The story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Back in the early 1990s, I worked on a hard-fought state legislative campaign. The primary was held in May and Democrats had multiple qualified and well-funded candidates running for an open seat. All of them ran strong efforts that were covered in the media and through paid communications. My candidate, George Shadburne, garnered 41% of the vote and won the primary outright.
Over the next six months, we mounted an aggressive campaign. In November, we came up short by about 100 votes, losing to the first Republican to win in that district in more than a century. George, of course, was very disappointed but Democrats across the country had lost that year so he licked his wounds and moved on.
A few months after the November general election, George and I were driving around the district, thanking people for support, and assessing his ability to run again in two years. We stopped at a country store to get gas. A group of four or five men were sitting around telling stories and solving the problems of the world.
George, who nobody recognized, asked them what they thought about the recent election, in particular the legislative races. A tall thin man in a flannel shirt and blue jeans piped up, and cockily announced, “Well, we elected that worthless George Shadburne and he went to Raleigh and didn’t do a damned thing, so we threw his ass out!”
George, of course, had never been to Raleigh and there was only six months between his primary and general election. That’s about the mentality of most voters. They don’t pay much attention to the details of politics or distinguish much between elections. They make choices and move on.
So as the legislature begins to discuss moving all of the primaries to March, instead of just the presidential, they should keep voters in mind. Six months is along time between a primary and a general. Voters will forget a lot.
Some states hold their primaries in September. As somebody who has worked on a bunch of those races, I can tell you, that’s not enough time. And primaries in the middle of the summer, like July or August, tend be low turnout affairs because people are too distracted with vacations and figuring out what to do with the kids. June or May seem to be the best options, giving candidates enough time to regroup and heal wounds.
For down ballot races, March is too far removed from November. The legislature should keep the local and state primaries in May.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Are you “norma” or “nona”? The world wonders.
National politics have no effect on North Carolina politics? Why do you think we threw Kay Hagan under the bus? Because she was one of the deciding votes for Obamacare.
OK, let’s get on track. Money talks, nobody walks. That’s been the sine qua non of state & federal American politics since the game began.
Could we be tasting sour grapes, as North Carolina has an all-Republican legislature for the first time since Reconstruction? Could we be upset because Thom Tillis dumped The Ole Hag? (Or, could you be Kay Hagan’s alter ego)?
Ah yes, the evil Duke Energy is polluting the streams, killing babies, and making a (God forbid)….A PROFIT!
Oh yes, Obama’s War On Coal, and his EPA’s ridiculous regulations DO affect the price of power here in North Carolina.
Obama’s EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, looks like she could chew the bark off a tree (if you know what I mean).
So, I’m very sorry I pissed in your cornflakes Norma (or Nona, whoever you are). And if you actually READ the topics, they really DO have something to do with national politics (as well as North Carolina ones).
And in case you haven’t noticed, I have avoided posting on local issues, which I know nothing about. But hell, the pills are working now, I like grits, and I’ve progressed from being a Neanderthal, and have been recently promoted to the Cro-Magnon species!
Since my “transformation”, I’m running into all kinds of folks (black, white & Hispanic) down here who agree with me!
Yeah…but you’re still a “damn yankee!!!!” 🙂 I’m just agreeing with you from another thread you said that in!!!! I hope you read that just as tongue in cheek and good natured as it’s meant to be. Unfortunately, the rest of this isn’t quite so upbeat. I’ll reserve the “bless your heart” to see what kind of response this elicits
I’m guessing you threw Kay under the bus because she’s a Democrat. Moderate though she may have been, she simply wasn’t a Republican and she wasn’t conservative enough to make the cover of the National Review on a regular basis. And the real tragedy is, you think you’ve gained something in Thom Tillis.
Familiar with the phrase, “you don’t get something for nothing.” Well fact is, you don’t. Sure Duke is turning a profit. At what price are they turning a profit and eventually, who is going to pay it? I’m sure that will be a ‘pass through’ cost that Duke will gladly hand their customers as a cost of doing business. Duke, several years ago forecast a 33% increase in power rates for the then upcoming decade. Now since no one can predict the future, they seem to be right on line to keep their prognostications on track. How is that? Wages are stagnant, but that hasn’t stopped prices from going up. It’s strange that companies would rather pay investors than the people that actually do the work. If the world were a fair place, the stockholders would be forking over the costs of generating profit for them when the damage bill arrives. So in that regard, it’s good to be the King…or The Duke.
And that’s the way the worm turns. When someone else gains, someone else looses. Of course, Republicans always think it should be them on top because “they’ve earned it.” Well, I know people that work just as hard, harder in many instances, that just barely make it. Too bad they can’t buy access to the politicians who can fix the rules in their favor.
Ok Norma: sit down and take a deep breath, because I’m going to agree with you, here. Unfortunately, the “rich & powerful” (on both sides) dictate the agendas. The answer is very simple: Money talks in American politics, and it always has.
Now Theodore, regarding your point #3, candidates (especially Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation) would have an issue with that point. As you may have been able to tell, I’m a little slow on the uptake. But, I’m also smart enough to get out of the rain.
So common sense tells me that the gazillions of dollars foreign governments “donated” to The Clinton Foundation, out of the goodness of their hearts, (and the millions paid to Hillary’s “alleged” husband Bill Clinton to make “speeches” in East Uzbekistan and Outer Mongolia) could be construed as “investments”. Ergo: If Hillary gets into the White House (which I don’t think will happen); these “foreign donors” will be at the White House door, asking “President Hillary” to pay “the Vig”.
Now, as to your points #11 and #12, Former Attorney General Eric Holder (at the direction of President Obama) has sued every state that has passed a Voter I.D. Law. I agree, voters should be able to prove that they are legal citizens, and are eligible to vote in their districts.
You may ask: What’s the problem with verifying that you are (indeed) a US citizen, and are actually eligible to vote in your district?”
Well, I guess you can do the math on that one.
If I lost you here, can you spell: “Bussed-in ACORN voters, illegal aliens at our voting booths, and Illegal Invaders flooding across our southern borders?”
Sure, in my Xenophobic and Nativist mind, I knew ya could!
I know you Faux News bubblites love to obsess over everything Hillary and Bill Clinton, President Obama, Eric Holder, etc., but what exactly do these particular people have to do with most of the topics discussed here, mainly about the politics here in North Carolina (hence the name of the website)?
Every post, always the same nonsensical babble about Hillary Clinton and President Obama. You want to talk money in politics? Then let’s talk about Pat McCrory and Duke Energy, Thom Tillis and Art Pope. Massive money, influence, North Carolina, and you’ll actually be on track for a change.
As the only remaining mainstream news outlet, Fox can be rather bland viewing for the hysterical crowd. And since their ratings tend to exceed the combined viewing totals of any three other outlets, one can understand the Progressive view that the masses don’t know what is in their best interests, and that their viewing preferences reflect that.
Pretty complete, and despite howls about “local” control (translate, money and influence), a standard process, time line, etc. for all voting is way over due. As for paying them, I had to chuckle. Makes the point very nicely, but I guess even with the mess we are in, I don’t want the paychecks to come directly from the Rich & Powerful, no matter what views they profess to support.
PLEASE EXCUSE THE USE OF CAPITALS BECAUSE I AM LEGALLY BLIND.
I BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE “RIGHT TO VOTE” OR WITH “ELECTIONS” IS THE RESPONSIBILITY AND DUTY OF THE ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE U. S. CONGRESS.
I BELIEVE THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE U. S. CONGRESS NEED TO STANDARDIZE EVERYTHING IN REGARDS TO GENERAL ELECTIONS, PRIMARY ELECTIONS, REQUIREMENTS TO REGISTER TO VOTE AND THE REQUIREMENTS TO ACTUALLY VOTE AS FOLLOWS:
[1.] SPECIFY THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF DONATIONS OF VALUE [CASH-PROPERTY-SERVICES-ANYTHING OF VALUE.] THAT CAN BE CONTRIBUTED TO A CANDIDATE.
[2.] SPECIFY THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF DONATION OF VALUE [CASH-PROPERTY-SERVICES-ANYTHING OF VALUE.] THAT CAN BE CONTRIBUTION TO A POLITICAL PARTY.
[3.] SPECIFY THAT TO MAKE A DONATION OR CONTRIBUTION [CASH-PROPERTY-SERVICES-ANYTHING OF VALUE.] TO A SPECIFIC CANDIDATE THE DONOR MUST BE ABLE AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE FOR SAID CANDIDATE.
[4.] SPECIFY THE DATES OF ALL PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTIONS. EXAMPLE; THE FIRST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER.
“The patterns are unmistakable. An MIT paper found that African Americans waited twice as long to vote as whites. Wait times of as long as six or seven hours have been reported in some minority precincts, especially in “swing” states like Ohio and Florida. Thirteen percent of African-American men have lost the right to vote due to felony convictions.”
[5.] SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF EARLY VOTING DAYS. REQUIRE THAT THEY INCLUDE SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS IN THE COUNT IF ONE CAN VOTE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
[6.] SPECIFY THE HOURS OF VOTING. PROVIDE THE STARTING TIME AND QUITTING TIME FOR EVERY TIME ZONE.
[7.] SPECIFY ALL OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR A VOTING SITE.
[8.] ESTABLISH THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH AND EVERY VOTING SITE, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE REQUIREMENTS. THEY ALL MUST MEET THE HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY LAWS. RESTROOMS MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE E.M.T. MUST BE AVAILABLE AND AN AMBULANCE SERVICE MUST BE AVAILABLE.
[10.] ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENT THAT AN OFFICIAL FROM EACH POLITICAL PARTY ON THE BALLOT BE OFFERED THE RIGHT TO MONITOR THE VOTE AND VERIFY THAT THE VOTING LAWS ARE AND WERE FOLLOWED.
[11.] SPECIFY THE REQUIREMENTS TO REGISTER TO VOTE. SPECIFY THE IDENTIFICATION THAT MUST BE PROVIDED TO REGISTER.
[12.] SPECIFY THE IDENTIFICATION THAT IS REQUIRED TO ACTUAL ENTER THE VOTING BOOTH AND VOTE.
[13.] ESTABLISH EXACTLY WHICH FELONY CONVICTIONS REMOVES AN INDIVIDUALS “RIGHT TO VOTE.”
[14.] ESTABLISH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH AND EVERY STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RE-REGISTER EVERY CONVICTED FELON “RIGHT TO VOTE” UPON THEIR COMPLETION OF THE SENTENCE THEY RECEIVED AND THE PERIOD OF PROBATION OR PAROLE
[15.] SPECIFY THE SOFTWARE PROGRAM TO BE USED TO DRAW DISTRICT LINES.
[16.] SPECIFY THAT ALL DISTRICT LINES MUST BE DRAWN NORTH AND SOUTH, EAST AND WEST WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A RIVER OR BODY OF WATER USED AS A BORDER.
[17.] SPECIFY THE ENTIRE REQUIREMENTS FOR A BALLOT, SUCH AS SIZE, COLOR OF THE PAPER, COLOR OF INK, FONT TYPE AND SIZE, AND OR ANYTHING ELSE.
[18.] SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO BE ASSIGNED TO A DISTRICT PLUS OR MINUS 5%.
19.] SPECIFY THE RATI0 OR NUMBER OF VOTING MACHINES PER THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ASSIGNED TO A DISTRICT.
[20.] ESTABLISH A LIST OF THE SPECIFIC MANUFACTURERS VOTING MACHINES TO BE USED IN EVERY VOTING SITE.
[21.] ESTABLISH THAT A VOTING MACHINE MUST BE CAPABLE OF PRINTING OUT A COPY OF THE VOTE CAST BY THE VOTER IF THE VOTER REQUESTS ONE.
[22.] OUTLAW POLITICAL ACTION GROUPS FROM ADVOCATING FOR OR AGAINST ANY SPECIFIC CANDIDATE OR POLITICAL PARTY.
[23.] PREVENT POLITICAL ACTION GROUPS FROM ADVOCATING FOR OR AGAINST ANY ISSUE THEY ARE NOT DIRECTLY VESTED IN.
[24.] ESTABLISH WHEN AND FOR HOW LONG A CAMPAIGN MAY FUNCTION PRIOR TO AN ELECTION AND HOW CLOSE TO AN ELECTION DATE.
[25.] DEVELOP A PLAN FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION USING FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE.
[26.] DEVELOP A PLAN FOR ONLINE VOTING USING FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE.
[27.] MANDATE THAT EVERY SINGLE U. S. CITIZEN UPON ATTAINING THE AGE OF 18 BE REGISTERED TO VOTE.
[28.] REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND LET ALL OF THE RESULTS OF FEDERAL ELECTIONS BE DETERMINED BY THE POPULAR VOTES CAST.
I also believe that the Members of the U. S. Congress have failed in performing their Responsibilities and Duties to represent the Interests, Wants and Needs of the Majority of the U. S. Citizens.
Seeing as the Majority of the Members of the U. S. Congress represent the Wants and Wishes of the “Rich and Powerful” before the Interests, Wants and Needs of the Majority of the U. S. Citizens I suggest that we pay the Members of the U. S. Congress $1.00 Annually and they would be over paid even then. Let the “Rich and Powerful” pay they seeing as they control them.