An open letter to Larry Kissell

Larry Kissell has never taken a phone call from me. All he's done is take my checks and my hospitality - and take the people of North Carolina for granted.

If you will, please contact him one more time.

(202) 225-3715

https://forms.house.gov/kissell/contact-form.shtml

Well put.

Kissell has been a real disappointment. But he still has one chance to redeem himself in my eyes.

I was a sponsor for one of his early fundraisers here in Charlotte and have been very disappointed in his performance in DC. Plus he still owes the Meck Dem Party $900 for using our headquarters during the '08 election.

I'm disappointed too. I contributed to Kissell in 2006 AND in 2008. I encouraged friends to donate too, and to go down and work in the 8th Congressional District.

Larry:
You can't control whether you get more than one term in office. But you CAN determine your legacy as a Congressperson. There is no more important vote than this one. Do the right thing, Larry.

I spent a lot of time in 2006 and 2008 volunteering for you. I dropped everything on election day 2006 and spent the whole day making calls for you and organizing other students to do the same. I also contributed to your campaign despite not having much money to give. I, and others like me, hoped you would use your position to fight for the little guy, not screw them over like your predecessor did.

I've held out hope through now despite your record of conservative votes because plausibly, you could have known that your vote wasn't needed to pass the bills. It's needed now, and we need this bill. Please vote for it.

I called this morning, and the intern who answered my call gave the "Medicare cut" excuse. I asked how he could justify that when there are people like John Conyers in Congress now who have been sticking up for Medicare since Larry was a kid, and they (and basically everyone else) see nothing wrong with it. She said that the aide who was able to respond to that was out of the office; I intend to call back later.

Either way! It is hard to fiqure out what Larry is doing? If Larry was really smart! All he can say or do is that he is for a Public Option, thus stopping his base of Progressives from not supporting him and busting their butts for him. With no base, he is toast no matter what Poll or what those stupid DC Democrat congressional establishment type consultants are telling him or promising......

Reminds me of BJ Lawson and the Ron Paul tea baggers, They claim to have national or a local Poll showing them sweeping to victory in November in the most heavy control democrat district in the state.....It's not going to happen period!

that hasn't already been said. But I will try.

I generally tend to work/give in my district in Congressional races. But the excitement generated here at BlueNC pushed me to donate money to Larry and get other people to donate money.

Did I max out like James? No. But I gave. In both cycles. I convinced a person that had actually worked for Larry's opponent to donate and vote for Larry in the last cycle.

But this is it for me. If health insurance reform does not pass, all Democrats lose. When the DSCC and the DCCC and the DNC send me letters, they go in the trash. When I hear the name Larry Kissell I say vote against him.

Some here may call me cynical or worse, but I will do my part destroy the Democratic village in order to save it. If we cannot get this very centrist bill through with our majority, then what good are we anyway.

So, Mr. Kissell, you can be the guy that inspires people like me for the party or the guy that inspires people like me to say, to quote Eric Cartman, "screw you guys, I'm going home."

You need to stand with the President and vote for the health care bill.

I attended a fundraiser at James' house for you.
I attended one at Eugene Brown's house in Durham for you.
I dragged my whole family to your BBQ fundraiser at the State Fairgrounds.
I sent contributions in the mail and blogged for you all over the internets.
I contributed more money to your campaign than to any other candidate, ever.

You need to stand up, be a proud Democrat, and vote for this bill.
Otherwise, you might as well be John Edwards - nothing but a huge disappointment.

who are more likely to die if health care reform does not pass now.

I have a good friend with a form of leukemia that has recently gone into remission thanks to very expensive medication which she and her husband were able to pay for in large part through help from their health insurance. Now he's been laid off, and their COBRA coverage is ticking down. With a "pre-existing condition" like hers, no private insurer under current rules will cover her, and they are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Coverage under the existing NC high-risk program will only bankrupt them somewhat more slowly.

Rep. Kissell, would you like to explain to them why you're going to leave them out in the cold, over political cold feet? I can arrange a meeting.

consider your actions and vote FOR health care reform. I sent you contributions, I wrote about you....you were different then. You were very vocal, you said all the right things, people believed in you, please be THAT Larry again.

Have you been able to speak with him lately?

Who can we trust if we can't trust you? You are one of us. Democrats who would put our own political careers second to this historic moment. Stand tall and have courage.

Larry,

Do the right thing and vote YES! for the Health Care bill.

this morning....

Some folks are having a fundraising reception for me on March 27th from 2-4p.m. in Charlotte and I wanted to personally invite you and your family to attend.

Please email info@larrykissell.com for more information or to RSVP. Also, feel free to forward this email to any friends and family you have in the Charlotte area.

Best,

Larry

P.S. Scott, my fundraiser, made me put this link in here since it's almost the end of the quarter. As always, I would truly appreciate any contribution you can make towards our campaign by clicking here. https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/kissell

I wonder who the "some folks" are....

Larry, you either don't understand or you don't care. You snowed me like a teenager at a Beatles concert (I'm old). I gave to your campaign. Not a lot, but a lot for me since I have to give to others too. I went to three fundraisers for you...two of them in Raleigh and I live in Fayetteville. We had a fundraiser for another candidate at my family home and you showed up. You collected money there too. I didn't resent it..I was happy for you. I resent it now.

I know three congressmen who stuck their necks out for you. They went to fundraisers for you and pleaded with the DCCC to help you. Most of us on BlueNC know who they are.
Imagine how stunned and disappointed they are. BTW, they have given up on you. You are dead to them. I have called your office and sent you e-mails about bills in the last year and I usually hear from you a week after your vote. You really don't care what I think.

Last month the Cumberland County Dems had a caucus to replace Margaret Dickson and Breeden Blackwell. The room was full. If you could have heard the conversations about you, you would have been shocked. Not one person in that room said they would vote for you again or give you money. Are you listening??? I hope you don't need Cumberland County. Do you really think that Republicans will vote for you because you are voting with the Republicans? Think again.

he would answer letters, emails and phone calls. He stood up for "We the People" and told us he would support us all. I don't understand what happened to him, and would love to hear from him....

Like others here I gave more than once help Larry run, to cover his debts, and then to run again. I used my precinct email list to encourage others to do the same.

If Mr. Kissell votes against HCR, he's going to have a very lonely campaign this year.

Lack of health care or access to adequate health care killed 2,266 veterans in 2008. That's higher than the death toll in Afghanistan that year. The uninsured have a 40% higher risk of dying each year than insured individuals. Everyone who serves is not eligible for VA care. According to census data that's about 1.5 million people. That someone who is willing to risk their life for the rest of us should suffer for one day without access to adequate health care should be a great source of shame for this country. A shame that is shared by Mr. Kissell.

That's Rep. Kissell's Washington office number. If you haven't called yet this week, please do.

The explanatory response which his staff has been instructed to provide makes no rational sense. It's political cover. So, if political arguments are prevailing in that office, then it's incumbent upon us to be sure that they are aware of the adverse consequences of maintaining that decision.

Help let Rep. Kissell know that his former support base in North Carolina is outraged over this matter. The consequences of a deflated Democratic base in the 8th district could be severe in this contest and other races in the same geographic territory this fall.

Fortunately, Rep. Kissell can still pull that plane out of its nosedive: Vote for the health care reform bill this time.

202-225-3715.

If there is someone posting here on BlueNC that is in the 8th District, maybe it would do some good for that person to go to Kissell's Contact Site and put in the URL for BlueNC for him to access so he can see what his dedicated democrats are saying here. You would think he or one of his staff members would be peeping in on us here, but maybe not.

He is losing a lot of people that have been and still want to be supporters of his. This is not just an issue where he can stick his head in the sand. You know it isn't just the few people posting here that are upset with his supposed stance on HCR.

I suggest someone from the 8th because of the way the "contact form" is made up. A lot of times, they do not even bother with what people say if they are not in their district, believe it or not.

My husband, Dan Besse, is at the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C. Based on what he's seeing there, if you live anywhere in Kissell's district, it's worth your time and effort to call Kissell and register your continued concern that he vote to pass the health care bill.

I know that the current popular wisdom is that he is unshakably against it, but it doesn't look like that from DC. Dan is up there and the "feel" seems to be that it's worth putting on the pressure.

Contributing to that, the President of the Service Employees International (SCI) Union, was interviewed on MSNBC this afternoon. I'm no longer the political junkie I used to be, so I had to ask. Dan explained: SCI is one of the biggest, fastest growing and most politically agressive unions in the country.

When asked about another member of congress, the SCI President injected Kissell's name SPONTANEOUSLY as a targeted House Democrat to switch his vote to yes on health care.

SCI wouldn't be putting their effort into Kissell at this late date if they didn't think that the furor was having an effect on his vote. We KNOW it has had an effect on his behavior. He wasn't at the state convention and I'll bet many of you can name other places he'd usually have been and wasn't.

Maybe he just doesn't want to hear about it, but maybe he's realizing that he doesn't want to come home and tell his district that he voted against it.

Keep those calls going in. Don't forget that snail mail letters take to long to be screened. Much better to waste a call than to have failed to make the call that would have turned him around, even if only by altering percentages to an unacceptably high level. Call 202-225-3715 or use that button up in the right corner marked "Tell Kissell to keep his word" and, er um, well tell Kissell.

(Good job NC Blue.)

Get on board Larry, last call!

I have tried all morning to call Larry's office, but the line is busy. I swore I wasn't going to call him, because I have tried to sway him before and he has never done a thing I asked. He didn't mind calling me a few months ago to ask if I was going to support him in this election. Actually, it was a message on my voice mail that asked me to call back to let him know. I have responded to him the same way he responded to me. I'll bet he will never again show up at a fundraiser that I am having for someone else.

A friend and I just kept hitting the redial button until we got through.

They didn't ask who I was...just where I lived.

Call. It might not help, but it certainly won't hurt.

Did you mean except w/r/t his oath of office?

There are a few things you should know about the "reconciliation" and Slaughter "deem it passed" processes that the Democrats are planning to use, to get around the fact that they don't have the votes to pass a healthcare bill the normal way.

First, the Slaughter "deem it passed" procedure would be the first time in American history in which a bill was deemed to be enacted without being passed in identical form by both the House and Senate.

It is blatantly extralegal and plainly unconstitutional, being contrary to Article 1, Sec. 7 of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that "every bill" which becomes law "shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate" before it goes to the President to be signed or vetoed.

Second, "reconciliation" isn't what you probably think it is.

You might be a bit perplexed by all this "reconciliation" talk. Maybe you thought you were pretty well informed about the federal lawmaking process, but now you've been hearing that reconciled health bills can't be filibustered, which surprises you. In fact, you might even recall some examples where House and Senate versions of a bill were reconciled in conference committee, but the compromise bills were then filibustered in the Senate.

So, what's going on?

A scam, that's what. The "reconciliation" they're talking about is not reconciling two versions of the bill. Rather, it is actually budget reconciliation, which is something entirely different.

The reason they say "reconciliation" rather than "budget reconciliation" is to obfuscate what they are doing, and how dishonest it is.

Budget reconciliation is a process for passing a new law (called a budget reconciliation bill) which amends an already-passed-and-signed-into-law budget law, to bring it into conformance with a previously-passed budget resolution.

Budget reconciliation is used to reduce budget deficits. Budget Reconciliation is designed to give some baby teeth to budget resolutions, when subsequently-passed budget bills contains a higher spending than the budget resolution called for.

They're not reconciling HR 3200 with HR 3590. Rather, they are discarding HR 3200 entirely, pretending ("deeming") that HR 3590 passed, and then amending HR 3590 through the Budget Reconciliation process.

However:
1) It's not a budget bill!
2) The bill being amended hasn't passed, and isn't law!
3) Enacting the reconciliation bill won't bring anything into conformance with a budget resolution!
4) It won't reduce the deficit, it will increase it!

The Democrats' spin is that Republicans have used this process in the past, so they have no right to complain when Democrats use it. The truth is that both Republicans and Democrats have used Budget Reconciliation to bring already passed budgets into conformance with previously passed budget resolutions, only. Nobody has ever suggested using it to enact massive new government programs, until now.

Congress now has two healthcare bills:

* HR 3200 (which does not fund abortions) was passed by the House.

* HR 3590 (which does fund abortions) was passed by the Senate. It was done as a Senate amendment which entirely replaced the text of an unrelated minor House bill, which is how the Senate bill got an "HR" bill number. They had to do it this way to skirt the Constitution, because the bill raises taxes, and Article 1, Sec. 7 says, "All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives."

Legally, there are three things they can do to get a bill passed:

1. The Senate can simply pass HR 3200, unaltered. (But they don't have the votes.)

2. The House can pass HR 3590, unaltered. (But they don't have the votes.)

3. The two bills (HR3200 & HR3590) could be reconciled in a conference committee, which tries to pick and choose between the provisions of the two bills, and produce a compromise which will be acceptable to both houses. Then the compromise bill should be sent to both houses for debate and votes -- and in the Senate, a possible filibuster.

That's how the legislative process works -- or how it always has, until now.

But the Democrats don't think they can actually come up with a compromise bill that will pass in both the House and Senate. So they're not even trying. In fact, they didn't even appoint a conference committee.

Instead, they plan to discard HR 3200, and "deem" HR 3590 to have passed the House, without the House members actually voting on it.

I'm not kidding.

The "deeming" will be a line in the budget reconciliation bill (which isn't actually a budget reconciliation bill at all). Obama will sign HR 3590 into law as soon as the House passes the reconciliation bill with the "deeming" line in it, pretending that the House's passing of the reconciliation bill with the deeming line is equivalent to them passing the original HR 3590 (which it obviously isn't). Then the reconciliation bill goes to the Senate, for debate and amendment and possible defeat. When the Senate parliamentarian rules that what the Democrats are trying to do out of order, they promise to bring in Biden (as President of the Senate) to lie & overrule the parliamentarian.

When the dust settles, they will have HR 3590 (the version that funds abortions) signed into law (regardless of whether the reconciliation bill ever passes), and yet the House will never have actually voted for it!

This is absolutely unprecedented, and the most blatantly crooked spectacle that I've ever seen in Congress.

Digression: The Democrats lack the 60 votes to pass it in the Senate because the newest Senator, Scott Brown, R-MA, is pledged to vote "no." [That pledge was a cornerstone of his improbable campaign to win the safest of safe Democratic seats.] If the Democrats had started with only 59 seats, they could have persuaded any of several liberal Republicans to join them. But since they didn't think they needed any Republican votes, they didn't bother with bipartisanship, or even basic courtesy. Now, thanks to the Massachusetts voters, they suddenly need one Republican vote, but it's too late: their bare-knuckles partisanship [and the voters' wrath] has burned that bridge: not even Olympia Snow will join them, now.

If the the Obama/Pelosi/Reed cabal actually succeed in this scheme, the lawsuits will immediately start, along with open revolt by some of the States, 37 of which are currently considering defiant State laws designed to thwart the federal takeover of healthcare, and one of which has already passed such a law.

James, if you really want Larry to never lie, you need to tell him to vote "NO" on this outrageous and unconstitutional power grab by the Democratic leadership.

Dave

That was one long diatribe, my man. Of course, you have to know that all of those points you made have been looked at and researched with legal scholars and legislative experts by the democratic leadership. I just believe that there is absolutely no way they are going (or are even considering) use the reconcilliation process if it is not constitutional in this instance. And, if it does come down to some kind of initiative that gets the bill done through some other means, there is no way they are just doing it with a half-ass effort without thoroughly researching any possible repercussions or constitutionality challenge in the courts.

Reading what you have written (and well written, I must say), it comes down to your opinion on the matter in a lot of ways.

Look, I am trying hard here to give you some credit for making good posts and for articulating your position well. But, you have just taken a step over the line with me with this:

tired old "if you don't believe in abortion then don't have one" argument.)

There is absolutely NOTHING "tired" about people believing that the issue is not about being "pro-abortion" or "anti-abortion". It is about "pro-CHOICE" and "anti-CHOICE".

How many times do people have to make that point to you and just why is it that you do not acknowledge that it is a legitimate point when discussing this very divisive issue?

The PERFECT statement by pro-CHOICE people is "if you don't believe in abortion, then don't have one". The procedure is L E G A L. What part of that do you just NOT grasp? What part of the statements people make about not wanting someone's religious beliefs being imposed on Americans do you not understand?

You are now sounding out to us religious right talking points and rhetoric on the matter and, guess what....it is just that: "religious right talking points and rhetoric"...nothing more.

Give it a rest already.

All this Dave-bashing & Christian-bashing has caused so much indentation that the line lengths are down to just a couple of words. So, in the interest of readability, I'm out-denting this. (Is that a word, Foxtrot?)

 

BasqueBob asked, "If Canadians provide much worst health care than we do, why do they rank 14 on life expectancy and we rank 37th?"

Actually, you're confusing lifespan with UN ranking of healthcare quality. But, either way, you're wrong.

As Will Rogers said, "It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you know that isn't so." You know a lot of things that aren't so.

For instance, you "know" that infant mortality rates in the USA are higher than elsewhere, and lifespans are lower. But you're wrong.

Two main things drag down American life expectancy:
#1 is infant mortality statistics, which are skewed by differences in how stillborn & newborn deaths are counted.
#2 is deaths among young people, which usually are unrelated to health care.

W/r/t #1, the reason that infant mortality rates appear lower in other countries is that they don't count some of their dead newborns.

In the USA, any baby who draws a breath is given world-class medical care, and if he dies his death is counted as infant morality, no matter how tiny or premature he was. But in most countries with socialized medicine, if a baby is born sufficiently premature, he is given no special care, and is counted as stillborn, and doesn't count toward the infant mortality rate, even if he lives for hours. The European health care systems save a lot of money that way, but they also break a lot of parents' hearts.

Ironically, the fact that American at-risk babies get better, more aggressive care than do European at-risk babies, and have a better chance of survival, is the basis for the liberals' claim that America has worse lifespans and infant mortality rates.

This statistical slight-of-hand also serves to artificially inflate foreign average lifespans, making it appear as though they live longer than Americans, which is also untrue. This false claim, in turn, is often cited by liberal supporters of government-controlled heath care as proof that socialized health care is better than American health care, when, actually, the opposite is true.

W/r/t #2, when teens and young adults die in the United States, their health care is rarely to blame. They tend to die from automobile accidents, homicides, etc.

If you compare the life expectancies of the elderly -- the people whose lifespans are most dependent on quality of medical care -- the USA is best in the world.

Here's an article which touches on some of these issues.

 

GregFlynn wrote, "Dave... [has] been bumped from Wikipedia for his obsession with obfuscation."

Actually, I'm neither banned nor blocked on Wikipedia. I just got tired of having my work immediately reverted by the leftists who run that place and insist that anything with political or ideological overtones reflect the leftist party line, without regard to the truth, or even to Wikipedia's own rules.

I do somewhat obsess about the truth however, and obfuscation of the truth does, indeed, annoy me.

Dave

Even though the Healthcare Bill is popular among many North Carolinians, it doesn't belong at the federal level for a variety of reasons. First, and probably most important, is the fact that it is unlawful and contrary to the Constitution. Second, even if it were lawful, it is inefficient to have needless layers of bureaucracy especially considering the fact that this country is close to insolvency with our $100+ trillion debt counting unfunded mandates. When one's neighbors need help, do we call someone from Virginia or South Carolina to help them? Of course we don't. North Carolinians ought to take care of North Carolinians. Third, with all due respect to our representatives we send to Washington, we shouldn't allow them to make important personal decisions for us. They are no smarter, and much harder to communicate with than our local representatives in Raleigh. If we have a problem, Raleigh is a short drive, and our representatives are accessible. I would sleep much better at night knowing our representatives in Washington were doing nothing more than what We the People of North Carolina delegated to them to do. I'm not sure how Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre and the rest of our folks we sent to Washington voted on the Healthcare Bill, but I hope they voted "NO" on principle alone. Not because they are against healthcare, but because this is not an issue for the federal government. It is too important to the People of North Carolina to get this right. We must ensure we aren't wasting our hard earned money and that those within our State are getting the medical care they need without paying for back door deals and other lobbyist concerns that are very much a part of any government. Lobbyists are much easier to control at the local level. Since when have true liberals been so quick to give up our liberty to a small group of professional politicians located outside our own State? Since when have true liberals demanded that someone must buy something simply because a small group of professional politicians and lobbyists from outside our own State say so? We really ought to think about the impact of this major decision and whether or not North Carolina wants to be subservient to the federal government. There was a day, not long ago, when the federal government was supposed to serve North Carolina, not the other way around.

Look, Thinker, health care is a responsibility of BOTH the federal government AND the states. Argue this bill all you want with all the talking points from the conservative republicans.

And, that is all I have to say on that. Everything else has already been said time and time again.

It passed, it is not perfect and it will be worked on and tweaked and improved as we go along just like Medicare. Get over it.

Foxtrot, with all due respect, if liberty is nothing more than a Republican talking point, then we've all lost and debate is futile. First of all, I don't recall the Republicans saying they refused to deal with healthcare because it wasn't a federal issue. If I recall, they simply had a different plan. I have no use for the federalists regardless of party since both parties in Washington seem to be in bed with one another in their never ending attempts at stripping our liberty at the point of a bayonet. I'm simply a citizen of North Carolina and a registered Democrat that cares about my fellow North Carolinians. There isn't anything for me to "get over" since I'm not, personally, having difficulty with any of it, other than contemplating how this will affect my children and fellow North Carolinians in the aggregate. I've long gotten used to the fact that today's landscape is basically two political parties fighting over who gets to coerce who. Regardless of outcome, it seems half of the People are going to get hurt. There was a day when our party, the Democrats, looked out for the least among us and ensured that the special interests in Washington were held at bay. It appears that instead of learning from the mistakes of the Republicans, we have decided to join the party of Lincoln in the game of competing over who can be more despotic. What is currently going on in Washington isn't liberalism, and is contrary to taking care of our fellow citizens. The only "tweaking" that will occur is when the other side takes power and then it is our turn to bow to our new federalist masters in Washington. Personally, I'd prefer to be left alone in order to pursue my own happiness free of tyranny from either Republican or these so-called "new" Democrats. I'm actually very proud that many of our Southern Democrats stood firm and didn't fall for this nonsense and voted "no" to this additional power grab by a few in a far off land. I don't now, nor ever will, need a Republican or Democrat dictating to me how best to take care of my neighbors. I will continue to do so, as other true liberals throughout the land will, regardless of what any federal agent armed with bayonet says. I will continue to teach my children right from wrong and instruct them to always stand up and don't be afraid to do what is right regardless of what the federal government dictates. I will never waiver in teaching them the values of loving their neighbor and fighting for the least able and capable among us, while others continue to build and propagate the glories of a strong centralized all powerful benevolent plantation. I fear this power will one day be adopted by those in Washington that do not share our ideas of freedom and liberty. And by the way, Medicare and Social Security are complete disasters and have yet to be fixed. This nation is nearly insolvent with our $100+ trillion dollar debt of unfunded mandates. Unfortunately, for both Republican and Democrat, we have squandered our children's inheritance. God save America and our youth!

You sure did take a whole lot from what I posted. I didn't say anything about liberty being an issue for just one party nor did I say republicans don't think health care is an important issue or refused to deal with it because it wasn't a federal issue..going to a couple of your remarks.

Medicare and Social Security are NOT "complete disasters", as you say. They do have funding problems because of shinnanigans from both parties taking from social security in large part and because of the immense number of people living far longer than expected with regard to Medicare..in part. Nope, neither are perfect and that is why we have a government..to hopefully get them right and back into the black.

Please do not put words in my mouth when I post. Deal with what I say and not what you think is behind what I'm saying. Thanks.

It is a shame that some immediately get defensive if one utters the word "god". Perhaps it is because the word brings to mind thoughts of a Catholic nun racking one's knuckles with a ruler. Just because one may or may not believe in a power higher than man, should not elicit excitement or discredit a point of view. The post doesn't concern man-made religion nor should the premise of the post simply be dismissed due to a simple one syllable word. As a liberal, I believe each and every individual should be free to chose whether or not they believe and then determine for themselves what that faith entails free from insult by others. I respect both those that believe in a higher power and those that believe intelligence terminates at the level of the human brain. To each his or her own. If I've read too much into Foxtrot's post, then I'll be the first to apologize for misrepresenting his position. Perhaps Foxtrot and I simply disagree with regards to where sovereignty resides and what We the People have delegated to others. I believe that liberty is purely a personal issue as long as one's actions do not affect other's liberty. I reject slavery, indentured servitude, or any other flavor or source of bondage. I do not have an affinity for slavery at all and prefer to live my life without permission from others. If one choses to be homosexual or do drugs, so be it. Individuals ought to be free to engage in whatever activity they so chose, if they are truly free. I think the only purpose of government is to secure my liberty, not dictate or define it. I disagree that We the People need the federal government to take care of North Carolinians, or tell us what and how to take care of our neighbors. I read once that North Carolina had the highest per capita of advanced degrees in the entire Union. I believe Washington DC has the highest per capita of lawyers in the Union. I think I'd much rather engage in healthy debate and determine what is best for North Carolina with fellow Tar Heels rather than far off in a locale full of strange lawyers. No disrespect towards lawyers, but I prefer to have meaningful discussions with my neighbors involving resolution of problems without a bunch of lawyers in the room. As far as Medicare and Social Security are concerned, if they "have funding problems" then they don't work, and are not only "complete disasters" but are most likely being managed contrary to the law as applied towards any pension plan or financial account. None of us could operate the finances of our own households or businesses the way the federal government does, or we would quickly find ourselves sharing cell space with Bernie Madoff. A ponzie scheme is a ponzie scheme regardless of where it originates. Ponzie schemes do not magically become "good" simply because they are sanctioned by the federal government. Is the federal government above the law? Should not one Law apply to all? Do the citizens of North Carolina have the same health benefits of those that purportedly represent us in Washington? Again, this doesn't seem to replicate anything I've ever read concerning liberty or liberalism. The South has a long and deep tradition of looking out for the interests of the individual and defending the inalienable Rights of man. I'd hate to see our Democratic Party throw away inalienable Rights for watered down government granted privileges given and taken away at the whim of a few.

James, I'll do my best to answer your questions. For the record, I certainly do not consider myself an expert in what is, and is not, Constitutional. But with that said, I also don't believe that 9 people dressed in long black robes have been given some sort of magical powers either. I believe the whole point of the Constitution is that it is for each and every sovereign individual to consider and engage in healthy debate to ensure that liberty for all is guaranteed. I don't believe in kings. I don't believe that individuals are nothing more than subjects of the federal government. I don't believe the intent of the Constitution ever was, or is now, meant to oppress the liberty of individual Americans. I believe what I have read and studied; that each and every individual is sovereign and that the State represents our collective interest. I believe that the citizens of each and every State can choose to do what they will with their own liberty. If the sovereign individuals from a particular State determine to tax themselves, so be it. If the individuals of a particular State determine to legalize abortion, so be it. If the individuals of a particular State determine to recognize and sanction homosexual marriage, so be it. I believe the individuals of any particular State are free to determine their own destiny free from interference from the federal government. I also believe that the Constitution concurs and even established this very system as I've attempted to describe to the best of my meager ability. I do mean by a "few" those that we send to the federal government to do only those things delegated to them in Art 1 Sec 8 of the contract we all agreed to and only change by the amendment process. Personally, I prefer people that disagree with me because I prefer freedom and the free flow exchange of differing opinions. I find those that agree with me boring and subsequently would do nothing more than perpetuate my own ignorance. How are we to grow in understanding and intellect if we do nothing but sit around campfires with our ideological clones singing Khum By Yah? I'm a little baffled by your closing comment, and perhaps I simply misunderstood it. If so I apologize in advance, but are you suggesting that I would prefer only those "people I agree with"? If so, you clearly do not know me. My personal beliefs are mine and have nothing to do with what I think is important; namely that everyone has a Right to their individual liberty and own set of beliefs.

I was asking about municipal vs. state. North Carolina's constitution grants virtually all important powers to the state government, effectively neutering local governments in their actions. There is no disagreement about that interpretation.

I'm asking whether you believe that's fair and aligned with your views of liberty.

Our Constitution is for the sovereign Citizens of North Carolina, and therefore can and should be amended as necessary to secure our rights. If we feel that our State Constitution does not allow our counties and local municipalities the ability to care for our needs, to include the education of our children, then the People of North Carolina ought do whatever is necessary in order to best achieve those objectives. The objective, of course, is that all issues, are always best resolved at the local level, if possible. Counties and local municipalities that are allowed freedom to compete for excellence always do better than larger institutions that have their hands tied by distant bureaucrats. I hope this answers your question.

I have received three emails from fellow e-friends about the passage of the HCR bill and let me tell you, they are not good emails. One actually sounded like it threatened me personally for putting out a mass-email to all my e-friends supporting it.

This is not going to be just another bill that some people do not like and eventually just go on to the next subject, I think. I can see some deep feelings in some people that really do not normally get involved in politics and so forth. This scares me, to be honest. I wonder where the opponents will be headed now that this has passed.

I worry for our country, folks. I see this issue as far more divisive than abortion or any other issue I have seen in my __ years. This is going to get ugly, me thinks.

it was predicted a long time ago that we would only be destroyed from "within". But like everyone else, we are ready.

Could someone please explain to me the need to have US forces deployed in over 150 different countries on any given day spread throughout the world? What is this insatiable appetite we have for imperialism? Besides, isn't maintaining an empire rather expensive? Perhaps it is time to reconsider George Washington's 2nd Inaugural Address. One certainly can't say the man was a dove and didn't know first hand the cost of war. If anyone wasn't afraid to mix it up against the world's super power at the time, and against all odds, it was George Washington. Perhaps it's time to listen to some wisdom from the past.

Sorry folks; it's been a long week. George Washington's Farewell Address.
The 2nd is too short to address anything at all.
I need an adult beverage and a good meal.

"Looks like old GW had it right 240 years ago about the present idiots running the Federal and State governments into the ground on massive debt and with billion of laws that nobody has any idea what they are?"

Couldn't have summed it up any better. It always amazes me how timeless and relevant the writings of our Founding Fathers are, especially today.

You used SEIU funds to run your campaign, you promised a lot, and you let a whole lot of hard working americans down. We do not have the luxury of disposable income in our house. People trusted you. WE WILL NOT BE SILENT!!!!!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/18/AR201004... these people are really hard at work to oust him. please support his campaign whenever possible.