Kay's got some splanin to do
Since Kay Hagan refused to answer any of my questions, I decided to look at the answers/non-answers she did give. While perusing her countless non-answers on the website, one did strike me as a bit revealing – the response she gave when asked why she got into the race.
Kay Hagan stated, “I decided to get in this race when Elizabeth Dole voted against the SCHIP program.” Submitted by Kay Hagan on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 5:46pm.
Really? It has nothing to do with the fact Jim Neal revealed on this website that he was openly gay? Okay, I’ll lay out the timeline and the readers can judge for themselves.
August 2, 2007
Dole voted against SCHIP. (So far so good, Kay)
October 8, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHaauvJnNLA
Kay Hagan says she will not run for U.S. Senate (Wait a minute Kay – I thought the August SCHIP vote was the deciding factor to get you into the race)
October 20, 2007
Jim Neal courageously used this website to confirm he was, in fact, a gay man - “I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me-- I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise. Submitted by JimNeal on Sat, 10/20/2007 - 10:18am.
(Kay’s still not running though right?)
October 26, 2007
The rumors start flying.
Hagan reconsidering U.S. Senate bid
Submitted by bkrueger on October 26, 2007 - 3:18pm.
Tags: Elizabeth Dole | Jim Neal | John Ross Hendrix | Kay Hagan | Senate '08 | Under the Dome
State Sen. Kay Hagan is having second thoughts about her decision not to run for the U.S. Senate.
"I'm definitely thinking about getting back in," Hagan said this afternoon.
Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, said to expect her decision next week, reports Lynn Bonner.
Hagan initially passed on the chance to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. She said earlier this month that she had considered a run, but said she decided that she could do more for the residents of Guilford County and North Carolina in the legislature, where she is co-chairwoman of the Senate appropriations committee.
Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill investment banker, and John Ross Hendrix, a graphic artist from Cary, have also announced plans to challenge Dole.
October 30, 2007
Hagan has a change of heart.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_B...
The time line doesn’t add up Kay. Liddy Dole’s vote on SCHIP was in August. On October 8th Kay said she wasn’t going to run. Almost a month after that Neal announces he’s gay. Four days after Neal’s announcement, Kay decides to run. The only thing that changed after Dole’s vote was Neal’s announcement that he was gay. In my opinion, it was only after Neal’s announcement that her mind was changed – it had nothing to do with Dole’s vote. I wish she would address this. But like my questions and, I’m sure, countless others, I doubt she’ll respond.
Now don’t get me wrong, I want to get rid of Do Nothing Dole just as bad as the next person, but not for someone who was pressured into the race by the democratic establishment because Jim Neal is gay.
- leftofu's blog
- Login or register to post comments
I've always thought it was curious.
S-CHIP = Jim Neal is a gay man running for office in NC and the powers that be are skeered. Even the Democratic powers that be. She can't go around saying "I got into the race because Jim is gay" because that would make her sound like she just stepped off the middle school playground.
During her liveblog here, she invoked the safety net of John Edwards when it came to gay marriage, and then didn't ignored the follow-up question, which was politely asked. Since it was a live blog, and time flies on those, Pam Spaulding, the original questioner, emailed the campaign requesting clarification on the follow-up. So did I. The campaign did not follow-up, even though several attempts were made.
So what are we to make of Kay's timeline and her non-answers? I know what I think. And I know I'll be voting for Jim Neal.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Pointing at Naked Emperors
The only other variable is Grier Martin
It's my understanding that Kay said she wasn't going to go up against Grier in a primary. He spent a fair amount of time decided ... and eventually opted out. I'm too fried to go back and map those events into the time-line you've laid out.
I share your misgivings about the way all this unfolded, but I have made my peace with reality. I'd rather be represented by Jim Neal than Kay Hagan. But I'd take Hagan over Dole any day.
Oh yes - absolutely.
If Kay wins the primary, I will work my butt off to see her in office. But I won't trust her as much as I would trust Jim Neal.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Pointing at Naked Emperors
Per Under the Dome
It was October 12:
I don't know why Sen. Hagan seems reticent to make that point--there doesn't seem to be anything terrible about acknowledging her own deference (as well, for the record, the DSCC's preference) for Grier Martin. Maybe it makes her look weak.
----
There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of the comfortable past which, in fact, never existed. - Robert F. Kennedy
Damn, you beat me to it
On my "to do" list I had a note to myself:
"Check when Dole voted against S-CHIP versus when Hagan announced."
:)
Good work!
Liberalism as a badge of honor!
No apologies, no excuses.
This is not a refutation
of the claim that Hagan got back into the race because of Jim's orientation, because I firmly believe that was the driving force behind that. I very clearly remember the ugliness on Dailykos by a few "pragmatists" about how the Democratic Party shouldn't waste a good opportunity to unseat Dole by fielding a gay candidate in such a backwards state like N.C. ;/
But frankly, all Kay would have to do to wiggle out of this is to add the word "originally", as in:
may I point people to Chuck Schumer's sleazing again
From his self-aggrandizing post on Daily Kos asking for your money, this comment about the Neal/Hagan issue.
Oh really? What about the DSCC web page where there is no mention of any news regarding Jim Neal's campaign, only Sen. Hagan's:
Screen cap of the DSCC's site, 8:09 PM, 4/10/2008:
No bias here, none at all...
Oh by the way, no answers from Kay Hagan on my questions or follow up from the liveblog. The full chronicle is here: U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan refuses to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation.
--
Pam Spaulding
Durham, NC USA
Pam's House Blend
www.pamshouseblend.com
This whole mess steams me.
Seriously.
So how do you get something like that in the actual MSM?
or is the answer you don't?
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Pointing at Naked Emperors
I know Mark Binker over at the N&R
And will pass this little tidbit along.
I will also post the story to my blog and send a link to Ed Cone and "Yes" weekly.
The N&R is not much help these days as the paper is for sale and I just don't think they reporters care any more.
Liberalism as a badge of honor!
No apologies, no excuses.
Kosh, I can't control myself any longer...
What IS that thing in your profile picture?
For weeks I thought it was a snake. Then I realized it wasn't a snake because the head part didn't look like a head on closer examination. And there's some sort of pneumatic HR Geiger action happening over on the right side.
I turned my laptop sideways and I'm still no closer to figuring out this strange assemblage of textures and forms. Spikes? Tree bark? Leather? Fiberglass?
Babylon 5, man!
One thing I do agree with Kosh on is a fond rememberance of strange characters from the show Babylon 5.
Good day, Ambassador.
Thank you, Frank.
Oooooohhhhhhhh!
:) that has been buggin' the dickens out of me, too.
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." - Harry Truman
That is the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh
From the TV 90's series Babylon 5.
Kosh was a very mysterious zen-like alien who had a maddening predilection for cryptic remarks:
Understanding is a three edged sword
We shall commence again at the hour of longing.
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
Kosh Naranek: Ah, you seek meaning?
Talia: Yes.
Kosh Naranek: Then listen to the music, not the song.
I must state for the record, that I do no credit to Kosh, and originally picked the user name as unlikely to have already been used.
I strongly recommend watching the series, it is quite thought-provoking, and rather pertinent to any discussion about the abuse of power.
Liberalism as a badge of honor!
No apologies, no excuses.
Another B5 fan delurking
Man, I loved that show.
Except for most of Season 5.
We frequently use one of Kosh's sayings around here when one of the cats suddenly starts running around the house for no reason: "It is the hour of scampering." ;)
Loved Farscape as well.