In 2008 you and I need to retire Elizabeth Dole, Leslie Merritt, Skip Stam, and a few of the more compromised members of our congressional delegation. We also have 15 electoral votes that are ours to deliver.

This is a tall, tall order. To make it happen we need about 250,000 more votes than what we got in 2000 and 2004.

You may be used to political partisanship from the John W. Pope Civitas Institute, but you would be surprised to go to their website and find a mutilated photo of a baby, right?

Yesterday, visitors to Civitas's newly designed website were treated to an image of a newborn infant making an obscene and sexually suggestive gesture. Civitas has not yet attempted to explain their motives for promoting this disturbing image.

If BlueNC has the story correct, the image is in response to journalists calling in to question the professionalism of Civitas's newest employee, Max Borders. Regardless of the intent of the offensive image, we can hope that both Civitas and their affiliate, the John Locke Foundation, will apologize.

Congressman Heath Shuler has a secret admirer . . .

It is our moral obligation to ensure that all of America's children have health care. President Bush is threatening to deny health care to 116,000 North Carolina children by vetoing the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

While both Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr voted with Bush, Congress acted last week to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program. If President Bush signs this bill, more than 10 million children and families would be able to afford health insurance. Yet, despite those stakes, that remains a very big "IF."

Last week, Gov. Mike Easley joined 42 of our nation’s governors to ensure that President Bush signs the bill. Now we need your help.

Sign here to demand Bush enact SCHIP:
http://www.ncdp.org/petition_schip

This November, we have a chance to retake the Mayor's office in Charlotte. And I want to help make that happen.

That's why I'll be in Charlotte this Saturday, September 29th, working for our Democratic municipal candidates.

I hope you'll join me this Saturday, from noon to 3:00 p.m., as we go door-to-door, spreading the word about our municipal candidates and their vision for Charlotte. Volunteers will gather at noon at Plaza Presbyterian Church, located at 2304 The Plaza, in Charlotte. From there, we'll canvass Democrats and unaffiliated voters in a nearby precinct.

With a national mood favoring Democrats and strong candidates, this could be our best chance in years to make significant gains in Charlotte's municipal races. But it's going to take hard work -- including direct voter contact on a regular basis, between now and election.

If you can join us, just reply to jmeek@ncdp.org. I hope to see you Saturday.

Best Wishes,

Jerry

It’s not too late to host a House Party.

For the third consecutive year, Democrats from across the state will gather at their homes to participate in grassroots networking.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 25. Help make this a success by turning your house into a home for Democratic ideas and action.

This year Markos Moulitsas will be joining us via conference call. Markos is the founder of Dailykos and co-author of the best-selling book Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People Powered Politics.

Daniel Johnson contemplates challenge to McHenry
Story by Andrew Mackie, Hickory News Record

A Hickory military hero may enter the 2008 race for Congress.

Daniel Johnson, 31, confirmed Wednesday he is considering a run for the seat held by scandal-ridden Rep. Patrick McHenry.

Johnson is a Hickory native who now lives in Raleigh. He said he might move back to the area and launch his campaign.

“We’re trying to see if it’s the right thing for me and my wife right now,” Johnson said. “It is something that I’m considering and looking into.”

On Wednesday, August 29th, 150 Smithfield workers and family members traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia to meet the top corporate leaders of Smithfield Foods, and were joined by 1000 supporters from around the country in a loud, colorful and passionate show of solidarity.

Bradley Hardy, NC Federation of College Democrats

A group of UNC-Asheville students challenged on Wednesday Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s hypocrisy while he was on their campus to promote faith-based initiatives and advise local churches on how to receive money from the federal government.

The students took their tuition bills and textbook receipts to Burr to remind him of the financial burden that college students face and ask why he didn’t believe they deserved some relief.

The protest was organized through Facebook, an Internet social networking group, and covered by the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Earlier this year, Burr had an opportunity to help make education more affordable for millions of college students by voting for Senate Bill 1762, “The Higher Education Access Act”.

But once again, Burr chose special interests over the needs of his own constituents.

The North Carolina Democratic Party went on a road trip August 10-12 in eastern North Carolina.

Volunteers from across the state hit the road, working with local activists, helping people to register to vote, canvassing, doing community service projects, meeting with candidates and elected officials, and listening to the ideas and concerns of eastern North Carolinians.

Young, College and Teen Democrats teamed up with folks from the NC Democratic Party and Chairman Jerry Meek.

Here is a synopsis of what we encountered and achieved:

• 8/10, Lumberton: We sent groups out to most of the major neighborhoods of Lumberton to do a listening canvas. All over the city people talked about healthcare concerns, usually with other concerns (education, housing, jobs) woven into their story. We got some of these responses on video. As we drove out the bank clock blinked 107... 4:05pm... 108 (degrees Fahrenheit).
• 8/10, Clinton: Despite lightening, hard rain, and what Ben Akroyd described as "tornado sky," we sent groups out to canvas middle income neighborhoods. Because of the intermittent storms, people invited us into their homes so they could register to vote. Ben and Tara Ilsley met a man who was forced to have some surgery. The surgery cost $74,000. To pay it off, he faithfully sends a check for $20 every week. He said he was 66 years old, and if he lives to be 110 he'll have finally paid off his "debt" (his word, not ours). He went on, "I never have considered myself poor, but I've always thought the government ought to do more for people in a worse shape than I am." While canvassers were hitting the neighborhoods, Jerry met with over 40 local party leaders from Sampson and neighboring counties. 
• 8/11, Greenville: We assembled care packages with Give 2 The Troops. The Program Director repeatedly stressed the point "you can support the troops without supporting the war." We assembled over 50 boxes containing books, toiletries, dvds, and girl scout cookies. Read the article in the Reflector here.
• 8/11, Kinston: Jerry had a breakfast meeting with about 20 local party leaders from Lenoir and surrounding counties. They discussed ways the State Party can help local parties achieve their goals.
• 8/11, Windsor: We met Bertie County Chair Penny Thompson and County Commissioner L.C. Hoggard at the Heritage House Restaurant in Windsor. They then took us out canvassing, which was a blast. Thompson and Hoggard both know every single resident by face and name, and many residents greeted Thompson with a hug rather than a handshake. The canvassing went so quickly that we exhausted the doors, so Melissa Price and Teen Democrats President Jennifer Wadsworth
  started flagging down cars in order to register the drivers to vote.
• 8/11, Conway: Without planning to, we were honored to meet the widow of the Representative Howard J. Hunter who passed in January. We got slightly delayed when we helped a man register to vote and he took the initiative to call up friends from the next town over so that they could register as well.
• 8/11, Ahoskie: Jerry met with party leaders from a number of counties at Catherine's Restaurant. A number of leaders expressed the importance of bringing young people into the party. Halifax chair Kathy Knight stayed late to have dinner with us.
• 8/12, Winfall: We went to the service at Melton Grove Baptist Church, where we were warmly received. The farm next door had a huge "NO OLF" sign on it.
• 8/12, Elizabeth City: We toured and weeded a community garden specifically designed for the disabled and those suffering from dementia. They had the garden beds elevated to make them wheelchair accessible. We then took grass shoots from the garden and planted them at a Habitat for Humanity project. The grass is a special species that requires little water and little mowing, ensuring that the new home owners will have a hassle free and environmentally friendly yard.