cjmalone's blog

It is a grave wrong to let anyone die because of who they are, instead of what they did.

But does this make a difference to the GOP majority in the NC General Assembly?

Apparently not.

This law--the Racial Justice Act, which the Republican-led state Senate defanged this week--is a two-year-old law that allowed death-row inmates to use statistical evidence of racial bias to challenge their sentences-- is not about letting anyone out of jail or even stopping the death penalty. It is simply making sure the punishment for a capital crime is set against the particulars of the crime, not the person, be he or she the victim or the assailant.

Pro-life is a concept worthy of its name only when it is applied with equal vigor at the end of life as it is at the beginning.

Charles Malone

As long as we try to make up in anger what we lack in reason, we will have a political journey as self-defeating as the sailor who puts to sea in a storm.

Let's pray that the Tucson violence will help us all to "find the better angels of our nature" as we exercise our rights as free citizens of this great country.

Charles Malone
Raleigh

It is a hard reality when you seek to win a hard fought campaign, such as my attempt to win a NC Senate seat this week against the incumbent Republican, and it ends with a loss.

I have labored every single day at early voting sites in the NC Senate 15 area in Raleigh and Wake County, and after a week of pretty even shows for Republicans, or worse, and Democrats, today was loaded with Democrats and Independents. The lines were the longest ever, with waits to vote over 30 minutes, and I got very positive reactions today. Many folks had the straight Democratic vote slate or the NCAE card. It ain't over, yet, folks. Vote and let the progressive voice in politics be heard. The people deserve no less.

Charles Malone
www.charlesmalonencsenate.com

Candidate Charles Malone is trying to upseat Republican incumbent Neal Hunt for the NC Senate seat that represents North Raleigh, upper Wake County and most of the Town of Wake Forest. The race is competitive!

What a difference it will make if Malone is in and Hunt is out. Just compare where they stand on the following past votes in the NC General Assembly (2009-10).

1. Health Youth Act to allow sex education choice for parents--either abstinence or comprehensive. (Hunt, no; Malone, yes)
2. School Violence Prevention Act "anti-bullying bill" that includes protection for gay students. (Hunt, no: Malone, yes)
3. Allowing tenants to have 30 days to leave property and 10 days to get out of lease when landlord is foreclosed upon. (Hunt, no; Malone, yes).
4. Extending NC Climate Change Commission. (Hunt, no; Malone, yes).

Today's demonstration by the right wingers at the Lincoln Memorial will never diminish the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a beautiful speech that laid out a vision of an America as a beckoning light for children of all races. King's vision should be our vision; his dream, our dream; his work, our work; until what he stood for, and what we stand for today, is a continued creed, undisturbed by the passage of time.

Charles Malone

www.charlesmalonencsenate.com

The NC General Assembly was right this year to ban smoking in public places, including restaurants. I would have supported that bill in the interests of public health, while my opponent,incumbent Sen. Neal Hunt, voted against the ban in the interests of private property.

Yet, the powers that be were able to exempt country clubs and cigar bars from that ban, while shutting down the poor old hookah lounges. That is not fair.

Charles Malone

www.charlesmalonencsenate.com

N&O Columist Rick Martinez is off base when he says "All veterans are not equal." That's like saying all human beings are not equal in the eyes of the law because some are richer,or smarter, or taller than other human beings.

As a Vietnam veteran I served mostly in rear guard areas as an MP, and would not dare match my experience with soldiers in the jungles. Yet, I saw war, too, and the common denominator for relief now is not the war experiences per se, but the soldiers varying abilities to tolerate whatever they went through. Be they cooks, MPs, grunts or officers, they were in a war zone on behalf of our country, and, in any of those roles, they may have been exposed to a trama that stressed them beyond their abilities to cope. Thus, any evaluation has to be on a case-by-case basis.

It is amazing to me that the Democrats, fearing a GOP fillibuster, are dropping the carbon cap part of the Climate and Energy bill set for a vote soon. This move takes the teeth out of the bill in terms of giving a price to carbon divestiture by companies that would invest with some financial assuredness on clean energy options.

Locally Republicans are likewise keeping their heads in the sand. My opponent for the NC Senate District 15, Sen. Neal Hunt, Republican incumbent, recently voted against the extension of the NC Climate Change Commission (SB 835), an important body needed to keep tabs on this critical aspect of our environment.

I don't know who's going to win these battles this year, but we all will have grandchildren to answer to about what goes today, and if we were looking out for them, or for ourselves.

Charles Malone
www.charlesmalonencsenate.com

It has been my experience after following politics in N.C. since the 1960s that the state Democratic Party has a strong tradition of its primary opponents coming together for the general election. This year is no exception.

Today, at the Goodwin House, I watched the US Senate nominee Elaine Marshall clearly enjoying the company of Cal Cunningham and Ken Lewis. They were genuinely at ease with the situation, as well. I saw their staffers hanging out and talking, often at length, about the state of things. The crowd was festive and followers of the former rivials for the Democratic nomination were mixing it up with enthusiasm.

In short, Democrats are much more united in their desire to defeat Republicans than they are divided by their inter-party differences.

This fall will be a humdinger, and that includes my race for the NC Senate District 15 against Republican Neal Hunt.

Charles Malone

www.charlesmalonencsenate.com