With the Senate considering landmark legislation overhauling the health care system, North Carolina groups supporting Democratic proposals are stepping up their lobbying efforts.

The North Carolina chapter of Organizing for America, the grassroots effort of the Democratic National Committee, plans to have phone banks working today in Carrboro, Raleigh, Charlotte, Hendersonville, Asheville, Wilmington and Fayetteville, Rob Christensen reports. The phone banks are part of a national effort by the Obama organization to make 100,000 calls on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama is expected to talk to people working the phone banks by way of a simulcast hook up this evening.

This morning, Congressman Bob Etheridge is holding a health care discussion at the downtown Raleigh YWCA targeted at seniors and retirees. Members of the State Employees Association of North Carolina will be at several college campuses making calls to the office of Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan urging her to pass "real health care reform." Hagan has been vague as to what form of health care legislation she will support.

With the Senate debate on health care reaching a critical juncture, supporters of President Barack Obama's health care proposal plan a phone bank Sunday, Oct. 11 in Raleigh.

The phone bank is being held at the Raleigh headquarters of Organizing for America, the arm of the Democratic National Committee, that is designed to generate support for the president's agenda, Rob Christensen reports.

Those making the calls will receive a pep talk by phone from Jeremy Bird, the national deputy director for Organizing for America.

Earlier this week, Organizing for America held a rally in Harnett County, the home of Congressman Bob Etheridge, a Democratic moderate who is being lobbied by both sides of the health care debate.

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Paul Kirk, who was named Thursday as the late Ted Kennedy's replacement in the U.S. Senate, once defeated North Carolina's Terry Sanford in the race for Democratic National Committee chairman.

Kirk, a former Kennedy aide, was the frontrunner to become party chairman in 1985, when Sanford entered the race, reports Rob Christensen.

At the time, Sanford was nearing the end of his tenure as president of Duke University. But he was political veteran, having served as North Carolina governor (1961-65) and having run for president in 1972 and 1976.

Sanford tried to put together a coalition of Southern and western Democratic party chairs.

"A great many people in the South feel it is time for the Southern Democratic Party to exert greater national leadership," Sanford said. "The Democratic party cannot do without a strong base in the South."

More after the jump.

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Organizing for America, the organizing arm of the Democratic National Committee, will open a state-wide headquarters in Raleigh this evening.

The group has been operating across the state most of the summer seeking to rally backers of President Barack Obama to support proposed changes in the health care system. But in many instances, their efforts have been over shadowed by opposition that has appeared at town hall meetings, Rob Christensen reports.

The heaquarters at 130 E. Morgan Street will over see what the Democrats hope will be a final push for health care changes this fall as well as other administration proposals for education and energy.

The Organizing for America staff in the state consists of five people, a relatively small group compared to the hundreds of workers in Obama's campaign last fall. The event will be held at 6 p.m. tonight.

Ed Turlington, a Raleigh lawyer long plugged into state and national Democratic politics, has been elected to the Democratic National Committee.

He was one of 75 at-large delegates nominated by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the party chairman, and elected by the DNC at its meeting last weekend in Austin, Rob Christensen reports.

Also elected from North Carolina was Joyce Brayboy, the former chief of staff to Congressman Mel Watt of Charlotte.

Turlington was in some pretty good company having been chosen along with such major party figures as Elaine Kamarck, Maria Echaveste, Alexis Herman, Dennis Archer, Harold Ickes, Gerald McEntee, Anna Burger, John Sweeney, and Don Fowler.

Turlington was general chairman of John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign and was a top aide to Sen. Bill Bradley's 2000 campaign, as well being closely associated with such Tar Heel figures as former Gov. Jim Hunt and Sen. Terry Sanford.

He was apppointed to the DNC's Resolutions Committee. Appointed co-chair of the DNC's Credentials Committee was Everett Ward of Raleigh, a former executive director of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party is blasting U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry's war against czars.

"McHenry's hypocrisy is astounding," said Joanne Peters, a regional press secretary for the Democratic National Committee. "Most telling of the credibility of these attacks is that they come from the same Republican party that didn't utter a peep about the 47 documented czars in the Bush administration."

In 2006, McHenry met with President George W. Bush's drug czar, the DNC notes. Bush's czars included a Katrina czar and a food safety czar.

Counting official "czars" is an inexact science because "czar" is not always part of the job formal job title. Some who have been called "czar" are subject to Senate confirmation, which is what McHenry said he is seeking for President Barack Obama's czars. A Washington Post story said that presidents as far back as Calvin Coolidge gave special powers to officials to handle disasters.

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed a host of special advisers to coordinate policy to combat the Great Depression. Richard M. Nixon named a drug czar and an energy czar, and George W. Bush named czars to coordinate policy efforts on a range of issues. By one count, Bush had 36 czar positions filled by 46 people during his eight years as president.

As a sort of opening act to the "Hands off My Healthcare" rally, video clips played on the big screen.

The first clip featured a speech by Dallas Woodhouse, state director of Americans for Prosperity, which sponsored the rally. The second clip featured Woodhouse's appearance on CNN in which he debated health care with his brother, Brad Woodhouse, who is communications director for the Democratic National Committee.

Woodhouse knew there were a lot of good applause lines in his performance. Like when he said that unlike his brother, "I'm just a little simple community organizer."

Or when anchor John Roberts asked the brothers how could the nation agree on health care reform plans put forward by Democrats if two brothers couldn't. 

"I think the rest of the country has agreed on it. They don't like it," Woodhouse said. 

The videos done, it was time for Mr. Woodhouse to get to speechifying. 

"Mr. President when you take the podium tonight, we will be listening," Woodhouse said to the crowd. 

So a Republican congressman, speaking for the Republican National Committee, accuses a Democratic president of shading the truth. The Democrats accuse the Republican of lying. The congressman accuses back.

This is the kind of back-and-forth that goes on daily inside the Beltway, Barb Barrett reports. And so it happened again Wednesday, this time with remarks from N.C. Republican Patrick McHenry, in the context of President Barack Obama’s visit to Raleigh.

So without comment, Dome presents:

* McHenry’s words in an official RNC conference call with reporters: "He is talking about a few principles on health care that do not address the meat of his plan. In fact, the principles that he mentions today run counter to his bill in the House of Representatives.

* The Democratic National Committee’s response: "On an RNC conference call today, Congressman Patrick McHenry accused the President of lying about the details of his health insurance reform plan. The only person lying on that call, however, was Rep. McHenry."

* McHenry’s response to the DNC’s response: "It’s notable what the DNC did not attempt to refute: That the plan taxes small businesses and that centrist Democrats are the President’s stumbling block."

President Barack Obama is trying to re-assemble his old campaign team to help build grass roots support for the overhaul of the health care proposal as well as for his major initiatives.

About 75 Obama backers gathered Monday night at the Church of the Reconciliation in Chapel Hill to discuss how to build support in Congress for Obama’s health care proposals through telephone calls, phone banks, petition signing, door-to-door canvassing, round table discussions, Rob Christensen reports.

"There is a sense of urgency and there needs to be a sense of urgency," Lindsay Siler, the state director of the Obama organization.

"The message is we need to stand up and demand you pass health care reform," she said.

Similar meetings are being held across the state. Tonight there are phone banks planned at St. Matthew AME Church in Raleigh and First Baptist Church West in Charlotte.

The organizing is being done under the auspices of the Democratic National Committee, which has set up an off shoot group called Organizing for America. The campaign team, which will rely much more on volunteers, has only been on the ground in North Carolina for three weeks.

Obama is trying to get the House and the Senate to pass version of the health care plan before Congress recesses in August with passage some time this fall.

Siler, the former Iowa deputy field director for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, who was previously with Planned Parenthood in North Carolina and surrounding states. The state field director is Greg Jackson Jr., who headed D.C. for Obama, a grassroots effort.

In response to a question, Siler asked the Obama supporters not to pressure North Carolina Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan to support the public health option part of the Obama plan. Obama has sought not to put public pressure on centrist Democrats who may be undecided about portions of the plan.

Correction: Post updated to correct prior affiliations of Jackson and Siler.

In an effort to build support for his health care plan, President Barack Obama’s supporters will meet tonight in Chapel Hill.

The event, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, is one of a series of meetings being held across the state aimed at mobilizing the Obama network on behalf of the president’s health care plans, Rob Christensen reports.

The Obama "listening tour" will be held at 7 p.m. at the Church of the Reconciliation in Chapel Hill.

Similar events have been held in Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham and Fayetteville.

Obama hopes Congress will act on his proposals before Congress goes on its August recess.

Correction: Post now states that the event is part of a listening tour, not a rally. Dome regrets the error.