Robin Hayes strands Cruz supporters kicking them off his private plane

Robin Hayes just can't help himself. He lost his job in Congress after telling one too many lies and now he's put his pettiness on full display in Cleveland.

According to the CharO:

When North Carolina Republican Chairman Robin Hayes asked fellow delegate Ted Hicks on Thursday what he thought of the convention speech by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Hicks was candid.

Robin Hayes' Felons & Friends

When I was growing up my parents warned me about hanging out with the wrong crowd. I thought then that a person's character would be judged by their actions, but have learned through life experiences that it is many times judged by the company that a person keeps. Much can be learned about our Representatives in Washington just by looking at the company they keep, as well as who is giving them money and when.

I recently spent some time going through six years of Robin Hayes' FEC reports to see just who among his fellow members of congress are giving him money. I was amazed to find out some of the details about Robin's friends. There were enough felons, indictees, adulterers, liars and cheaters to fill a good-sized corner of hell.

The rest is below the fold...

GOP Bought Hayes' Vote on CAFTA

Everyone knows that Robin Hayes broke his promise to his constituents. He had promised to vote against CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Republicans and corporate interests in Washington had different plans for Hayes.

Hayes sold his vote. He sold out his constituents. Now we're finding out just how much the Republican Party and corporate Washington are paying Hayes for that vote. The Charlotte Observer has this to say:

All the dirty details below the fold...

Taylor: NAFTA is the Cause of Job Loss (Do Not Mind My Vote For CAFTA)

At his annual year-end fundraiser, Charles Taylor NC-11 was hit with a question on job loss (the area has lost 6,100 jobs since January 2003), His response was to point to 100 jobs being sent to Mexico and blaming NAFTA. From the Citizen-Times:

Taylor and Allen met with media representatives prior to the start of the dinner. When asked about the region’s future now that another 100 jobs will be lost after last week’s announcement that Asheville’s Cardinal Health plant is relocating to Mexico, Taylor blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement.

With House Races Heating Up, Taylor Already Avoiding Bush

The Charlotte Observer has a piece about the early virulence of the Democratic challenges in NC-8 and NC-11. The piece features Shuler and his fundraising advantage and Dunn and Kissell in the 11th.

The piece points out that the main issue in the 8th has been trade and Taylor's vote in favor of CAFTA. Dunn has made a big deal out of the vote, and Kissell has even named a goat (picture at http://www.larrykissell.com) after CAFTA. Given this, is it any surprise that Taylor did not show up when Bush was here promoting CAFTA last week?

Hayes has played up his ties to the president in the past, but choose to meet with workers at a yarn mill this week when Bush visited a construction equipment plant in Kernersville.

Cafta Strikes Again

North Carolina continues to lose jobs because of CAFTA:

A long-time textile plant in Edenton will lay off 203 workers starting in April.

And Edenton Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton says the recently
adopted Central American Free Trade Agreement is to blame.
Last week, Weyerhaeuser Company said it will shut down its plant
in nearby Plymouth after 57 years, which is expected to displace
another 200 workers.

Local agencies are developing ways to help families impacted by
the layoffs.

abc11tv.com: CAFTA Blamed for Layoffs at Edenton Textile Plant

BlueNC

cafta