Media Mayhem in Race for NCSEN
Content present in two recent articles regarding the competitive race for US Senate here in North Carolina leaves me scratching my head.
On Wednesday, the National Journal published an article entitled “6 Signs a Republican Senate Takeover is Within Reach“. While exciting to hear this, the case put forward for North Carolina is simply not accurate.
According to the article, “In North Carolina, one of the bellwether Senate races, two automated polls this month show Sen. Kay Hagan trailing one Republican opponent, state House Speaker Thom Tillis.”
This is an outright falsehood. In reality, Kay Hagan actually trails TWO Republican opponents according to the polls cited.
Both PPP and Rasmussen show that Dr. Greg Brannon, a Cary OBGYN, is also showing strong numbers against the incumbent Democrat. The results of both polls can be viewed HERE.
PunditHouse reached out to the author of the National Journal article with this information. Beth Reinhard responded to our inquiry with the following, “Will bring to the attention of the editor who inserted that part into the story, thanks.”
Apparently, since the article still reads the same, the editor didn’t see any reason to fix the inaccurate post. Truth must not be of major importance to the National Journal.
In another example of media inaccuracy, a recent forum sponsored by the Lake Norman Conservatives drew some attention.
The AP reported in the post entitled “NC Senate Hopefuls Criticize Federal Government, Obama” that Tillis’ “…absence at the meeting of Lake Norman Conservatives wasn’t surprising – the forum’s moderator picketed outside a Tillis fundraiser in November in Charlotte attended by Karl Rove.”
I can speak to this with absolutely certainty since I am the said moderator.
My announcement as moderator…more like question facilitator…was made after the Tillis campaign had already turned down the invitation. The attempt to make an excuse for lack of attendance based on my status is wholly disingenuous…especially considering that the article’s previous sentence admits that Tillis had a “previous engagement”. That should be enough of a reason and I’m a little insulted by the assumption that my use as question facilitator would have been so biased as to warrant skipping an event.
Anyone wanting to watch the full forum can do so here thanks to Constitutionalwar.org. Speaker Tillis would have been afforded the same courtesy as the three candidates who did participate.
There is no doubt that this race is going to be fought on all cylinders, but there is something alarming when those reporting the news do so knowingly inaccurately…or with clear bias.
Tillis had a prior commitment that night, Should he have cancelled that because he was summoned to the Fox and Hound 4 weeks ago? You left out that the polls show Tillis holding a lead over Kay Obama that is much larger then Dr. Stangelove’s lead over Kay Obama.
No, Thom should not have cancelled his previous engagement, if he did indeed have one. The point is that the article posted seems to indicate that an excuse for lack of attendance was my “moderating” of the event. That is not only not true, but a disingenuous allegation.
I did not leave out the polls…in fact, unlike the original article claiming that only ONE candidate was defeating Hagan, I posted the link to the polls showing that TWO candidates were doing so. The three point difference between Tillis and Brannon is barely within the margin of error for the poll. It isn’t a “huge” difference.
I know that if Dr. Brannon is the GOP nominee to run against Kay Obama, I will be working for hard on his behalf. If Tillis is the nominee, will you be doing the same, Christian?
working hard
No. If I had a vote, I would vote for him out of practicality, but I would never lend my name as a supporter.
What I would do is find other local candidates that I could get behind and support in both words and deeds. If I happened to drive additional people to the polls who just so happened to vote for him, so be it.
oops my bad CH, I forgot you lived in SC- You have the best congressmen in the area representing you. I wish I lived in SC- cheap liquor, cheap gas, real fireworks, and the gov is hot. (and no car inspections!)
This is the third or forth forum TT has “had prior engagement”, while attending 8 or 9 fund raisers. His priorities are obvious and I hope voters keep that in mind.
Christian,
The main media outlets in the US are nothing more than a propaganda agency. They spin everything to give cover for establishment politicians. The typical citizen of the US has no chance against this formidable machine.
One citizen alone does not, but when we combine our resources and press back against the onslaught, then we most certainly can make a difference. We become formidable in our own right.
Something to encourage the small man working against the establishment.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/02/01/case-study-how-to-fight-the-sierra-club-with-no-money/
Someone please help me understand why someone living in South Carolina is trying to affect election outcomes in North Carolina. Could it be that’s the reason Mr. Tillis won’t play along? Other than the fact that Christian’s pockets are as deep as those other folks’ from out of state sticking their noses where they don’t belong.
Can Republican candidates not raise money from their own constituencies? Oh, I get it. They don’t see North Carolina voters as their constituents. Their constituents are the Koch brothers and Karl Rove. Got it.
Bwhahahaha! Deep pockets? Dude, I made 24k last year. If you’re going to attack me, at least have a clue.
And let’s see…Kay Hagan has raised about 6 million. Do you call on her to return all of her out of state money?
I’ve enjoyed having a liberal perspective here, but your attacks are just becoming unhinged.
I was referring to their deep pockets, not yours. Typo. Sorry.
Kay gets a lot of her Money from Soro’s deep pocket just like you do Zon.
The reason people from out of state pay to play is obvious, perhaps even to you.
They benefit from who controls the Senate. It’s about the money, so Karl Rove and the inside the beltway crowd want Tillis, because he has already proved he is a winner and one of them. The same is true of Hagan, as CH makes note. Should we restrict donations to instate donors only? How would you propose we do that, or is your protest simply because an R is raising money and Hagan is already on the short end of the polls, indicating the Harry Reid may become moot.
Absolutely. Pass a constitutional amendment to ban those running for elected office from accepting benefit from anyone but residents of the area they represent, or will represent. And have to disclose the donors they do accept benefits from. In this case, the legal residents of the state of North Carolina.
And at the same time, ban them from signing any policy oath than their oath of office.
That would fix a lot of our problems with governance.
And of course this proposed constitutional amendment of yours would also include a section prohibiting those same elected officials from passing legislation that affects anyone but residents in the areas they represent, right? Because it only makes sense if they can’t raise money from anyone out of state, they shouldn’t be able to pass legislation that affects anyone out of state.
What would Nancy Pelosi say to a piece of paper telling her what she could or couldn’t do?
That would be nonsensical.
Don’t have any issues with a couple of Eastern Europeans (Soros and Huffington) with deep pockets propping up Democrats are we?
Lots of talk at PunditHouse about Tillis’ repeated absences at the various candidate forums held over the past few weeks. Christian, as someone who has been involved in many political campaigns, do you not agree that it’s standard operating procedure for the incumbent/front runner to limit their appearance at debates and forums? If so, why the constant references to Tillis’ empty chair at events as if it’s unusual?
I agree that our representatives should be responsive to their constituents, but what incentive does Tillis have right now to appear at public forums filled with people who are openly hostile to his campaign? I suspect the moment another of the challengers raises enough money or climbs high enough in the polls the Tillis campaign will have him begin showing up at more events. Until then, maybe his detractors should focus on more substantive attacks than “he didn’t show up at my event…”
Eric, wonder if Pundit house will be covering Dr. Brannon’s civil investment fraud trial next week. If Brannon has the money he should settle this out of court. Can you imagine the ads Soros/Hagan/Obama will put up against Brannon in the unlikely event he wins the GOP nomination.
When you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t settle out of court.
Tillis is not the incumbent, this is an open race. He is interviewing for a job just like the other candidates are. Yes, ignoring the people is standard operating procedure for perceived “front runners”, however, I have always been a vocal critic of elected officials who turn down public forums for political calculation.
In this case, Tillis is greatly over estimating his statewide name recognition and support. He has spent his time as speaker alienating one group after another and he has a great deal of damage control to do. This lack of attendance is not bolstering his street cred among the grassroots activists.
True, it is a minor sticking point. We could be talking about his history of pay for play politics, his heavy handed dictatorial “leadership”, the way he treats constituents that just want to meet and discuss issues, the support he has from people with a stated agenda of destroying the Tea Party, the way he seems to claim credit for an entire agenda that a) he watered down unnecessarily and b) could have been ushered through by a trained monkey with the super majorities he has to work with.
Yes, we could be talking about his support for economic incentives, his support for making it easier for illegals to get a job and drive in NC, his support for green energy requirements that raise the price of power. Yes, many, many issues are more important than the forum attendance.
The idea that the forums are filled with “hostile people” is sort of a chicken/egg situation. Bare in mind, these weren’t all Tea Party events. He even skipped an officially sanctioned GOP event in Forsyth.
The only real question here is does NC want a Senator that is going to go to Washington and side with Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee or one that is aligned with Lindsey Graham, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the status quo “declare defeat first” leadership of the ever sinking GOP?
Eric the difference between this TT no-show and others is that this was in his backyard. The LKN Conservatives have quickly gained nearly 600 members in only a couple months, compared with the North Meck Rep Women, who have ~800 despite being around for several years.
The fact is a significant segment of his constituency is ticked that Tillis insists on sticking them with 50 years of private toll lanes on I-77 without bothering to even evaluate an alternative.
The visceral, widespread opposition to Tillis by a sizeable chunk of his own peeps speaks volumes.
“Eric the difference between this TT no-show and others is that this was in his backyard. The LKN Conservatives have quickly gained nearly 600 members in only a couple months, compared with the North Meck Rep Women, who have ~800 despite being around for several years.”
i.e., I’m just upset because Tillis didn’t show up at my event but he goes to NMRW events…
He didn’t show b/c he doesn’t have to – who needs to campaign whenyou canjust buy an election. Votes are for little people…