Interesting that the one letter to the editor the N&R doesn’t have posted online is from Toby Berla of Durham, who congratulated state Sen. Kay Hagan on her primary victory before taking incumbent U.S. Elizabeth Dole’s voting record to task.
Berla says Dole’s voting record doesn’t reflect the concerns of average North Carolinians. What caught my eye was Berla’s statement that Dole voted to block the bipartisan farm bill, “leaving farmers in the lurch.”
I wonder if Berla means the farm bill as described in this Associated Press article/editorial:
A five-year farm bill in Congress this week does little to address the growing global food crisis. Instead, it diverts money that could be spent feeding poor children abroad to give more subsidies for U.S. farmers now enjoying record high crop prices and incomes.
Meanwhile, the N&R’s Doug Clark cautions Hagan and Dole ( not to mention McCrory and Perdue) to play hard but fair:
After dispatching her Democratic rivals last week, Hagan resumed her mockery of Dole with the “give Liddy her ruby slippers and send her home to Kansas” line.
I get the gag but don’t see the wisdom of turning Dole into the “Wizard of Oz” heroine. It’s risky to portray oneself as Dorothy’s adversary. Hagan can find better ways to make the point that she’s more in touch with North Carolina concerns than long-time Washington, D.C., (not Kansas) resident Dole.
But, quickly surrendering the high ground, the Dole campaign labeled Hagan “Chameleon Kay,” supposedly for flip-flopping on important issues. Huh? A chameleon changes colors to blend into its surroundings, but Greensboro residents know Hagan has never hidden from her constituents. That silly name won’t stick.
