Good morning, Jim Neal

Submitted by James on

As I mentioned yesterday, Jim Neal, Democratic candidate for United States Senate, will visit BlueNC at 10 this morning to introduce himself and share his ideas about getting America back on track. Many of you have already loaded him up with questions, so I'm sure the discussion will be interesting. I met Jim for the first time last week and I am very excited about his candidacy. I think you will be too.

I'm off to the Orange County Democratic Party breakfast this morning, where Jim will make brief comments to kick off his very busy day. (We're really lucky to have him for an hour or so this morning.) See you back here at 10.

James

Comments

A sampling of some questions from the earlier thread

Submitted by James on

From Robert:

1. SEANC must be one of the largest unions in North Carolina, does he have any plans to meet with the membership and/or leadership?
2. Related to health care, where do you stand on:
a. Universal Health Care.
b. Medicare for All
c. S-CHIP expansion, both the current version and raising it to include ALL uninsured kids.

From BlueSouth:

While Elizabeth Dole has been in the Senate, George Bush and the Republicans in Congress have done everything they can to destroy working families in America.

If Jim could fix one thing from the last 10-20 years of economic policies what would it be? NAFTA, CAFTA, the deficit, minimum wage, etc? If not one policy, how about one platform position to address the problem of a shrinking middle class and 37 million Americans living in Poverty?

From Parmea:

Where do you stand on the OLF issue and how do you see the impacts that an OLF would have for the region of NE NC?

From Funluvn:

If anyone has the time after asking their questions, I would truly appreciate if someone would ask Mr. Neal his thoughts on congressional members in the House and Senate procuring earmarks for their State and local constituencies. Where does it stop being the right thing to do for the people of your State and become the wrong thing to do with federal money? I realize they have to "bring home the bacon" so to speak, but with the incredible federal deficit this country currently possesses, and the fact that so much foreign money is invested in our debt, I would like to know how he feels regarding this subject.

A couple more:

Submitted by James on

From Jerimee:

Will someone please ask him if he is willing to actively support workers struggling for union rights? Maybe ask him about Smithfield as well.

By email to me from someone I don't know:

How's the fundraising going? How much money will you have to raise to help us DumpDole? Where can I send a check?

Civil Liberty

Submitted by Mensor on

Two days ago Senator Chris Dodd put a hold on the Senate deal to provide immunity to telecoms for their complicity in illegal wiretapping.

The Military Commissions Act. Warrantless wiretapping. Shredding of Habeas Corpus. Torture. Extraordinary Rendition. Secret Prisons.

No more.

Let me add the Patriot Act to his list.

Do you believe our civil liberties, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution have been under assault and how critical have these actions been to the country?

Welcome to the fray Jim

Submitted by WillR on

I'm concerned that our country won't learn any long lasting lessons from our recent experience and, with impeachment apparently off the table, that the consequences of anti-democratic behavior - from negotiating the energy swindle in 2000 to the introduction of torture as acceptable US policy to shredding key Constitutional protections to creating "for profit" wars that will haunt my 10-year olds future.

Following up on Mensor's question, how aggressive do you think the Senate needs to become in investigating the many abuses of the current administration?

Good luck on you run. As a long time citizen of Chapel Hill, I look forward to hometown leadership that champions causes in keeping with our Town's former progressive reputation.

CitizenWill
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. MLK,Jr. to SCLC Leadership Class

CitizenWill
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. MLK,Jr. to SCLC Leadership Class

Welcome Candidate Neal!

Submitted by Gordon Smith on

Choosing to run takes a lot of courage, so here's to you Mr. Neal.

Most of us don't know diddly about you. What would be your top three priorities upon reaching the Senate?

Scrutiny Hooligans - http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us

Priorities

Submitted by JimNeal on

Gordon,

I've got 5 not 3: restoring Protecting our nation and its freedoms, fiscal reponsibility, health care for all Americans, protecting our environment and restoring government accountability to the voters who elect and pay the freight for the elected reps.

Assault on Reason

Submitted by Mensor on

Have you given any thought yet to Bushco's assault on science?

There seems to have been an article every other month (for the last six years) concerning muzzling, intimidation, or straight out censure of scientists in NASA, EPA, FDA, NOAA, etc .

In the House, Brad Miller has been keenly leading on this.

OC Breakfast

Submitted by JimNeal on

Parmea-

Many thanks-- but all speakers got 2 minutes. I think it came off well though-- as an outsider to politics-- I'm a storyteller and talker and try and stay on message

Two minutes is tough

Submitted by WillR on

Sounds like we have something in common ;-) Two minutes is tough, especially when you have to cover a lot of turf and want to inject some nuance.

I'm hoping you leverage forums like BlueNC to get the word out. Thanks for taking the time today to talk with us.

CitizenWill
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. MLK,Jr. to SCLC Leadership Class

CitizenWill
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. MLK,Jr. to SCLC Leadership Class

Good morning

Submitted by JimNeal on

Before I begin-- thanks to all of you for joining in and for BlueNC for inviting me to this forum. I'll do my best to answer as many questions as I can guys-- now or later.

With that intro.-- let's get rolling!

Jerimee

Submitted by JimNeal on

Running for this office is an honor-- I owe and will always owe thanks to the folks who elect me. I've said all the time as I will now: can't believe I'm NOT getting paid to run :-) I want to do this for all of us.

First thing: introduce self to every Senator. I've got to work with 99 others if I want to make change happen.

Energy research and initiatives

Submitted by scharrison on

Jim, how do you feel about government leading the charge to develop clean, renewable energy sources as opposed to allowing the power companies to make the choices for us? Should the fact that wind and Solar power being more expensive (currently) lead us to conclude that these technologies should be shelved until some later date, or should we get the ball rolling now and tweak it as we go?

I've heard...

Submitted by omega_star on

I've heard you're gay...

Easy now

Submitted by James on

We've had scores of new registrations in the past 12 hours. Lots of people want to know more about the candidate - and for many this will be their first introduction to blogging.

Play nice.

Concern Troll :-P

Submitted by Oliver Queen on

1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.

I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks

Good Morning Liddy,

Submitted by momoaizo on

are you here to ask questions of the man that will replace you or make baseless accusations?

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Progressive Discussions

thank you...

Submitted by omega_star on

I want to know what Mr. Neal has to say about this. Blogging is about being open, right?

Gay

Submitted by JimNeal on

I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me-- I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise

Do you...

Submitted by omega_star on

...really think a gay man can be elected in North Carolina?

I'm not running this race to

Submitted by JimNeal on

I'm not running this race to lose. I'm not running to make some social statement. I'm running to lead in the Senate for the voters in NC-- something Senator Dole has not done.

When people meet me, they'll see beyond the labels and into my character.

Gay Marriage

Submitted by omega_star on

Where do you stand on gay marriage?

It's okay if churches want

Submitted by JimNeal on

It's okay if churches want to unite same-sex couples; it's okay if they don't. That's their Constitutional right which I support 100%.

But when it comes to the Government, I'm not in favor of any laws that discriminate against anyone for any reason.

You're gay?

Submitted by James on

Wow. This makes me want to support you even more.

But make no mistake, the right-wing zealots will be coming after you hook, line and sinker. They'd rather have a Bushbot extremist destroying our military and undermining the health of our families than a gay man in Congress. I guess we'll find out where North Carolina stands on what matters most.

Are you up for that?

Bre'r Rabbit here-- please

Submitted by JimNeal on

Bre'r Rabbit here-- please don't throw me in the briar patch!

I'm a big boy. I can take it and I can dish it.

Well, you just won me over

Submitted by Betsy Muse on

Not that you had to prove anything to me to begin with. You had me at, "I'm running against Elizabeth Dole." :)

Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.



***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.

thank you for your honesty

Submitted by Pam Spaulding on

Mr. Neal, as someone working for LGBT equality both at a national level and here at home in North Carolina, thank you for answering the question and deciding to run openly and honestly. I hope that The Victory Fund will have your back; it would also be wonderful if you could stop by the first Equality Conference & Gala on November 3 at the Duke University School of Law, and the Nasher Museum. [I'm on the committee, and we're proud to have Alabama's first openly out legislator, State Rep. Patricia Todd as one of our speakers]

The Republicans will make an issue of your orientation whether you were publicly out or not, given the political grapevine and the gutter tactics of fear and smear. It's time to make the issue about doing work for the citizens of North Carolina. Mrs. Dole's heterosexuality clearly gave her no advantage in this vein -- she has done zero for the state as she rubber-stamped the destructive policies of this president, so clearly one's orientation has no bearing on the ability to serve the people. If the GOP wants to go there, fine -- they are going to have a dickens of a time defending Liddy's record and its impact on this state.

Thank you again. This is a great day in NC.

--
Pam Spaulding
Durham, NC USA

Pam's House Blend
www.pamshouseblend.com
pam@pamspaulding.com

--
Pam Spaulding
Durham, NC USA

Pam's House Blend
www.pamshouseblend.com

Mr. Neal, there are a number of new names

Submitted by momoaizo on

on the "who's online" list that have been registered for less than a day. One of them even has a "Rudy '08" picture. So if you start getting "trolled" understand the mindset it comes from. The regulars at BlueNC will ask thoughtful questions, not make stupid accusations.

(Guess the trolls aren't aware of the detective abilities of Besty Muse and Greg Flynn, heh.)

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Progressive Discussions

Heh.

Submitted by James on

A picture is worth a thousand words. Rudy has always given me the creeps. This notches up the creepiness by a factor of 10. Niiiiice.

OK A

Submitted by momoaizo on

I'll back off

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Progressive Discussions

No, I will

Submitted by Betsy Muse on

You're too nice. :)

Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.



***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.

Energy

Submitted by JimNeal on

We have no choice-- as a state and a nation-- to move with a sense of urgency to make up ground and move forward with lightspeed to adress the assault on our environment which ths Administration has ignored. Our state and its natural resources and incredible and are treasure we can't lose-- and that's one battlefront which has been ignored.

I am for nuclear energy

Submitted by parmea on

if I were in a decision making process, I would support nuclear plants placed smartly in NC. Do you approve or disapprove of the nuclear option?

Not that you care what I think

Submitted by James on

But I'm in agreement with you Parm. I daresay if we had the choice of where we stand with climate change right now, we would have been much better off if the past 40 years had been powered by a responsible nuclear energy program.

Not to derail this blog, but

Submitted by scharrison on

even with the limited amount of active nuclear power sites in the U.S., we've amassed thousands of metric tons of spent fuel rods that are swimming in pools of water until we can figure out what to do with them. And as long as water is the coolant for cores as well as spent fuel, we may (soon) have to shut down nuc plants in the months when our proximity to the Sun keeps our water temperature high. There's also the fact that uranium is a finite resource, and (of course) we have to buy it from somebody who digs it out the ground on the other side of the world, so...

Too many questions, not enough answers. The NRC is buried in safety regulations and protocol, yet things still happen. And then they're covered up.

If we want to take steps to secure the future of our world, creating horribly dangerous materials with a half-life of thousands of years is not the way.

I agree

Submitted by James on

about the fundamental problems.

I'm just asking which of the two problems would we rather have - catastrophic global warming or radiation storage?

The obvious answer is neither, but
"If boiling people alive best served the interests of the American people, then it would neither be moral or immoral." Max Borders, Civitas Institute

I agree, sir.

Submitted by scharrison on

Extraordinary measures need to be taken. We need to stop ignoring clean, usable energy that surrounds us while we lop off mountaintops to secure carbon-emitting fuel.

It ain't the 19th Century anymore.

Mr. Neal

Submitted by parmea on

Moved this from other thread......

I thank you for running against Sen. Dole.

I will preference all my questions with the assumption that you will be my senator sworn in in Jan 2009.

I despise partisan politics. I hate seeing an issue were almost all Demcrats vote one way and almost all republicans vote another way. Do you feel that there is to much partisan politics going on in Washington?

100 Counties

Submitted by gregflynn on

I volunteered some on the Bowles campaign. I knew something was a little odd when I found myself driving around out-of-state students to canvass in Raleigh. There weren't enough people like me to do the canvassing and not enough of a statewide party structure to win the state.

We've talked here about a 100 county strategy. What are your thoughts?

I will visit every corner

Submitted by JimNeal on

I will visit every corner and every county of this state. I'm not a politician guys-- I'm running after every vote. When I win, I will represent every voter and citizen of this state regardless of whether they supported me or not.

That's the right thing to do. It's what I believe a good leader should do.

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