Larry Kissell

My Finance Director usually asks people for money. Today he just sent a newsletter asking for a minute of your time to Take our Country Back.

Frontpaged by James. This is easy and fast. Please hit the link and vote for Larry!

It's sadly indicative of not only the current administration, but the prior near decade of complete Republican control over all government agencies, what it takes for any "progress" to finally happen for the average working American. It's tragically no different for our hard working military, in spite of all the "support our troops" rhetoric from those that do anything but...

Today is the Armed Services' Military Spouse Appreciation Day or Military Families First weekend as it's known in my District which includes Fort Bragg, where the Army just approved $2.9 million to fix the substandard living conditions.

The primary is over and it is time to move on to the next phase. We have to get our Democrats elected. This means raising money. Russ Feingold started his Progressive Patriot Fund during the 2006 cycle. Larry Kissell was in the running, but other Democrats in much larger districts were able to garner more internet votes. Let's change that this cycle.

I received a personal email from one of the fund's organizers. She contacted me through the BlueNC contact form, so this wasn't a form letter. If they are going to great length to make sure we know that Larry is on the list, we can at least vote for Larry to be Russ Feingold's next Progressive Patriot.

We have a lot going on today in North Carolina as you all know. You can feel the excitement in the air. We aren't accustomed to our primary being so important to those outside our state and getting the attention here in North Carolina that we've been getting. Now let me say first of all that I'm pleased that I don't have an opponent in today's primary so I can relax a bit. However, I can't help thinking as I watch what is happening that it isn't nearly as important what happens today as is what happens tomorrow.

As I watch what is happening here on the ground...

Larry Kissell is a candidate in the 8th Congressional District. Here is a new Kissell video.

As an Army wife I face many important dates alone. Dates that mean something only to me and my husband or to my family. However, this week marks the fifth year our men and women have been sent off to a war that has now destroyed our economy. We can stop the debate on why we went into Iraq but we need to discuss what that one fatal decision has done to our great nation.

We have lost many brave lives over there yet those losses really to do not compare to the fact our economy is failing. I believe we should support our troops but not at the cost of my children's future.

Somebody get Robin Hayes a change of knickers. I think he just wet himself. What has Robin Hayes flat out running scared?

It isn't what. It's who. It's Larry Kissell, that's who.

Larry Kissell, his campaign team and his enthusiastic supporters from 2006 have finally been joined by the DCCC and many Democrats throughout the district who held back their support last cycle because they didn't think Larry could win. People are scrambling to jump on the Kissell bandwagon and the only thing to say to that is, "Thank you!"

Betsy posted this last week, but I wanted to bump it again:

Kissell Committed to Sound Energy Policy, Creation of Green-Collar Jobs

The League of Conservation Voters, which works to turn environmental values into public policy, announced the endorsement of Larry Kissell for election to North Carolina's 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Larry Kissell has started racking up the endorsements and all those people who wouldn't give Larry a dime last cycle are falling all over themselves to raise money for him. After the constant struggle for attention last cycle, this is almost surreal. Almost.

This is far from a sure thing. Larry Kissell is working harder than ever and it's that fact that should scare the living daylights out of Robin Hayes. He hasn't let up for a minute and Larry is still teaching school, so he's doing all this campaigning after school and on weekends.

Larry's a working man and I can't wait to see him in Washington working for us.

Now, about those endorsements............

Jim Morrill at the Charlotte Observer lets us know that Larry Kissell's path through primary season has opened up like the Red Sea. I'm not sure who plays the part of Moses in all this, but it means that Larry's resources will be leveled against Robin Hayes and no one else.

"Charlotte lawyer Chris Kouri called Kissell and told him he won't run against him this year. Kouri ran against Hayes as the Democratic nominee in 2002. "I don't think it's any secret that I've looked at running in the 8th District," says Kouri, adding that he's now fully behind Kissell. He wouldn't elaborate on why he changed his mind.

Another Democrat who planned to run this year is John Autry, a liberal activist who lost to Kissell in 2006. After campaigning for much of the past year, he says he's sitting this race out for health reasons.

More from Morrill's post about national support for Larry - after the jump ---->