Please support Jim Neal for US Senate in North Carolina on May 6th. He's an amazing progressive grassroots candidate. They say he can't win because he's openly gay. He has great policies, they say, but he's gay. These are the same people who said Obama can't win because he's black.
Please support Jim Neal for US Senate in North Carolina on May 6th. He's an amazing progressive grassroots candidate trying to run against Elizabeth Dole.
Problem is he's faced an uphill battle against the Washington Beltline and Raleigh Democratic establishment BECAUSE HE IS OPENLY GAY.
He has great policies, they say, but he's gay. I vaguely remember the Washington Beltway democratic establishment saying the same thing about Obama. "Obama's a nice guy, but he can't win because he's black." IT'S STEREOTYPICAL BULLSHIT, I SAY!!!!
Here's what the North Carolina Triangle Independent says about Jim Neal...
Jim Neal for US Senate
On the issues, there's a clear progressive choice in the Democratic primary: Chapel Hill businessman Jim Neal is our pick to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole come November. And let's put it right out there: Neal is openly gay, which should no more influence whether he gets your vote than the fact that he's also openly white. What should influence it is his platform: Neal opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and supports getting our troops out now; he supports universal health care; is against capital punishment; wants to scrap No Child Left Behind, Bush's counterproductive education program; proposes making the federal tax system more progressive; and advocates an Apollo-style program to wean the country from imported oil and develop alternative-energy sources, including conservation.
On gay rights, Neal supports full equality, including marriage, as a matter of law. But he also recognizes that the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom when it comes to whether same-sex unions should be sanctioned by various faiths.
Given his background as a Wall Street investment banker and venture capitalist, Neal is at his best when dissecting the causes of the nation's widening gap between rich and poor and the erosion of middle-class jobs. He calls it "unconscionable" that corporate CEOs make 400 times as much money as the average worker. His prescription for fixing what ails us includes sweeping investments in education and our economic infrastructure, not war, and for junking free-trade policies in favor of fair-trade ones. He thinks the federal government should prepare to buy mortgages and refinance them to prevent foreclosures.
Neal is hardly a perfect candidate. He's never run for office, can be long-winded and abstract about policy, and while he grew up in North Carolina, he's lived elsewhere most of his adult life. He acknowledges that his business life has had its ups and, recently, some downs. He's not rich, and has had trouble raising money despite having been a top fundraiser for the '04 Democratic ticket of Kerry-Edwards.
That said, Neal didn't get into this race until every potential "establishment" candidate from Gov. Mike Easley on down had walked away from it. That includes state Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, who announced that she wouldn't run, but changed her mind a few weeks later—after Neal declared. Party leaders in Washington and Raleigh quickly endorsed her; the inescapable conclusion was that they feared having a gay candidate on the ticket.
Please support Jim Neal on May 6th. Vote for Jim Neal on May 6th. Volunteer to work a poll for Jim Neal on May 6th. Tell your North Carolina friends to vote and volunteer for Jim Neal on May 6th. Donate to Jim Neal before May 6th. Thanks!!!!
http://jimnealforsenate.com/
http://actblue.com/...
(919) 544-1136
Let's keep fighting the good fight!!!!