Last week I let everyone know about Town Halls on Health Care that are being held across the state by the State Employees Association of NC, SEIU Local 2008.

Since then we have a few updates, including a Western NC event, and 2 Congressmen!

A big milestone was reached over the weekend, as the Facebook group asking Cal Cunningham to run for US Senate gained more supporters than the DSCC has on its political page.

That is correct. At almost 700 members, Cal has more supporters on Facebook than the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee!

I know there are a lot of people here who believe that the DSCC will try and tell us who we should choose, but they understand the power of the grassroots to bring a lesser known candidate to the top. I know that this level of support this early will help show them that Cal is a great candidate worth their support.

This Tuesday Senator Richard Burr and the business front group "Americans for Prosperity" are kicking off a campaign against workers' rights. They are hosting a rally at 10:30 on the Bicentennial Mall across from the North Carolina Legislature.

The supposed purpose of this effort is to protect the so-called "secret ballot" in union elections. In reality this is an effort to continue the roadblocks that have been placed in front of workers who wish to unionize by lying about the Employee Free Choice Act and keeping the ban on collective bargaining.

To me there are a number of things that I would like to see in our next Party Chair. A commitment to grassroots politics, an ability to fundraise, and a continued commitment to competing in all 100 counties are all essentials for most people. But what is even more core, and is in fact so essential that it never seems to be mentioned is Democratic values.