Christian Dem in NC's blog

I was on my way home from work this morning when I heard a pleasant surprise--the DCCC was airing an ad attacking Patrick McHenry for his cozy relationship with Shrub and Big Oil. What's more, the DCCC is highlighting its ad script teeing up McHenry as part of its campaign to tee up 13 House Repubs for voting with Big Oil. (note, the audio is from the ad for Robin Hayes)

Surprising, to say the least.

(cross-posted at dKos)

Public Policy Polling confirms what we already knew--North Carolina is in play presidentially. However, news from the Senate race here isn't quite as encouraging.

On the presidential side, McCain only leads Obama 45-41--just one point over the margin of error. Barr gets 5 percent. Note, this is a Democratic polling firm--but as with the last poll from NC, from a Republican polling firm, there's virtually no good news for McCain.

On the Senate side, however, Liddy Dole appears to be pulling away from Kay Hagan. She now leads 51 percent to 38 percent ... and the trends suggest Hagan's got some work to do.

Kos just reported some absolutely delightful news--Tel Opinion Research, a Republican polling firm, has released a new poll showing Obama only down four points, right at the margin of error. It's 45 percent for McCain to 41 percent for Obama. It's official, folks--our state is in play.

When I first heard that Vincent Bugliosi was coming out with a new book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, I was skeptical--to be sure, Shrub's actions are impeachable ten times over. Bugliosi argues that since Bush took us into Iraq under false pretense, the deaths of every American soldier in that conflict amount to murder. He also argues that even if he isn't prosecuted at the federal level, any state attorney general or district attorney in any state (including here in North Carolina) can indict him for the murders of any soldier from their jurisdiction. However, one piece of evidence Bugliosi outlined was enough to convince me that Bush's actions were more than just malfeasance in office. They amount to criminal conduct which should be punished after he leaves office.

Update: In response to concerns expressed by others, I wish to stress that any prosecution should take place after Bush leaves office, as a president cannot and should not face criminal prosecution while in office.

Front-paged by James, because in any just world, George W. Bush would be behind bars by now.

(cross-posted at dKos)

As most of you know, the North Carolina Republican Party managed to persuade four television stations to air its despicable ad attacking Barack Obama. Unfortunately, we didn't know who they were. Well, now we do, courtesy of the Charlotte Observer.

Cross-posted at dKos

I'm trying to get my head around Mike Easley's endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Quite frankly, I'm mystified.

As most of us know, Hillary on the top of the ticket effectively cedes most of the former Confederacy (except for Virginia and Florida) to McCain. Obama, on the other hand, has committed to fighting for North Carolina in November. I would think that this would be a no-brainer for the de facto leader of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He should have his finger on the pulse of this state.

As most of you guys here in the Charlotte area know, the 9 to midnight slot on WBT--when its 50,000-watt voice blasts across the entire East Coast--belongs to Tara Servatius. There are times when she can be dead on--for instance, talking about Charlotte's growing crime problem and the occasional stumblebum antics with CMS. But other times ... well, let's just say that sometimes she sounds like Rush Limbaugh in a skirt. Like last night, when she had NC Repub chairwoman Linda Daves on for her first hour to talk about the Obama attack ad.

Rasmussen has recently come out with a a new poll showing Obama in a flat-footed tie with McCain. Considering last month McCain was nine points ahead, this could not be worse news for the Repubs.

Cross-posted at DKos and my blog

Today's Charlotte Observer includes the first of a potentially devastating six-part series on poultry-plant safety.

The first part focuses on House of Raeford, one of the ten largest poultry producers in the country. It's based in Hoke County, half an hour south of Fayetteville and operates plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. It supplies deli turkey and chicken products to companies such as Blimpie, Golden Corral and Food Lion. It also counts several school systems among its customers--including my hometown system, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. It claims to have one of the best safety records in the industry--but the Observer amply demonstrates that this record is a mirage.

Kos brings us some very heartening numbers--Liddy is polling, shall we say, terribly against either Neal or Hagan. As in below 50 percent against two second-tier candidates.

Think about it. You're an incumbent Senator. You were president of the Red Cross for years. You'd think you'd be absolutely killing anyone already in the running, right? Not if you're Liddy.