When
Exxon/Mobil released its financial figures for the 2nd quarter of 2006, showing profits of
$10.36 billion in April-June 2006, it was the 2nd largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company. They almost met the high-water mark they'd set themselves, in the 4th quarter of 2005. How did the stockbrokers and the fossil fuel industry respond to the public's outrage? `
A rising tide lifts all boats,' said an Oppenheimer analyst.
Well, I agree with that. There is a rising tide in America. But it is a tide that will capsize the yachts and pleasure craft of those who've thrown their lot in with the Bush Administration and their obscenely rich cronies. And one of the surprise shipwrecks is going to be the career of corrupt, shameless Republican Congressman Robin Hayes, NC-08.
Nobody saw this one coming. At the beginning of the cycle, if you go back and read the pundits' early predictions, they all had their eye on NC-11, where
Democrat Heath Shuler is tackling Republican incumbent Charles Taylor. (Looks like Shuler's gonna wallop him, too, and more power to him.)
If NC-08 has moved up from a second-tier or third-tier race, it's thanks to our outstanding grassroots candidate,
Larry Kissell.
http://www.larrykissell.com/
Surely everybody here has tuned in to watch one of the steps in this progression from backwater to front page. Maybe you read about Larry Kissell's inventive campaign stunt with the price of gasoline, either here or on one of the other blogs that covered it, or in the North Carolina newspapers:
http://www.charlotte.com/...
Maybe you noticed that Larry Kissell's clever stunt was so effective that it was immediately copied by Mike Weaver, our Democratic candidate in KY-02:
http://www.bluegrassreport.org/...
Maybe you watched in amazement as Rep. Arthur Davis, Vice-chair of the DCCC, admitted the other day that the national congressional fundraising arm of the party had missed the boat in this district, and vowed to funnel serious resources into Larry's campaign:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Or maybe you've just gotten flat-out disgusted with Bush-clone congressmen like Robin Hayes, who are never willing to admit that they've ever made a mistake:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
not even when, like Robin Hayes, they've broken promises to their constituents and voted in lock-step along with Bush Administration bills, even when those bills will beggar their district. Robin Hayes voted for CAFTA, despite his promises not to:
"I am flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA."
Congressman Robin Hayes
[Charlotte Observer, 7/25/2005]
"Every time I drive through Kannapolis and I see those empty plants I know there is no way I could vote for CAFTA."
Congressman Robin Hayes
[AP 7/14/2005]
Bush Administration trade policies cleared jobs out of his district like Hurricane Katrina stripping the Gulf Coast: jobs, housing, prosperity, all gone with the Republican wind:
http://www.bluenc.com/...
Had enough?
I'm profiling a series of races in which good, progressive Democrats are running against GOP incumbents who are on the take from Exxon. Click on the "rising tide" tag at the end of this posting to see the others in the series.
I couldn't do them all. There are too many. I had to be selective. Feel free to make your own list. It is almost comical, but also sad, to look up these worst jokers in Congress on the FEC filings from the Exxon/Mobil PAC and find out that they are invariably on the take there. Robin Hayes has taken $24,000 from Exxon in the last 4 cycles - more than any other North Carolina incumbent.
So if you live in or near the district, please volunteer for Larry's campaign. Get involved.
If not, please visit the ActBlue page below (or Larry's own page, or the Netroots page), and drop a few actual dollars in the tin cup--if you have any left after paying your gas bill. Think how much better you'll feel.
http://www.actblue.com/...