video

There are a lot of issues facing our nation right now, but none are more important than creating jobs and reenergizing our economy. No one knows that better than me. I’ve seen this recession first hand as Mayor of Asheville and I know the toll it’s taken on thousands of middle-class families right here in Western North Carolina.

But I know that we can overcome anything as a nation if we work together – and while Washington may have forgotten that, we never will. That’s why I’m excited to announce a brand-new project as part of our campaign that will help us come together as a local community to create good jobs.

Today, we’ve launched helpuscreatejobs.com – a new website where community leaders, small-business owners, and middle-class families can share ideas to create jobs. Submit your idea here!

In case you haven’t heard yet: I’m in. I’m officially running for United States Congress!

I decided to run because I believe now is the time for bold new leaders to take over and clean up the mess in Washington. The philosophy that I’ve governed with as Mayor of Asheville is the same I will take with me to Congress: grow, when it’s time to grow; cut, when it’s time cut; and lead when it’s time to lead.

North Carolina is ready to see change in Washington, but we won’t be able to do that if we keep sending Republicans like Patrick McHenry back to Congress. If we don’t act, we’ll never see different results.

Take a moment to watch our introduction video and learn more about our campaign for Congress!

What with nuclear disarmament, a Supreme Court nomination, and the looming possibility that I may actually have to shovel my driveway all falling upon our heads at once, we are not going to have a lot of free time over the next few days--so we better have some fun while we can.

To get it going, I have a couple of videos for your dining and dancing pleasure...videos that are each, in their own way, so crazy that you will be talking about them, from now until the time we get around to some of that more serious stuff--and possibly for quite a while after that.

Let's start with the funny.

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great week. I wanted to drop by real quick and pass on the third part of our campaign's "Meet Elaine!" series. It's entitled "Making a Difference" and it's Elaine straight to camera talking about her experience and why she continues to fight for the people of North Carolina. Here is the video:

The North Carolina Democratic Party is taking Senator Richard Burr to task on his right-wing, anti-jobs agenda in a new video released this morning. The video challenges Burr for skipping a crucial vote on the jobs bill to attend a campaign fundraising, siding with Jim Bunning while voting against unemployment benefits, and promising voters that...

Cross posted at Daily Kos:

It was eleven o’clock just yesterday morning in the board room of the North Carolina Association of Educators’ offices in Raleigh. Twenty or so community leaders were gathered for a press conference calling for meaningful healthcare reform on a day that would include a vigil by supporters outside of NC Senator Kay Hagan’s office.

Just as the press conference was about to begin, Rhonda’s right hand began to shake.

“I’m going to have a seizure. Call 911.”

This can’t be happening. Not here. Not now.

Seeing that my chair had wheels, I helped Rhonda onto it and pushed it past the twenty or so community leaders gathered to promote meaningful healthcare reform and past the media representatives with their cameras and notepads out of the NCAE Boardroom and into the lobby.

“Call 911!”

Whether you are deliriously happy, incredibly sad, or still uncertain about how you feel about what has emerged from the House this weekend, it’s probably safe to say that one thing everyone is...is sick of the whole thing.

Of course, we’re far from done—but just to give us all a break, I’m going to abruptly change the subject.

I have a Flip Video camera—which I am still getting used to—and last night we ran up the hill to Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, ostensibly to test the camera’s low-light capabilities...but really so we could drive around in all the fresh new snow.

There’s plenty of time to get back to the political wars in a bit; but for right now let’s head up the mountain, see some cool stuff, talk about what the camera can—and can’t—do, and, just for fun, we’ll answer the age-old Seattle question: “how long does it take to find three places that sell espresso at the top of a mountain pass in the middle of nowhere?”

Click on the "You Tube" logo to view this 7+ minute video on a larger screen.

Amidst the rancor and the tumult and the seemingly endless (and mindless) riveting punditry presented by mainstream media, somehow the narrative of meaningful healthcare reform in America has been reduced to covering tracking polls and the latest whopper or outrageous behavior of nutjobs living in their “miniverse.”

In the meantime, a neighbor just found out that not only will her insurance company not cover a biopsy for the lump in her breast, the hospital is requiring payment - up front and in cash. Cash that she does not have.

And Rhonda pays more for medication than she does for rent. She can’t get health insurance because of her pre-existing condition and struggles just to get by having to ration her life saving medication in order to make ends meet.

It’s time to put “faces and voices” back into the healthcare debate. And that’s what we are doing in North Carolina.

Hello?

Growth & Justice, a progressive think tank in Minnesota, just gave Vernon Robinson the "Willie" award for WORST Political Advertisement. The award is "named for the infamous fearmongering Willie Horton ad that led to George Bush defeating Michael Dukakis." See a small clip of U.S. Senate candidates Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer announce the award here.