There's something you need to know about him. I know that over the years, we've dished a ton of dirt on candidates, but this is something you've never heard before. Sex scandals, dirty tricks, IRS problems, embezzlement? They've all been done. This is unique. This is something I've never seen from a congressional candidate before, and I dare say it will surprise you.
The sad truth of it is that I've seen Harry Taylor work harder than any other congressional candidate I've ever seen ... and this was on a campaign that wasn't even his own. Very simply, it would be a shame if such a smart, hard-working, honest guy were stuck in Congress, unable to work on Democratic campaigns. He might just be too good for Congress.
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Back in 2006, I got to know Harry as a volunteer coordinator for the Kissell for Congress campaign. Everyone already knew Harry from his conversation with President Bush and his status as Creative Loafing's 2006 Local Hero, but that didn't negate Harry's humble, unassuming manner. Instead, and unlike most future congressional candidates, he was friendly and a joy to work with.
When he came out to knock doors for the campaign, he would get out of the van first and come back the latest - after covering all of the turf we gave him, and then some. He volunteered every day he could spare, and smiled no matter who came to the door. Most of our volunteers did a terrific job, but Harry stood out as someone who was hard-working and tremendously skilled at connecting with potential voters. In the Kissell race, we lost by 329 votes, and I'm confident that if we had one more volunteer a day like Harry, we would have won that race.
So go ahead, take Harry away from the grassroots and send him to Congress. Donate to his campaign, help him fight Sue Myrick, and deprive North Carolina of one of its best grassroots activists. With people like Harry Taylor bringing real change to Washington, I'm going to be left with more work, and when I'm planning our GOTV effort, I'm going to have to leave a few precincts off or do them myself since I could have counted on Harry to cover them in the past! North Carolina will have you to blame. More recently, I've seen Harry help groups like the Sierra Club keep mass transit rolling in Charlotte, but if we elect him to Congress, we'll lose a vital member of our team here in Charlotte.
Snark aside, I can't think of a better person to run for this seat. I managed a campaign in this congressional district during the summer of 2006, and winning it will be a challenge. There are many uphill battles for Congress in North Carolina, but if anyone I've met running for one of these hard seats has the demonstrated work ethic, national and local visibility, and base of supporters to be more than an excuse for the incumbent to spend money and get out the vote for the Republican ticket, it's Harry Taylor. Against Harry, Sue Myrick will have to do more than pay her advertising firm $50K a quarter out of the campaign account to buy billboards. She'll have to do more than scare people with illegal immigrants, and she'll have to do more to stand up to Bush than opposing the Dubai ports deal with a cute memo. I'm happy to add Harry to my Courage Candidates list, and I'm proud of the man for running a race that needs to be run ... and won.
YouTube: Harry Taylor takes on Bush in Person
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Harry Taylor for Congress