US Senate candidate Jim Neal drops by for an interview - and baked ziti

It's not every day that you land an interview with a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and the chance to have one come to your home to do it is probably even more unlikely, but that's what happened yesterday. Jim Neal, who's ready to unseat Senator Elizabeth Dole, came by. As most of you know (unless you've been under a rock), Jim is the first openly gay candidate to run for the U.S. Senate. I naturally have a particular interest in this race, since my blog covers national LGBT issues, but the fact that I'm based in the Tar Heel state and a NC native, it's all doubly important to cover this campaign and its significance.

Jim was on a packed Saturday schedule. In the morning he attended a political candidate grilling by the N.C. Association of Educators, and after leaving our place, he hopped on a plane to Miami for a fundraiser, so I'm glad he was willing to take a few hours out of the day to do this.

While I'm doing much better after my recent surgery, I'm still not supposed to do heavy lifting just yet, so my lovely wife Kate did most of the thankless house cleaning, but I did make a big pan of baked ziti along with bread and olive oil dipping sauce for the occasion. This turned out to be a good idea, since the Chapel Hill businessman and Democratic fundraiser arrived hungry. After chow-down, we went outside and he sat for a lengthy chat on a wide range of topics, including the reaction of the straight and gay press to his run, why there hasn't been public support of his candidacy so far by the Human Rights Campaign or the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and why he believes it's essential to harness the full potential of the Internet to wage an effective campaign in an election cycle that's about change.

I'll have the full interview and plenty of video up this week, but I wanted to post one video segment for you. I asked him about bias against the South generally and the misconceptions about NC in particular.

Pam Spaulding: As a North Carolina native (he was born in Greensboro) who's lived and worked outside the state for many years before "returning home," explain to non-Tar Heels what this state was like when you first lived here versus now, in terms of the demographic and political shifts. It appears that outside of the state have an impression that doesn't match reality. How do you intend to convince the political movers and shakers that N.C. is ready to elect an openly gay, politically progressive candidate to the U.S. Senate?

Jim Neal: When I graduated from college in 1978, and took a job working in NY in 1979, I found it very condescending -- the attitude of a lot of folks in the Northeast part of the United States -- still look down on the South as sort of, you know, a place where we all sit around drinking moonshine and living a hillbilly type of lifestyle. And it came up in Jimmy Carter's campaign because he was a very successful peanut farmer. He was derided, his family was made fun of, and I didn't like that...that didn't resonate well with me one iota.

The perception of the state, however, was not helped by the era of the Jessecrats...Jesse Helms and others elected to the Senate -- John East, Lauch Faircloth -- sent a really negative message about our state to the rest of the country and the world. And it created this impression that North Carolina was a hotbed of real divisiveness, and in many cases, hate, that I knew was not necessarily indicative by and large, of people I had known and grown up with -- my family and my friends.

Now having moved back here two years ago, the one thing that struck me right off the bat was the fact that how different the faces of the state has changed. Basically it used to be they were black and they were white. And now they are black, and they are white, and Chinese, and Indian...Hispanic, different ethnic groups, and social and cultural groups -- much more of a melting pot you see elsewhere in the United States.

Having said that, at the same time, there's still an elitism that prevails in other parts of the country about the South. I mean they view the South as one big red region state. And I tell people again and again, North Carolina is not indicative of the whole South. North Carolina is a Blue state that has two Red senators. My mom used to say -- and I'm sure many have heard the old adage that "North Carolina is a valley of humility situated two peaks of conceit." Well (laugh) that Northern peak of conceit kind of runs all the way up the Northeastern seaboard.

But, with the kind of leaders we're going to elect, and some that we have in office we have now -- in Washington and elsewhere -- as well as the kind of growth the state has made economically...I mean, Charlotte, is home to seven, I believe, Fortune 100 companies, which ranks it sixth in the country -- sixth. Now who would have thought that would be the case back in 1978? So North Carolina has changed a great deal, and the voice of the Jessecrats that went down to an ebb a long time ago. North Carolina's capacity for tolerance of somebody who is fiscally conservative and socially progressive like me, I think it is open, it's not an impediment to my campaign. In fact, I think it is a plus. People who wouldn't vote for me for reasons such as my sexual orientation, hell, they wouldn't have voted for me anyway. So, I don't think I'm going to lose anything as a consequence of that. That just plain ignorance to assume otherwise.

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It was an informative and interesting peek into political campaign on the rise, and it's clear that Jim Neal's frank style and openness is connecting with many constituencies here. He said that he's planning to get "down east" in the state soon, and talk to some of the military families and veterans who have been left behind and neglected on Senator Dole's watch.

A feature on Jim Neal and his trailblazing campaign is in the latest issue of The Advocate. Also, he will be off to my 80s stomping grounds, the Big Apple, on January 31. There will be a fundraiser at the studio of artist Ross Bleckner (as noted in the NY Post's Page Six last week).

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-- Jim Neal's official campaign web site.
-- Jim Neal for Senate Facebook group.

Links to Pam's House Blend coverage of Jim Neal's candidacy:
-- Recap of PHB live blog with U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal
-- NC: Jim Neal's polling strong against Dole -- and Hagan
-- Out U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal on real family values
-- DKos: Jim Neal on the economy's alarming vital signs
-- DSCC - Where's Jim Neal?
-- Report: DSCC scrambled to find hetero challenger to run against Elizabeth Dole
-- U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal at the Equality NC Conference and Gala
-- NC: Dems 'come out' to take on Jim Neal
-- North Carolina numbers for Neal and DSCC skullduggery