I am bumping this to the front page. Some things simply don't need to be rewritten. There aren't enough superlatives in the English language for me to describe Larry and his campaign and the wonderful people I met in Biscoe while covering this event.

Most of you have heard about Larry Kissell's ingenius idea to sell gas at $1.22/gallon in RANT's great diary from yesterday. The results are in and it was an overwhelming success for many reasons. Yes, over 500 people were served. Yes, the news coverage has been terrific. Yes, the many different points represented by this gesture seem to all have been made quite successfully.

Please follow below the fold...

I'd like for all of us to take a moment to think about a phenomenon going on in the 8th District. It's illustrated by this photograph posted to the right. If you look closely, you'll notice that along with the two Kissell signs on the truck is the trademark oval "W" sticker proudly displayed by supporters of President Bush.

Yes, there are Republicans supporting Larry Kissell.

No, they haven't "seen the light". They aren't giving up their conservative ideology. They do not want to stand under the big tent. The "End Times" have not arrived. Hell has not frozen over.

The fact is there are many conservatives who believe that character counts. They see in Larry Kissell the same qualities we see. They like them as much as we do.

Lest you think I do nothing but pick on poor newspaper reporters, I've decided to take another approach today. I'm going to show a couple some love. The first, Joanie Morris of the Salisbury Post really earned it. The second, Tim Funk, of The Charlotte Observer is going to get some love for a much better job in portraying Larry's campaign.

After the hatchet job last week of GOP shill, Tim Whitmire, seeing some good strong reporting is refreshing. On a side note, I find myself chuckling over the fact that Whitmire's piece was picked up by only a handful of papers or news sites and only one was in-market. Voters in Fort Wayne, Indiana will probably be wondering who the hell Larry Kissell is and why they can't vote for him as will voters in Myrtle Beach and Hampton Roads, VA. Only WCNC (Channel 6 News) had the piece printed on their web site. The paper of record in North Carolina still has not picked up on the story. The Art Pope Digest in Raleigh carried it, though - big, BIG surprise.

More on the flip...

Larry Kissell has been drawing crowds of volunteers. We are literally coming out of the woodwork, but it will take many, many more of us on the phones, hitting the neighborhoods, putting out signs, attending events and fundraisers, stuffing envelopes and just about every other activity it takes to run a campaign. Those of us living in and around North Carolina's 8th CD will take care of much of that work, but we need your help backing us up on the phones. Give Larry 10 and he'll give you Congress.

Find out how below the fold...

What do Scotland County, Cumberland County, Richmond County and Cabarrus County all have in common? They have all had a visit from Larry Kissell, a candidate who believes that a good way to lead is to follow. He's following the example of traditional grassroots candidates and knocking on doors, talking to his constituents and listening to their needs and goals for the future. He's leading by standing up for the people in his district and taking their concerns to Washington.

Larry isn't just visiting these counties. He's walking and knocking on doors. The Laurinburg Exchange (registration required) is running a piece that describes Larry's travels through the district in the heat of Indian Summer and Larry is learning from his contituents.

"The majority of the people are very concerned. They're concerned that they can't maintain the life that they've been used to, they're concerned about jobs, education, fuel prices—these things that affect them day to day," he stated. "Throughout this district, every night, there's people that are worrying about this. And that's why we're here."

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