endorsements

My speech for Saturday, and what's up with David Parker??/

The Wilmington Star-News endorsed Hampton Dellinger today. Interesting that they've rolled out all their other endorsements (other council of state offices, governor, local race) in the preceding days, but saved Barack Obama and Hampton Dellinger till the big Sunday reading day right before Election Day. I think they feel strongly about Hampton...and Obama, of course :-)

Qualifications matter, because in the unlikely event that something happens to the governor, the lieutenant is first in line to step in.

The Conservation PAC, a political action committee affiliated with the Conservation Council of North Carolina, has issued endorsment in some key races. The Conservation PAC endorsed in contested races that have candidates with good environmental credentials.

See which candidates received endorsements here.

The Charlotte Observer announced its recommendations for the Lieutenant Governor nominations. It followed a clear pattern - remarking on the complete lack of qualifications on the Republican side of the ledger, but noting that any of the four Democrats would be a fine choice.

But of the four, the Observer, North Carolina's largest daily newspaper, recommended Hampton Dellinger as the best Democratic nominee, and may well have given Hampton a new nickname: the aggressive progressive.

Goodwin receives yet another significant endorsement in his campaign to be NC's next Insurance Commissioner.

The Independent Weekly trusts Wayne Goodwin and endorsed him for Insurance Commissioner. However, Indy does not trust Goodwin's opponent, David Smith, and had a serious concern about Smith's work on behalf of the insurance industry and how it may affect Smith's judgment if Smith is elected Insurance Commissioner.

Richard Moore, Hampton Dellinger, Janet Cowell and more...the Independent Weekly has issued its endorsements for the 2008 primary online.

Well, folks, tomorrow is a very big day: Early voting starts.

I'm sure there have been other primary seasons with all the drama of this cycle, but ever since Al Gore invented the interTubes, We the People get to see everything up-close and personal. On some levels, it's not a pretty sight. Sort of like making sausage. But to paraphrase the incomparably incompetent Donald Rumsfeld, you go to the voting booth with the candidates you have.

Truth be told, we have some great candidates at all levels of government this year. So if you don't mind my asking, who are you voting for, and why? This is the official BlueNC endorsements thread. And this is how you find out where you can vote, starting tomorrow.

State Treasurer Richard Moore kept his candidacy alive as the NC State AFL-CIO decided to endorse neither him or Lt. Gov. Perdue in the 2008 gubernatorial primary.

From this morning's Hendersonville Times-News:

Give Shuler a chance in Congress

U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor represents himself as a paragon of mountain values who has used his power in Congress to help the 11th Congressional District.

But the accumulation of questions over his 16 years of service raises questions as to whether he is serving himself first or his district.

A list of questionable actions includes improper loans at Blue Ridge Savings Bank that led to prison sentences for the bank president and two others, failure to file necessary paperwork for a Jackson County property tax break, campaign donations from Jack Abramoff, the convicted influence peddler; and earmarks turned up by the Wall Street Journal that seemed to help his business interests while also serving the district.