grier martin

A lot of the vehicles in North Carolina's motor pool are diesel fueled. Also, NC will continue to purchase new vehicles as older ones head to the scrap heap. With gasoline prices at four dollars a gallon, wouldn't it make sense for North Carolina to move to alternative fuels and purchase only the most fuel efficient vehicles? It would save NC taxpayers untold amounts of money to have our motor fleet be as efficient as possible.

Grier Martin (D), Pricey Harrison (D), and Charles Thomas (R) have submitted legislation to do just that. HB 2720 - Energy‑Efficient State Motor Vehicle Fleets - has two components:

Doug Massengill, newly elected President of the NC Federation of College Democrats

Isn't this a beautiful morning, North Carolina? The sky is blue, the weather is lovely and we NC Progressives are beginning to align like the stars in the sky to make some serious noise in the election of our next US Senator.

By saying our NEXT US Sentor, I'm going out on a limb and saying to you, BlueNC, that we can and will be the driving factor behind that simple statement. Well, actually I'm not going out on much of a limb. More like, I'm hanging around the thick trunk of the tree and expecting the obvious.

You know who you are and you know what is obvious.

From Gary Robertson at AP:

Grier Martin just called and said he is not running for US Senate, choosing instead to stay in the state House and, more important, to stay with his family. I'm terribly disappointed, but I also understand completely. I'm sure he'll stop by and give you the scoop himself.

In the meantime, I'm going to turn my attention and support to Jim Neal. I've been asking around about him and folks have nothing but good things to say, which is encouraging.

So there you have it. No primary, no diversions.

In 13 months, North Carolinians will have the chance to vote between a missing-in-action Bushbot named Biddy Dole and a solid progressive Democrat named Jim Neal.

Let's get crackin' folks.

That's right. You'll have to wait.

Today, two NC blogs that traffic most in rumors (The Soup and NCSPIN) were both definitive in their stories that Grier Martin is running - and that he is not running.

The Soup, which had a jump on the Kay Hagan announcement, says their sources say Grier says he's not running. NCSPIN, on the other hand, had this to say (by email):

Martin will run
We hear from reliable sources that Representative Grier Martin (D-Wake) will challenge Senator Elizabeth Dole for the 2008 U.S. Senate. The two-term legislator is known to have political ambition, but was hesitant when Senator Kay Hagan was also considering the Democratic nomination. When Hagan (D-Guilford) announced earlier this week she wouldn’t run, there was little reason for Martin to stay out. We are told he has a two-week obligation for active duty with the National Guard, but will announce his campaign shortly after returning.

Representative Martin himself says (also via email) that neither posting has any basis.

I wonder if it's satisfying to make up crap and give yourself the illusion of legitimacy by saying "we are told" and "sources are telling us". Hmmmm. Now that I think of it, that's how the mainstream media have operated for years.

I knew Dole was getting desperate, but this is astoundingly stupid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A small group of Republicans facing election fights next year have rallied around war legislation they think could unite the GOP: call for an end to U.S. combat in Iraq, but wait until President Bush is out of office.

Rumors continue to fly that the two likely challengers to Liddy Dole - Grier Martin and Kay Hagan - are carefully weighing their options and close to making a decision. Both have made the rounds in Washington, sizing up the Party leadership, and being sized up by those controlling the campaign coffers for Senate candidates.

The Soup this morning cites "DC sources" in arguing that the two possible candidates are eager to avoid a primary. I don't know who those DC sources are, but their information doesn't match what I've heard. Maybe the all-knowing DSCC doesn't want a primary, but I'd be thrilled to have one. It would be a fair and clean contest, and the winner would be battle-hardened and even more prepared to take on Dole.

For all the political calculations The Fly (at the Soup) and its DC connections have to offer, they somehow manage to gloss over the single point that matters most. The US Senate election in North Carolina next November will be about one thing and one thing only: Bush's war in Iraq.

Could Dean Smith beat Elizabeth Dole?

Maybe. According to our latest survey former basketball coach Dean Smith fares better against Dole than any Democrat we have tested other than Governor Mike Easley.

Dole 41%
Smith 35%

In a more likely scenario, we did further testing of State Representative Grier Martin against Elizabeth Dole. First was a question with no description other than their elective office and later the respondents were given an extensive biography of Rep. Martin. Click here for complete results to see the biography.

Dole vs. Martin w/o bio
Dole 45%
Martin 30%

Dole vs. Martin w/ bio
Martin 47%
Dole 40%

In the week since Bob Geary of the Independent Weekly reported on a possible Grier Martin vs. Elizabeth Dole Senate race, a few bloggers have started to pick up the buzz. Notably, Senate 2008 Guru and liberal pontificator Daily Kos have weighed in on the possibility that Grier might jump in.

Senate 2008 Guru points out a few things which highlight Liddy's vulnerability:

In a new book about national GOP infighting, our own Liddy Dole gets smacked down by fellow Republican Steve Laffey over her miserable performance as top dog in the NRSC last year:

LAFFEY’S PUBLISHER . . . had promised five months ago that the blunt, former two-term mayor would “name names” in his book, and Laffey delivers plenty of names. He blasts national GOP leaders, including Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, head of the NRSC, for trying to persuade Laffey to run for lieutenant governor and leave the Senate to Chafee. Laffey also criticizes President Bush for allowing the national party to “slime” Laffey with attack ads.

Bush and Dole, Dole and Bush. Two peas in a pathetic pod. There's no end to the damage they've caused, even within their own morally bankrupt party. Come on, Grier. You can take her.