatives then returned to Congress and voted -- some in accordance to what they heard and some in spite of it.  Those who talked one way at home and voted another way in DC should be afraid.  The truth is finally catching up to them.

NC is Finally a Player

Seeing a presidential campaign up close and personal has been really interesting and things are only going to get more so between now and May 6th. For more on that see my column at Townhall this week, NC is Finally A Player.

Doug Marlette dies in car accident

Political cartoonist, Doug Marlette, died in a car accident this week.  I grew up reading his Kudzu cartoons.  He will be buried this weekend in Hillsborough, NC.

Fred Smith Announces Candidacy for NC Governor

Today I attended Fred Smith's announcement of his candidacy for NC governor.  I will have some comments and pictures to post later, but here is a link to the announcement on his website.

Update:  Due to some technical difficulties, I have not yet been able to download my pictures.  Until that is resolved, visit Dean Stephens' site for excellent pictures and reporting on the announcement.

NC Senate Passes Lottery

Reports from WRAL in Raleigh here and Raleigh N&O here.

Commentary from Peer Review here.

In unrelated NC news, former Senator Jesse Helms' book, "Here's Where I Stand, A Memoir," goes on sale today. I have not yet read the book, but those familiar with NC politics will recognize the reference to the legendary 1980 Hunt-Helms Senate race in which Helms' question to Hunt, "Where do you stand, Jim" became the signature line of the campaign

UPDATE:  Jay Nordlinger has an interview with Helms posted at NRO.

Still On Vacation, But...

I am still on vacation and only checking in every other day or so to make sure I don't miss anything huge, but I saw this post from John in North Carolina and wanted to send him a  long distance 'atta boy for providing needed assistance to the Raleigh N&O. For some reason, I am not able to post at Polipundit right now. I will be back home Sunday night and will resume regular blogging soon thereafter.

Helms Interview

I just found this interview with Jesse Helms at Intellectual Conservative and thought readers of this blog might find it as interesting as I did.

Edwards On This Week

I haven't watched This Week in ages. Actually, I rarely ever watch it since David Brinkley left the show years ago. I noticed, however, that today This Week will have an interview with John Edwards. Since I posted an item on Edwards last night, I thought I should alert readers to the interview. This should not, however, be interpreted to mean that I think Edwards still has a chance on the national political scene. I agree with what Fred Barnes said about Edwards in the speech he gave in North Carolina last month. He said that North Carolina had started John Edwards' national career in politics, and in November 2004, North Carolina ended his national career in politics.

UPDATE: I watched the interview and will post more tonight if I can find a transcript, but wanted to just make a few quick comments.

Style -- if Edwards does want to run again, he has to learn to relax his eyes. They looked like they were being held open with toothpicks, they were so wide open. That gives a bit of a crazed look. He comes across as trying to be too slick. He refused to answer whether or not he would have voted to confirm Condi, even after being pressed.

Dumbest thing he said -- Regarding the Condi vote, he said that is one of the good things about no longer being in the Senate -- not having to vote. He was pressed on it and would not really explain it, which leaves him looking like an opportunistic politician who looks at every vote in the political context of how it will affect his career. Maybe that is why he stayed away from the Senate so much.

Smartest thing Edwards said -- that the Iraq elections were a great thing. He didn't hesitate or hedge on that, although he did not want to give Bush any credit for it. Overall, I was not impressed. I thought that some of his answers about the poverty center and that topic sounded like political soundbites delivered by someone with little to no knowledge of the subject. When asked what program is best to combat poverty, his answer was "a job." I would have loved to have heard him asked about the recent four-year-low unemployment figures and some questions about the bogus claims he made about poverty in American during the campaign, but the interview was more about his political past and future than anything else.