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Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:29 AM Hagan is the choice for Senate For many Wilsonians, this race of the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina has been a major disappointment. What should have been a captivating race between two accomplished women quickly degenerated into one of the worst name calling campaigns that we have seen in many years. The loser in all this has been the voters, who have had to try to make sense out of all the negative TV ads that have spewed forth in the last couple of months. The public has also been cheated in this race because there have been no debates between the two candidates and no chance for us to size them up side by side. What we know of where they stand on the issues is more likely to have come from the negative spin being put forth by their opponent than any positive message they might have been trying to get across. All of which is unfortunate, because the race features two highly qualified candidates: Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and Democratic State Senator Kay Hagan. Dole was elected by North Carolinians in 2002 with high hopes that she would use her vast political experience to become a force for the Tar Heel state in the Sentate. She had served in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and been the president of the American Red Cross. With that kind of resume, voters assumed that she would quickly rise up the ranks of the Senate. Those dreams, however, have not come to fruition. Dole has played a role in some major issues affecting the North Carolina, most notably for this area the federal tobacco buyout program, but on many others her voice has been absent from the table. And, more disturbing to many North Carolinians, has been her absence from many parts of the state. Most voters expect their senators to remain a visible presence in the state, but Dole has been content to spend most of her time in Washington and not in places like Wilson. Hagan, who seemingly came from nowhere to win the Democratic nomination from a weak field of candidates, has quickly pounced on all of Dole's shortcomings. But, for many of us, we still know little of what she plans to do if she is elected. Hagan's record in Raleigh is that she has moved through the ranks to become one of the most powerful legislators in the N.C. Senate. She has co-chaired the Senate's appropriations committee and was listed as one of North Carolina's 10 most effective senators by the non-partisan North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research. Among the issues she has been a part of is raising teacher salaries and increasing funding for higher education. What sets Hagan above Dole is the fact that she has spent most of her life living and working in North Carolina. She has served her constituents in Greensboro well and has assembled a team that will work to represent the interests of all North Carolinians. During the campaign, she has been far more visible than her opponent, and we hope that visibility will continue if she is elected to office. For those reasons, we recommend Hagan as our choice for the U.S. Senate. |
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