newsobserver.com projects - Primary Mistake: Dole's argument - Comments

Re: Primary Mistake: Dole's argument

dahedgehog — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:17:37 -0400

Um, the post was about winning an election in RHODE ISLAND...not Salisbury.

Re: Primary Mistake: Dole's argument

Proctor — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:48:39 -0400

Those Salisbury Republicans can surprise you by being pretty darned progressive from time to time, so you just never know. I have kinfolk who are Salisbury Republicans, and just like Elizabeth Dole, they'll come up with a forward-looking plan for education or economic development, only they don't make a big show of it.

Ever since my cousin from Salisbury clobbered me in a game of "The Presidents," I learned then and there never to underestimate the political prowess of a Republican from Salisbury!

So it would take a Democrat with a lot of traditional Ervin-type conservative appeal along with a strong loyalty to the principles of the Democratic Party to be able to carry the day in the 2008 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina.

Then, don't forget that it would take a lot of grit to run for the Senate against an incumbent with a senatorial spouse such as Bob Dole. Television may not be the kindest medium in the world to some people, but when you see Bob Dole in person at a rally or campaign event, he cuts a very impressive figure, like one of those frontier lawyers helping to straighten out a town in the Old West. Like Bill Clinton, he's already had a turn at bat serving in the office being held or being sought by his spouse.

So matter how good a speech you can write, one wisecrack by Bob Dole can charm the audience and leave you feeling like you just missed the last train to Dodge City. You could wind up sounding like Chester in "Gunsmoke":

"Doc, I don't know what happened--people were listening closely to what I was saying in my speech and then Bob Dole rode into town and they all ran across the street to shake his hand."

Re: Primary Mistake: Dole's argument

Proctor — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:20:31 -0400

What a great job--Lieutenant Governor. How could anyone interested in running for statewide office not give that position a good looking over?

And in North Carolina, with Gov. Mike Easley not exactly going all out to win the Rob Christensen "Ceremonial Governor of the Century" award, just think of all the festivals, concerts, pageants, conventions and general hubbub of community celebration you can stop in on as the representative of the executive branch of the State of North Carolina.

Speaking of the executive branch, why, if you're a lieutenant governor in any state in the Union, you probably would have a good chance of scheduling a luncheon with Vice President Cheney to discuss the constitutional question of whether your office really belongs to the executive branch of state government or to the legislative branch.

Best of all, you get to cast the deciding vote in the case of a tie in a tally of members of the North Carolina Senate on a current bill. You could even probably score a nice cigar from Sen. Tony Rand's collection unless of course it would be considered a violation of ethics.

Nevertheless, there is lots to be said in favor of the accoutrements and high privileges of serving as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, including trying to outrun all those special assistants to the Governor whenever they come up with a "brillaint idea" that they have not taken the time to think through to their logical conclusion.

Yes, the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina should be loyal to and supportive of the Governor's program but independent of all state executive branch offices in the specific, constitutionally-designated duty of serving as president of the North Carolina Senate, a great and noble position of responsibility whether the senators invite you into their club or not.

And don't forget, being a part-time position, the Office of Lieutenant Governor gives you plenty of time to explore the mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills and coast of the Old North State, "Land of the longleaf pine where the sun doth shine, where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great."

David McKnight

Re: Primary Mistake: Dole's argument

dahedgehog — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:12:45 -0400

Of course, maybe they didn't want Laffey to run because he's waaaaaay on the right (hardcore Club for Growth), and Dole knew that he had no shot in an election!

The irony is that Dole's politics are probably closer to Laffey's than to Chafee's, but that's another (sad) story.

Primary Mistake: Dole's argument

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:42:29 -0400

Steve Laffey says U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole sabotaged his campaign.

In his new book, "Primary Mistake," the former candidate in the Rhode Island Senate Republican primary argues that Dole undercut his challenge to Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

He says Dole, then chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the group's executive director, Mark Stephens, a Raleigh political consultant, tried to talk him out of running.

In a meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2005, he says they tried to convince him to run for lieutenant governor instead, but he thought the position has no responsibilities.

What about "I don't want to ride around on a bicycle waiting for the governor to die" did they not understand the first time around?

Laffey lost his challenge to Chafee, who lost the general election.

A short excerpt after the jump.