newsobserver.com projects - John Ross Hendrix - Comments

Re: Poll: "Undecided" leads in Senate race

Proctor — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:27:24 -0500

Melvin Watt would be a strong candidate for the Democrats, but party backers might have a hard time convincing him to give us his U.S. House seat to make a run for the Senate.

David McKnight

Re: Poll: Undecided leads in Senate race

FSUNoles46 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:46:44 -0500

She should definitely win big, considering she's the only one that could get wide support. Lassiter and Hendrix both have the unfortunate hindrance of being unknown non-politicians and I simply can't see Neal beating Dole in NC with the number of people who won't accept his "lifestyle."

Re: Poll: Undecided leads in Senate race

liam — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:13:55 -0500

Yes and no. I'm surprised that they are approaching double digits, but not surprised that Neal is polling about the same. His strong support among a few activist bloggers masks the fact that he has no real base to speak of here in North Carolina. When Kay Hagan begins to mount a real campaign, she'll blow all of them out of the water.

Re: Poll: Undecided leads in Senate race

FSUNoles46 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:47:15 -0500

Anyone else surprised that Hendrix and Lassiter appear to be catching Neal?

Re: Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate

NancySimons — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:58:03 -0500

As a patience of Dr. Stanley I have had many conversations with him and we are bless to have folks like Harold to put his name out there .At my next appointment I will thank him and back that up with check John Simons

Re: Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate

pigeon — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:09:35 -0500

In regard to the story on Howard Staley, a clarification is needed. Dr. Staley does not say insurance companies are charging too much (although they are). What he sees as unfair practice is patients who do NOT carry insurance are being charged higher prices without the discounts offered to insurance carriers. His point is health care costs should be the same no matter who pays for it.
In Staley's official announcement to run for U.S. Senate, he says:
“I see three big issues that are decreasing the quality of the lives of average Americans. One is the uninsured in a healthcare system that is based on fictitiously excessive charges submitted to a handful of insurance companies, which are reimbursed at unsustainable reduced levels. This means that unless you have paid insurance company premiums, you are being over charged because insurance companies reduce the fee. The free market no longer has any function in the healthcare system. Luckily, many healthcare providers still have a sense of charity.
“I feel we need to develop a system that includes everyone throughout their lifetime with a balance between insurance, patients, and the government.”
In addition, Staley says, “Secondly, I believe that the well-touted tax cuts of the Bush administration have been a windfall for the wealthy, and have actually caused more total taxes to be paid by the less wealthy in the form of regressive local taxes.
“Thirdly, our unquenchable thirst for energy has turned us into a debtor nation,” he says. “Unlike the last one hundred years, the twenty-first century is no longer a period of cheap energy from third-world nations. These foreign nations now have returned these dollars by owning our children’s national debt, as well as much of our land and assets. Cheap energy has caused many of our other problems, such as urban sprawl, traffic congestion, pollution and human isolation by limiting interaction in communities. We need to develop technology, lifestyles changes, and native energy sources to release us from imported petroleum.”

Re: Reviewing the Senate sites

unc08clay — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:13:43 -0400

Each of these sites definitely have a lot of room for improvement, starting with just the general design. This is going to be a huge race with national attention, it's surprising that no one has a better presence when the race is only a year away.

I work with a Carrboro company named New Media Campaigns (www.newmediacampaigns.com), and we specialize in building political campaign sites. At our site, we frequently update the "Articles" section of our website with tips on how to maximize a campaign site. I think our tips could help these candidates and other candidates across the state.

In today's political culture, it's imperative that you have a top-notch site. It'll be interesting to see how these sites evolve throughout the race.

-Clay Schossow
New Media Campaigns
919 485 4118
www.newmediacampaigns.com

Re: Hagan to run

erin1017 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:41:17 -0400

GOOD NEWS DEMOCRATS!!! In a triumph of placation – in a solute to the middling –the National and NC Democratic Party have finally recruited a candidate! We can breathe a sigh of relief, she once was lost and now she’s found…apparently she was hiding somewhere over the rainbow :-) (Do emoticons work on this blog?)

Senator Hagan’s announcement, and party’s the blatant recruitment of a straight candidate, is disheartening for this, and I hope many other Democrats. A party that has been built, and thrived, on pluralism should be hanging their heads low.

First, Democrats shouldn’t have had to convince Senator Hagen, or any other candidate, to run for the United States Senate. No one should have to be convinced. You run for senate because you feel that there are real problems that demand real solutions; that fate has conspired to bring you to this place, and has provided you a unique opportunity to LEAD. You shouldn’t do it out of personal ambition or to mollify party elites. The job is too important – and it is the very least NC and America deserves.

Neal got into this race, even when the jury was still out on Rep. Martin and Senator Hagen. He saw wrongs, and wanted to right them. He saw a war, and wanted to stop it. He saw uninsured children, and wanted to insure them. Who was running, and what the party might think about his personal life, was trumped by Senator Dole’s shortcomings and Neal’s vision for a new direction in North Carolina.

Neal is a man with gravitas, someone with moral courage, (and if you listen to him, someone who is articulate, inspirational, and qualified). He is someone who got in this race, regardless of what polls said, to make a difference. He has shown up to lead. The party didn’t know him, and when they got to know him they didn’t want him. But he’s still here.

I’m not an upset far left-wing Democrat. I am disappointed Democrat. Maybe it’s the idealism in me; maybe it was the naïve belief that in the 21st century, NC could see pass sexual ordination and elect Neal, the way America saw past Catholicism and elected Kennedy. But regardless, even in these cynical, myopic times – even in cut-throat business of politics, principle should still be more important then winning. That’s always been why I’m a Democrat.