The N&R endorses Kay Hagan, pretty much hanging their hat on her support for the International Furniture Market. If that’s all they’ve got, I thought to myself….
But there was more:
With the state’s other Senate seat held by Republican Richard Burr, a respected Democrat like Hagan can see to it that North Carolina interests aren’t overlooked by Democratic majorities in Congress and a likely Democratic administration. She’s already proved she won’t sit for long on the back bench in a legislative chamber.
Really? That’s putting a lot of faith in a candidate that’s stuck to the party line in order to get elected. That she supports the liberal Gang of 16 bill and opposed the bailout after she already knew how Elizabeth Dole voted doesn’t count. Hagan laid the bailout entirely at the feet of Wall Street, harping on CEO pay without mention (that I’ve seen) of the big government corruption that got us into this deal.
I have to be fair to the N&R, though. Hagan didn’t exactly impress them, and, to their credit, they let us know. Doug Clark’s jaw dropped when Hagan said she’d support government workers’ right to collectively bargain, which was followed up by an awkward reversal through political reporter Mark Binker, who would later write about her reluctance to take a stance on the bailout.
It would be nice to be reminded of all this in today’s editorial, even if it still supported Hagan. But I guess the decision was made to hold their noses and cheer for the home girl.
