Betsy Muse's blog

Teacher and congressional candidate, Larry Kissell, has narrowed the money gap with Multi-millionaire congressman, Robin Hayes. The gap is still huge, but the great news is Larry Kissell is not only in a better position in the polls at this point this cycle, but he has five times the staff to run his ground game, three times the cash on hand and Robin Hayes has more than doubled his expenditures in order to........run about even with Larry.

I knew it was too good to be true. I knew that someone or some special interest group would try to prevent the General Assembly from protecting all children from being bullied. That group would be the N.C. Family Policy Council. Apparently, members of this group believe that it is just fine and dandy to bully certain children. If Billy is a little too effeminate or Cindy is a little too masculine, then the N.C. Family Policy Council appears to think it is Bobbie's duty to exercise God's will and just beat the crap out of them.

Joe Boylan is dealing with his demons. Good luck, Joe. Consider yourself included in my prayers.

Please join us tonight at 7:30 p.m. for a live-blog chat with Dr. Michael Munger, Libertarian candidate for governor. Dr. Munger has been fairly active at BlueNC and introduced himself here long before many Democrats found us. Whether you support his candidacy or not, tonight's chat provides us with a great opportunity to learn.

Please leave your questions for Dr. Munger on this thread.

While we ponder Barack Obama's puzzling vote on FISA, we can rest a bit easier knowing that at least one North Carolina Democrat is doing more than paying lip service to protecting the U.S. Constitution. Brad Miller not only voted against FISA, but he has quietly been working in Washington to make government agencies toe the line. That Republican rubber stamp congress did a lot of damage allowing these same agencies free reign without requiring any accountability.

Both Kay Hagan and Elizabeth Dole have released their numbers and Democratic challenger Kay Hagan is closing the fundraising gap with Elizabeth Dole. Hagan brought in $1.5 million to Dole's $1.69 million in a comparable period.

Dole has dramatically outspent Hagan gaining a few points in recent polls, but opening the door for Hagan to narrow the fundraising gap between the two. Dole spent $2.15 million in the past quarter to Hagan's $657,000.

The typical BlueNC post on corporate incentives is a rant against the practice of offering massive incentive packages to companies to stay in or locate in North Carolina - deals that ultimately won't impact employment figures or bring in tax revenues at a rate that makes sense. I think I've found an incentive package that makes sense and I've been working hard to find something wrong with it.

When you live in or around North Carolina's 8th Congressional District, you will sometimes hear that Robin Hayes is a nice guy. What you never hear is that Robin Hayes is a really bright guy. While it is difficult to single out the dumbest thing the man has ever said, we can narrow it down a bit and this week we celebrate the third anniversary of Robin Hayes' claim that Saddam Hussein and people like him were involved with the attack on America on September 11, 2001.

Saddam Hussein and people like him were very much involved in 9/11," Rep. Robin Hayes said.

Told no investigation had ever found evidence to link Saddam and 9/11, Hayes responded, "I'm sorry, but you must have looked in the wrong places."