cafta

When did it become acceptable for Americans to allow

Torture? Yesterday, after congress failed to override a presidential veto of a bill outlwaing "Torture". The president referred to "Torture" as a valuable tool in America's ability to fight terrorism. Now it is absolutely our national policy.

Rendition; Where was the outrage?

When we all learned about the Secret prisons, where we took people to be tortured and that our President and Vice President had approved them; Why was our President not impeached?

We can argue about NAFTA (though you know where I stand on these trade deals), but we have to agree the legacy of the first two terms of President Bush and even greater damage done by nearly a dozen years of a Republican-controlled Congress grows clearer every day.

Dollar falls in Europe, Canada, Japan...

I worked in textiles 27 years. Now I don't. I teach school, praying my own kids and students can have some semblance of the life I and my parents enjoyed right here in some of the most beautiful country God ever created.

My opponent, multi-millionaire and mill owner Robin Hayes, still maintains his decisive flip-flop on CAFTA will make one of the poorest Districts in the nation and some of THE most unemployed counties in North Carolina, somehow better.

As the FREE people of Costa Rica go to the polls today to reject or ratify Hayes' singular shining contribution to American working families... Let's visit.

The White House is pushing to shift some of the tax burden from major airlines to smaller, private aircraft owners. And wouldn't you know it, the change is opposed by Robin Hayes. After years of marching in lock-step with King George II, Hayes has finally broken ranks.

Representative Robin Hayes, Republican of North Carolina and a private pilot, said higher taxes might discourage race-car drivers from using the Nascar fleet of private jets in his district.

Why would Flipper cross the Preznit on a policy issue like this? One reason: Greed. This proposal would take money out of Robin Hayes' own damn pocket. Too bad he wasn't working in a textile mill when it came time to vote on CAFTA.

A lot of attention has been paid to the effect of Bush, the war, etc. on the outcome of the election. In North Carolina, I think it is clear that trade was a much bigger issue than anything else in the Shuler and Kissell races. Now Public Citizen is attempting to link the gains nationwide to the issue of trade.

Public Citizen put together a report detailing a number of races where fair-trade candidates won in districts where they were underdogs, such as NC-11.

This piece was originally posted on the day that Robin Hayes voted for CAFTA after promising he would vote against it. This week, another textile mill has announced that it will be closing its doors and send its operations to a foreign country to take advantage of the cheap labor.

In 60 days almost 400 people will lose their jobs when a Westpoint Stevens plant closes in Wagram. With so few job prospects and with Scotland County already experiencing the worst unemployment in the entire state of North Carolina, you can imagine the bleakness of this situation for most of these workers.

I am posting this again in honor of the men and women who are suffering in our country, our state, in the 8th Congressional District and in Scotland County. They need Larry Kissell standing up for them in Congress. Please follow to the end of the piece and help make this a reality.

Cross-posted from NC House Races
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This article in today's New York Times represents an interesting attempt at balance. The first part of the article highlights the Kissell campaign's focus on Hayes' about-face on CAFTA:

As if by chance, though probably not, both candidates are linked to the old mill. Charles Cannon, legendary founder of the Cannon textile empire and grandfather of Representative Robin Hayes, the Republican incumbent, built it in the 1920’s, and Mr. Hayes worked summers there as a youth.

Larry Kissell, his Democratic opponent, worked there for 27 years before becoming a high school teacher in 2001, when, he says, he saw “the handwriting on the wall” about its future. Now his campaign is organized around the threat of foreign competition and Mr. Hayes’s tiebreaking vote last year for a trade accord with Central America.

In the recent debate between Robin Hayes and Larry Kissell held by the League of Women Voters in Charlotte and aired on WTVI, both men stated that improving the job market for the 8th District workers was a top priority. Larry Kissell said it was the number one priority.

Robin Hayes claimed that he had worked hard to bring jobs to the district. From WWAY we have this:

Hayes said he's worked hard to promote economic development and efforts to bring good jobs to the parts of the district that are struggling.

The great thing about a claim like this is there is proof readily available about just how effective Robin Hayes has been at bringing jobs to the 8th District. Unemployment numbers are easily found through the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. Not only can we find out what the unemployment rate is today, we can look back at 1999 when Robin Hayes took office.

Please follow below the fold....

Via the Asheville USA Today Jr.:

The National Association of Manufacturers will present its Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence to U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor during a ceremony from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. today at the manufacturing facility of Volvo Construction Equipment on Hendersonville Road in Skyland.

The award is presented to members of Congress who vote in the best interest of the manufacturing economy at least 70 percent of the time on key votes, as determined by a committee of the association’s member companies.

Cross-posted from NC House Races
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A devastating piece in yesterday's Charlotte Observer describes the struggling economy in the 8th District and examines how this economic reality could affect the race for Congress. It deserves an extended quote:

Carolyn Terry runs a sewing machine at a small apparel factory in the heart of town. She's had her workweek cut to three days. She's seen friends laid off from her company and others in this Montgomery County town of 1,400.

"There are so many jobs that have left our county," says Terry, 59. "There are a lot of people just hurting."

For voters such as Terry, the economy is a top concern heading into November's election.