PPP: Sen. Kay Hagan up only 9% on Brannon, 11% Unsure (NC)

[Gage]

http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/wtvd/cms_exf_2007/news/politics/6126636_600x338.jpg


If the candidates for Senate in 2014 were
Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican Greg
Brannon, who would you vote for?
Kay Hagan 49%
Greg Brannon 40%
Not sure 11%


http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_NC_522.pdf

[supermario21]

This is a big improvement. It's also amusing to see PPP try and spin it considering they've been telling us for the last month how popular she is since she voted for background checks. Even more impressive considering the oversampling of women and Democrats in this poll.

[JakeH]

He's definitely on the way up. Looks like declaring early and getting out and speaking with and meeting people is paying off.

[lib3rtarian]

Brannon is up 3% since the last polling. Long way to go. Everyone above him has a lot of name recognition here in NC. At least people want Brannon more than the horrible Tillis, which itself is a relief.



Someone else/Not sure
28%


Virginia Foxx
15%


Cherie Berry
14%


Phil Berger
10%


Renee Ellmers
10%


Greg Brannon

7%


Thom Tillis
6%


Jim Cain
4%


Mark Harris
3%


Lynn Wheeler
3%

[Working Poor]

I got a letter from her asking support for women in combat who face sexual asault. I told her that I do not believe women should be in combat because combat is ugly but, if women insist on being in combat that I reckomend that they be properly trained to be able to deal with the hazards of combat.

[Brett85]

Where does Brannon stand on foreign policy issues? Will he vote against all of the garbage Iran resolutions and at least vote against some of the sanctions?

[lib3rtarian]

Where does Brannon stand on foreign policy issues? Will he vote against all of the garbage Iran resolutions and at least vote against some of the sanctions?

He advocates for a restrained FP, but don't be under illusions that he would have voted against something like the Iran resolution from yesterday.

From here: http://gregbrannon.com/the-issues/national-defense/


National defense is the most critical function of the federal government, as provided in the United States Constitution. The full force of our Armed Forces should be used when we are faced with genuine threats to our safety, such as active foreign aggression or invasion.


The exclusive power of Congress to declare war must be respected, and executive reactions to imminent dangers must not be allowed to drag on without the express authorization of Congress.


As a Senator, it will be my duty to make sure that perceived threats are actually a danger to our life, liberty, or sovereignty before voting to send American troops into harm’s way.


Even as we maintain our national defense, we must protect our civil liberties. The Founding Fathers warned of a Federal Government bent on usurping the power, rights, and privacy of its States and citizens.


In the last eleven years, the Federal Government has expanded the scope of its power at an alarming rate, while blatantly ignoring the Constitution.

I strongly oppose big-government initiatives like the Patriot Act, SOPA, CISPA, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2012. The 2012 NDAA allowed the President to indefinitely detain anyone on U.S. soil, including American citizens, without charge or trial on the mere accusation that they are “associated” with terrorists.


As a Senator, I will seek to reassert the rights and privileges of the 50 states and over 300 million Americans. Dystopian, police-state laws like the NDAA run contrary to everything our country stands for.


The Federal Government must return to its constitutionally enumerated powers and preserve our inalienable rights.


I believe that America can successfully protect itself against potential terrorists without sacrificing civil liberties. I reject the premise that the Federal Government must be given a blank check in the name of national security.


America can prosper, preserve personal liberty, and repel national security threats without intruding into the personal lives of its citizens.

[Brett85]

He advocates for a restrained FP, but don't be under illusions that he would have voted against something like the Iran resolution from yesterday.

Sigh. So I guess it just isn't possible to get a non interventionist into the Senate?

[Spoa]

Sigh. So I guess it just isn't possible to get a non interventionist into the Senate?

Not a perfect one. If you are looking for a pure candidate, then I guess not. If you are looking for a good one, then there are several. Let's be optimistic. During the Bush years, would you have ever imagined having people like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and others? If we had Grayson, Bennett, and Dewhurst, we would have already bombed Iran and declared war.

[Warlord]

Not a perfect one. If you are looking for a pure candidate, then I guess not. If you are looking for a good one, then there are several. Let's be optimistic. During the Bush years, would you have ever imagined having people like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and others? If we had Grayson, Bennett, and Dewhurst, we would have already bombed Iran and declared war.

The establishment do not want a war with Iran and their puppet senators dont either.

If they did their resolutions, bills, rhetoric and tone would be a lot tougher.

[sailingaway]

Excellent. Now to capitalize.

[Brett85]

Not a perfect one. If you are looking for a pure candidate, then I guess not.

You mean like Ron Paul, the guy we all supported for President in 2012?

[sailingaway]

Not a perfect one. If you are looking for a pure candidate, then I guess not. If you are looking for a good one, then there are several. Let's be optimistic. During the Bush years, would you have ever imagined having people like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and others? If we had Grayson, Bennett, and Dewhurst, we would have already bombed Iran and declared war.

do you have anything to point to in the not perfect column? because so far I don't know any strikes against this guy and I like to keep informed.

[Spoa]

You mean like Ron Paul, the guy we all supported for President in 2012?


And unfortunately, people didn't elect him. Neocons still outnumber liberty supporters in the GOP. But the real problem is that most in the GOP who don't care about foreign policy.

And the "non-interventionists" would rather spend their time in their imaginary world that the Democrat party is the party for them or wander around in the Libertarian or Constitution party.

[Spoa]

do you have anything to point to in the not perfect column? because so far I don't know any strikes against this guy and I like to keep informed.

which guy are you talking about?

[sailingaway]

which guy are you talking about?

Brannon

[Spoa]

Brannon

I think he's fabulous. He answered all my questions when I asked him and I think he is perfect. But of course, he's bound to cast a vote I disagree with. Today for example, Cruz and Paul voted to keep subsidies for tobacco. I disagree with them. But purism never works, and so I just agree to disagree with them. If anyone's interested in this vote, here's the roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00137

[sailingaway]

I think he's fabulous. He answered all my questions when I asked him and I think he is perfect. But of course, he's bound to cast a vote I disagree with. Today for example, Cruz and Paul voted to keep subsidies for tobacco. I disagree with them. But purism never works, and so I just agree to disagree with them. If anyone's interested in this vote, here's the roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00137

Gunny thinks he might be the next Ron Paul. I haven't agreed with every single thing Ron does either, but I'll take it. I was just wondering if any cracks had shown to this point. Obviously, he isn't in congress yet, but I look forward to having him there.

[Spoa]

Gunny thinks he might be the next Ron Paul. I haven't agreed with every single thing Ron does either, but I'll take it. I was just wondering if any cracks had shown yet. Obviously, he isn't in congress yet, but I look forward to having him there.

Hey...he'd be better than more than 90% of the senate and won't bad-mouth Paul, Lee, and Cruz like McCain.

[TaftFan]

I think he's fabulous. He answered all my questions when I asked him and I think he is perfect. But of course, he's bound to cast a vote I disagree with. Today for example, Cruz and Paul voted to keep subsidies for tobacco. I disagree with them. But purism never works, and so I just agree to disagree with them. If anyone's interested in this vote, here's the roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00137

They probably voted that way as to not single out specific industries.

[JCDenton0451]

Sigh. So I guess it just isn't possible to get a non interventionist into the Senate?

Blame the Evangelicals. Someone has got to debunk this whole Rupture theory.


The establishment do not want a war with Iran and their puppet senators dont either.

If they did their resolutions, bills, rhetoric and tone would be a lot tougher.

What's the point of this nonsense then? What do they hope to accomplish by bullying Iran, terrorising it with sanctions?

[sailingaway]

Hey...he'd be better than more than 90% of the senate and won't bad-mouth Paul, Lee, and Cruz like McCain.

but that sounds like you must have some counts against him. I was just not tracking him really closely but wondering if we had more concrete information. I saw a couple of his speeches I liked, but let me know if you come up with anything that makes you think there would actually be nine Senators better than him (top 10% given who is there isn't too encouraging). I don't have any doubt he's the best in this race, mind you.

[torchbearer]

ppp, recently proven inaccurate with sanford race.

[sailingaway]

ppp, recently proven inaccurate with sanford race.

ppp has a measured 'house effect' towards Dems even in the 2 week period before the election, when they are most careful. But it is encouraging from our point of view.

[Spoa]

but that sounds like you must have some counts against him. I was just not tracking him really closely but wondering if we had more concrete information. I saw a couple of his speeches I liked, but let me know if you come up with anything that makes you think there would actually be nine Senators better than him (top 10% given who is there isn't too encouraging). I don't have any doubt he's the best in this race, mind you.

I was probably too generous to the current senate. I would say he would make the top 4 if he was there. Higher than second tier senators like Ron Johnson, Tim Scott, Mike Crapo, Jim Risch, but lower than Paul and Lee , and switching out with Cruz.

[TaftFan]

Brannon would move ahead of Lee, right behind Paul.

[Brett85]

But the real problem is that most in the GOP who don't care about foreign policy.

If they don't care about foreign policy then it should be easy for a non interventionist to win a GOP primary in a Senate race, since most Republicans won't vote based on foreign policy issues.

[Brett85]

Brannon would move ahead of Lee, right behind Paul.

Why would he be "behind" Paul? Gunny said that he may be closer to Ron on foreign policy issues than Rand, so he may be better than Rand overall.

[aclove]

Brannon's making the right moves. I had a good phone call with his campaign manager earlier tonight. He's working on putting together an anti-establishment LiberTEA coalition. The goal is to be the only serious grassroots candidate in a field that's otherwise filled with establishment hacks like Tillis, Berger, and Ellmers. They divide the corporatist vote, Brannon wins the primary.

Tillis has been doing a bang-up job pissing conservatives in the state off by stifling nullification legislation, legislation for homeschoolers, and pushing toll roads. He tried to recruit someone to run against a popular Cabarrus County LiberTEA State House rep, but word got out and the guy got cold feet and bailed. Latest crisis is that Tillis pushed another popular State House rep out of chairmanship of the House Finance Committee for telling the truth about Tillis supporting toll roads, and Eastern NC Republicans are up in arms over Tillis' support of a bill to declare several species of commercially valuable fish off-limits to everything but sport fishing.

Brannon is aware of all of these developments and has been quietly reaching out to the targeted conservative legislators and their supporters, and he's launching a House Party tour to raise money over the summer. Check it out at http://gregbrannon.com/host-a-house-party/

May 22 Winston-Salem Tom Buck, Keith Lawson, Lisa Wall
May 31 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Rick Gardner
June 1 Franklinton Dee Sams
June 4 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Karl Pete
June 9 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nixon
June 10 Cornelius Bill Anderson
June 15 Pineville Mark Traveis
June 19 Cary Dr. Bobbi Stanley
June 21 Pinehurst Mr. and Mrs. Bro Park
June 22 Asheville Laura McCue
June 28 Wilmington Tom Heitman
June 29 Wilmington Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Owens
July 12 Winston-Salem Mr. and Mrs. Chris Curran
July 13 Flat Rock Mr. and Mrs. Pete Davis
July 14 Fletcher Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin
Aug 10 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tyner

*Additional events will be announced in the coming days & weeks.

[Krzysztof Lesiak]

Only Brannon has announced right, for the GOP primary?

[sailingaway]

Brannon's making the right moves. I had a good phone call with his campaign manager earlier tonight. He's working on putting together an anti-establishment LiberTEA coalition. The goal is to be the only serious grassroots candidate in a field that's otherwise filled with establishment hacks like Tillis, Berger, and Ellmers. They divide the corporatist vote, Brannon wins the primary.

Tillis has been doing a bang-up job pissing conservatives in the state off by stifling nullification legislation, legislation for homeschoolers, and pushing toll roads. He tried to recruit someone to run against a popular Cabarrus County LiberTEA State House rep, but word got out and the guy got cold feet and bailed. Latest crisis is that Tillis pushed another popular State House rep out of chairmanship of the House Finance Committee for telling the truth about Tillis supporting toll roads, and Eastern NC Republicans are up in arms over Tillis' support of a bill to declare several species of commercially valuable fish off-limits to everything but sport fishing.

Brannon is aware of all of these developments and has been quietly reaching out to the targeted conservative legislators and their supporters, and he's launching a House Party tour to raise money over the summer. Check it out at http://gregbrannon.com/host-a-house-party/

May 22 Winston-Salem Tom Buck, Keith Lawson, Lisa Wall
May 31 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Rick Gardner
June 1 Franklinton Dee Sams
June 4 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Karl Pete
June 9 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nixon
June 10 Cornelius Bill Anderson
June 15 Pineville Mark Traveis
June 19 Cary Dr. Bobbi Stanley
June 21 Pinehurst Mr. and Mrs. Bro Park
June 22 Asheville Laura McCue
June 28 Wilmington Tom Heitman
June 29 Wilmington Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Owens
July 12 Winston-Salem Mr. and Mrs. Chris Curran
July 13 Flat Rock Mr. and Mrs. Pete Davis
July 14 Fletcher Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin
Aug 10 Raleigh Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tyner

*Additional events will be announced in the coming days & weeks.

I saw that, in fact I tweeted it...

[TaftFan]

Why would he be "behind" Paul? Gunny said that he may be closer to Ron on foreign policy issues than Rand, so he may be better than Rand overall.

Fair enough. But he is better than Lee and Cruz for sure.

[Spoa]

Fair enough. But he is better than Lee and Cruz for sure.

Why do we have to complicate matters? Let's just agree that he would be a great ally to have in the Senate!

[TaftFan]

Why do we have to complicate matters? Let's just agree that he would be a great ally to have in the Senate!

I'm afraid you get too complacent some times. Yes, I agree that we shouldn't only support the purest candidates, but that doesn't mean we don't find out what their purity is.

[T.hill]

Why would he be "behind" Paul? Gunny said that he may be closer to Ron on foreign policy issues than Rand, so he may be better than Rand overall.

For that to be the case Brannon would have to be against all sanctions and that would make him closer to Ron Paul than anyone, including Rand and Amash. That would be cool, I guess, but not really that important.

I think Brannon and Rand will be about the same in the senate, Brannon might have a more Ron Paul demeanor to him, but I still don't think it really matters.

[T.hill]

There's a plan to do a moneybomb for Broun, but I think Brannon need's grassroots money more. Why not do a moneybomb for him?

[Brett85]

For that to be the case Brannon would have to be against all sanctions and that would make him closer to Ron Paul than anyone, including Rand and Amash.

No, he would just have to be against some sanctions. Rand has voted for all of the sanctions. Amash only voted for one (very mild) Iran sanctions bill and voted against about five others.

[jkob]

Not bad. 7% isn't too far off from 15%, just have to keep working.

[IndianaPolitico]

Not too bad, no one is running away with this yet by any means. He is moving up and there is a good amount of time to continue doing just that. Ted Cruz was polling with numbers like this around this point in his race. Brannon just needs to keep on campaigning, I have a feeling when he hits the double digits that he will be getting a bit more attention. Hopefully he continues to emphasize the fact that he is a doctor, could be useful.

[TomtheTinker]

Sigh. So I guess it just isn't possible to get a non interventionist into the Senate?

not impossible. Gary Johnson could win a senate seat but doesn't seem to want one.

[GunnyFreedom]

Brannon would move ahead of Lee, right behind Paul.

Ahead of Paul, IMHO. He is somewhere in between Ron and Rand. At one point he was getting disgusted with Rand making compromise votes until he saw the leverage it gave him. He may take a leverage vote or two now and then, but he will hold a more principled line than Rand does.

[sailingaway]

There's a plan to do a moneybomb for Broun, but I think Brannon need's grassroots money more. Why not do a moneybomb for him?

I don't like to do one and not have it work, and we would need people to get on board to organize and get the word out, but I'd be up for it if a critical mass were..... I must say my antennae are up on this guy.

Who else would be willing to put some effort into spreading the word of a money bomb etc? Would anyone be able to make a graphic?

[NationalAnarchist]

Wish he would come out this way. I got his bumper sticker on my truck and will put up yard signs here soon...NC don't end at Asheville politicians!

[aclove]

Whereabouts in NC are you, NationalAnarchist?

[FSP-Rebel]

I don't like to do one and not have it work, and we would need people to get on board to organize and get the word out, but I'd be up for it if a critical mass were..... I must say my antennae are up on this guy.

Who else would be willing to put some effort into spreading the word of a money bomb etc? Would anyone be able to make a graphic?
People should be promoting the MB for Broun right now as he's Ron-endorsed and it's already in the mix. Once that happens, we get one set up for Brannon and go all out there. If we're in this to push for liberty candidates then we need to get down for as many eligible ones as possible. I'm unaware of any endorsements for Brannon thus far yet I believe him to be top shelf but he should come after an already established MB set up for a Ron-endorsed candidate. So, people should be sigging for Broun right now and inviting friends to the FB page, tweeting this event out and whatever else to get the ball rolling, not bickering activism in certain subforums.

[compromise]

Collins, can you get Ron to endorse Brannon?

[NationalAnarchist]

Whereabouts in NC are you, NationalAnarchist?
Franklin,NC its in Macon County moving to Waynesville which is about 30 miles west of Asheville next summer.

[lib3rtarian]

Franklin,NC its in Macon County moving to Waynesville which is about 30 miles west of Asheville next summer.

It's a pity you couldn't be a delegate. I've been told that a vote from a small far-flung county carries more weightage than a vote from big-ass counties like Wake and Mecklenburg. I think if it's only you who show up from Macon, you vote for the whole county.

[GunnyFreedom]

It's a pity you couldn't be a delegate. I've been told that a vote from a small far-flung county carries more weightage than a vote from big-ass counties like Wake and Mecklenburg. I think if it's only you who show up from Macon, you vote for the whole county.

Correct. Party officer voting is weighted, and however many show up (even if it's only one) votes the whole delegation. Now that Karl Rove has his ringer, the VC election has gotten a LOT more difficult. What was a sure thing a month ago, is now a bit of a long shot. Every single vote matters.

[NationalAnarchist]

Dang. Wish I had gotten involved sooner...I need to get registered to vote at least...I am a stay at home dad so got 3 kids to watch constantly hard to get away and do much business lol...can't wait for summer to be over!

[sailingaway]

People should be promoting the MB for Broun right now as he's Ron-endorsed and it's already in the mix. Once that happens, we get one set up for Brannon and go all out there. If we're in this to push for liberty candidates then we need to get down for as many eligible ones as possible. I'm unaware of any endorsements for Brannon thus far yet I believe him to be top shelf but he should come after an already established MB set up for a Ron-endorsed candidate. So, people should be sigging for Broun right now and inviting friends to the FB page, tweeting this event out and whatever else to get the ball rolling, not bickering activism in certain subforums.


People are going to have different priorities for different candidates. I like Braun particularly since I realized that only he, Amash and Ron voted against HR 347 which creates a year's jail term for protesting within a secret service declared 'no protest zone' around anyone they protect -- I think Romney's secret service made one about a square mile big during the campaign if I remember correctly....

But he has a big hole or two, good as he is on other issues, and Brannon I have hopes for across the board. AND he is in the mix, being only 9 points behind Hagen this early in the race, I want him to get over the hump.

He's more of a personal priority to me.

And I agree I think Ron should look at him and consider endorsing him. I'm not sure Ron knows him.

[sailingaway]

Dang. Wish I had gotten involved sooner...I need to get registered to vote at least...I am a stay at home dad so got 3 kids to watch constantly hard to get away and do much business lol...can't wait for summer to be over!

NC voter registration info: http://www.ncsbe.gov/content.aspx?id=1&s=1

registration form to fill out and mail before deadline: http://www.ncsbe.gov/GetDocument.aspx?id=241


Processing of your application will be facilitated if you mail the form to the Board of Elections in your county of residence. To find the address of your county board click the county board of elections link --> http://www.ncsbe.gov/content.aspx?id=13

[FSP-Rebel]

But he has a big hole or two, good as he is on other issues, and Brannon I have hopes for across the board. AND he is in the mix, being only 9 points behind Hagen this early in the race, I want him to get over the hump.

He's more of a personal priority to me.

And I agree I think Ron should look at him and consider endorsing him. I'm not sure Ron knows him.
Like I said, I'm down for Brannon like anyone else. Point is we already have one going for Broun, lets promote and finish that one before moving on to the next. The sentiment that I'm getting here is that we're gonna start all going off in different directions based upon feelings not about Ron's endorsements in order.

[sailingaway]

I think Ron's endorsement counts a lot, but he doesn't know every person in the world, and 'in order' doesn't have any compulsion for me personally, it is more a matter of 'when are the key times for the campaigns?'

And that I don't entirely know, but early in this case, with a guy who needs name recognition would seem better. I'm not opposed to the Broun one, I just learned some people set one for July, but I understand Brannon is special, so he is right now up there with Amash for me.

[Brett85]

Ahead of Paul, IMHO. He is somewhere in between Ron and Rand. At one point he was getting disgusted with Rand making compromise votes until he saw the leverage it gave him. He may take a leverage vote or two now and then, but he will hold a more principled line than Rand does.

That's good to hear. Let's do everything we can to get him into the Senate.

[compromise]

As well as Ron, some endorsements might help him gain ground among conservative activists.

Mike Lee's Constitutional Conservatives Fund:
http://fundconservatives.com/contact

DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund (they have Brannon on their list of all candidates announced so they know he exists, but haven't endorsed him):
http://www.senateconservatives.com/site/contact

FreedomWorks for America (scroll down and fill out the Who's Your Candidate thing):
http://www.freedomworksforamerica.org/

Club for Growth PAC (email sfrench@clubforgrowth.org):
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/pac-candidates/

Tea Party Express:
http://www.teapartyexpress.org/contact

A few of these guys backing Brannon could help him out a lot.

[JakeH]

I've emailed both the Club For Growth and Freedomworks about his candidacy and received word back that they were "looking into him" so at least those two and DeMint knows he exists.

[compromise]

Thanks for the info Jake.

YAL PAC is a good one to try too:
http://www.yaliberty.org/campaigns/recommend

[sailingaway]

Thanks for the info Jake.

YAL PAC is a good one to try too:
http://www.yaliberty.org/campaigns/recommend

I'll email them. I'm not from NC, but I'm on their various lists.

[sluggo]

I just emailed Freedomworks about Brannon.

We'll see........

[compromise]

Republican Liberty Caucus:

NC State Chapter: dhwilliams2007@hotmail.com
National RLC Endorsements Committee: dsheill@hotmail.com

[Hyperion]

Gunny-Do you get the sense that Hagan is toast or does she stand a chance?

[compromise]

Gun Owners of America PVF:
http://gunowners.net/cgi-bin/ttx.cgi?cmd=newticket&grp=group1&subject=[GOAPVF]

Madison Project:
http://madisonproject.com/contact-us/

Eagle Forum:
Email Colleen@eagleforum.org

National Right to Life:
http://www.nrlc.org/contact.html

National Taxpayers' Union:
http://www.ntu.org/about-ntu/contact.html

Council for Citizens Against Government Waste PAC:
http://www.ccagwpac.org/Contact_Us.html

Liberty For All PAC:
http://pacliberty.com/contact/

[sluggo]

Here's another:

Grassroots NC Political Victory Fund (think of a state level GOA)
http://www.grnc.org/grnc-pvf/what-is-grnc-pvf

[GunnyFreedom]

Gunny-Do you get the sense that Hagan is toast or does she stand a chance?

A lot of people don't like Hagan much, but the GOP NCGA is pissing as many people off as they can as fast as they can. Anything good for the common folk is deemed too controversial to even get a hearing, and they've shoved through ridiculously controversial legislation in the interests of big ticket donor interests and family connections. There is going to be a lot of blowback against Republicans in NC in 2014, so it all depends on who is running. If it's an establishmentarian, Hagan is going to take it in a walk. If it's an anti-establishmentarian, it's going to be a real fight.

Problem is the powers that be are so isolated away in their ivory tower they think the rest of NC is blind and dumb. So they are very likely to misstep in a big way here and force the very guy everyone is angry at right now through the primary. The GOP leadership in Raleigh seems to be of the opinion that their feces doesn't reek, and they are basically blind to the fact that even hard core Republicans are looking at the blue side of the legislative dial in 2014 out of disgust.

So the answer is yes and no. Hagan is really weak, but if we nominate the wrong candidate she is going to walk away with it. Just like Obama was really weak in 2012, but we nominated the wrong candidate and Obama walked away with it. If we nominate the right candidate, then Hagan will go down in flames.

The 'regular Joe' has more access to data via the Internet than ever before in history, and it's starting to have a very profound effect. Only these career politicians are completely blind to it. So who knows?

[sluggo]

Off topic, but what do you think of the NC tax reform plan, Gunny?

[GunnyFreedom]

Off topic, but what do you think of the NC tax reform plan, Gunny?

I don't know the details of it well enough to form an opinion. :( tax reform needs done, but that's one subject where a misplaced word or two could make it go horribly horribly wrong. I do know that if they are adjusting over to a broader sales tax and taking down income taxes significantly, then there would need to be a "Fair Tax" style exemption or 'prebate' (what a horrible word) for the staple food and clothing that poor people buy, or there will be hell to pay not only in the next several elections, but also in perception of the GOP, and the reality for the impoverished guy on the ground.

So tax reform needs to be done in NC. Should eliminate income taxation altogether but I don't know if they will. Shifting the burden from an income tax to a consumption tax is better in the long run for wealth-building, but if they don't exempt staple items that poor people buy they will be shooting themselves in both feet, not to mention the active harm that will be done to the poor. I don't know the details on the plan well enough to say what it does or doesn't do, so I can't really give it a yea or a nay.

[Warlord]

What about Ramsey's Liberty for All. Brannon would meet his criteria if he decides to suppot him. He's well worth the investment.

Much better than challenging McConnell :/

[Warlord]

Hagan is gone in 2014. Mark my words. Just get Brannon nominated.

Hagan is the most in danger incumbent in my opinion and the GOP wave will take her out so long as there is a competent candidate in place.

[TaftFan]

We need to get him on Mike Church.

[sailingaway]

We need to get him on Mike Church.

That would be fantastic.

I'm going to tweet Mike Church and suggest it. (I don't have his email handy but I do follow him on twitter.)

[sailingaway]

I tweeted Mike Church and included the poll, you can tweet him or retweet mine: https://twitter.com/usernamenuse/status/338480775857053698

[compromise]

What about Ramsey's Liberty for All. Brannon would meet his criteria if he decides to suppot him. He's well worth the investment.

Much better than challenging McConnell :/

I linked to L4A's contact page a little up here. I did send them a message, but they haven't replied yet.

Church would be a great idea. Maybe Glenn Beck too, he had Lee Bright on a few months ago.

[FSP-Rebel]

retweeted

[Warlord]

I linked to L4A's contact page a little up here. I did send them a message, but they haven't replied yet.

Church would be a great idea. Maybe Glenn Beck too, he had Lee Bright on a few months ago.

Beck wont be interested in NC's GOP primary. He's trying to encourage someone to run against Graham that's why he's interested in that one.

[Warlord]

If he really wants exposure he should try and get on Alex Jones.

Warlord has been pestering them about Broun but Alex doesn't promote much political candidates who aren't named Paul though he should.

[compromise]

If he really wants exposure he should try and get on Alex Jones.

Warlord has been pestering them about Broun but Alex doesn't promote much political candidates who aren't named Paul though he should.

Broun is named Paul. :D

[Warlord]

Broun is named Paul. :D

'last name Paul'. Seriously only Bob Barr is the only other one I can remember? He doesn't do it often but he should use his platform more. He could really help the likes of Broun