May 28th / 30th
"Lewis Abandons Principals for Politics"
I once referred to Ken Lewis as a "man of great character". That
observation was based on my personal conversations with him, as well as an extended
interview I conducted for the Triad Today television program. I was also
impressed by his statement back in March, in which he said, "We can't change
a broken Senate simply by sending career politicians to Washington". Yet
after all that, Mr. Lewis last week endorsed one of North Carolina's most
recognized career politicians.
I must admit that Lewis' announcement took me by surprise. First because
of his antipathy for career politicians, and second, because of a telephone
call he made to me last Tuesday evening. I had invited Ken to tape a
segment for Triad Today in which he would announce his pick for Senate. But Lewis
declined the offer, saying, "I'm not ready to make an endorsement yet".
That next morning he stood before the news media at the State Capitol, and
endorsed Elaine Marshall for Senate. As far as I'm concerned, Lewis has lost
all credibility due to his hypocrisy and duplicity. Only Ken can tell us
why he made the announcement, but we do know what was brewing in the days
leading up to his press conference.
When a run-off was announced, I invited both Cal Cunningham and Elaine
Marshall to make a joint appearance on Triad Today. Cunningham called me
personally to say he would be at the TV studio any day that Elaine could come.
But the Marshall camp strung me along, saying, "We'll get back to you". I
wasn't surprised. Earlier in the year, Elaine had agreed to tape a solo
interview with me on March 31, then at the last minute, one of her minions said
that Marshall was backing out because it was "just too far for her to
drive from Raleigh to Winston-Salem". That's the same Raleigh Lt. Governor
Walter Dalton had driven from just a week earlier to talk with me about jobs
and economic empowerment. Perhaps Elaine lives on the far side of Raleigh.
At any rate, I continued to pressure Elaine's scheduler for a date, but
kept getting the same brush off. It should be noted that I was not the sole
recipient of Marshall's cold shoulder. Other TV stations and groups were also
trying to secure a date from Elaine to appear at a debate.
Meanwhile, Cal initiated an on-line petition drive to force Elaine to come
out of the comfort of her Raleigh digs, and debate him at other venues
around the state.
And during this same time frame, rumors circulated from reliable sources
that the Marshall campaign had received the results of an internal poll
which showed Cal leading with 49% of the vote.
A perfect storm was building for Marshall. There was Cal's petition drive,
repeated invitations to debate, the reputed internal poll, and my
pressuring Ken to make an endorsement. Elaine was desperate for a boost which would
divert the media's attention away from Cal's rising popularity, and her
refusal to meet him anywhere except in her backyard. Then, voila! It was
Ken to the rescue!
As the third place finisher in the first primary, Lewis's endorsement was
music to Marshall's ears. But it was a sickening sweet kind of music. Said
Lewis in his endorsement speech, "I was impressed by the courage and
conviction Elaine Marshall has shown in this race. She has shown the kind of
courage, strength, and independence to create change in Washington, and fight
for the people of North Carolina". Somebody hand me a barf bag please.
First of all, Elaine Marshall has never done anything courageous in her
political life. To the contrary. Dodging debates is the antithesis of
courage. And what about her claim to fame in which she supposedly took on big
insurance companies? A 2009 Kaiser Foundation report showed that in the past
decade, insurance companies raised premiums by a rate of 131% while those
of us lucky enough to have a job have only seen our wages rise by 38%. So
much for courage, conviction, and creating change. And that brings me back to
Ken Lewis.
By endorsing Marshall, Ken abandoned every principal he had ever espoused
about the evils of career politicians. Now, because of that endorsement,
Elaine no doubt feels confident that she can win the run-off, and, thus,
has no incentive to participate in a series of debates with Cunningham. By
hiding in Raleigh, Marshall is denying her own party a shot at free media
exposure, which it will need if it hopes to unseat Richard Burr in November.
But, even worse, Ken and Elaine's partnership represents a disregard for
the working men and women of this state. Neither Marshall nor Lewis have
articulated a viable plan to bring jobs back to North Carolina because neither
was willing to rock the boat and call for a repeal of NAFTA and CAFTA.
Cunningham, on the other hand, developed a proposal early on that would revamp
bad trade agreements, and end tax breaks to companies that have sent
hundreds of thousands of North Carolina jobs overseas. In other words, he's the
kind of man Lewis should have endorsed.
Ken made a bad decision last week. Now it's up to voters to make a good
one on June 22.
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