DURHAM, N.C.--The hundred or so Democratic activists gathered in an auditorium at North Carolina Central University on a January weeknight to meet with state party bigwigs have each been given two paper flags--one green, one red. When someone says something they agree with, attendees are supposed to wave green flags; if they disagree, they wave the red. Plenty of the proposals elicit green flags, like withdrawing from Iraq. Then a member of the state party's executive committee suggests reaching out to NASCAR dads. "We have churches and values," she says, "and we have to make that clear." A wave of red flags ripples across the room. Grumbles activist Don Esterling, 62: "We don't need to be Republican light."Right on, Don!
Speaking of North Carolina - Two vie for soul of party in N.C.:
Gov. Mike Easley, fresh off such a decisive re-election that he's being mentioned as a presidential candidate, may be in danger of losing control of his own party.Easley has prospered by being a moderate Democrat which is raw meat to the leftoids:
In an echo of the debate over the direction of the national party, North Carolina Democrats are in a donnybrook over who will be their state chairman.
The race has several potential implications. It could indicate whether pro-business moderates or progressives are the state party's dominant voice; whether Easley will be challenged on such issues as his opposition to a death penalty moratorium; and perhaps whether Easley will have a role in national politics.
Easley's candidate is Ed Turlington, a Raleigh lawyer and lobbyist, who has been a right-hand man for such party heavyweights as former Sen. John Edwards and former Gov. Jim Hunt. Most of the party establishment backs him.
He is fighting an insurgency by Jerry Meek, a Fayetteville lawyer, who lacks big-name endorsements but says he has commitments from a majority of the 560 members of the state Democratic Executive Committee who will elect a new chairman in three weeks.
But Easley has been less engaged in party politics than most governors. He rose as an independent, corruption-busting prosecutor who never enjoyed traditional party politics. He rarely engages in patronage and has a reputation for not returning calls from key backers.Now we're talking! And don't forget gay marriage!
He declined to campaign last fall with the national ticket, which included Edwards as the vice presidential candidate, and he skipped the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
Although Meek has been careful not to criticize the governor, he has tapped into discontent in the party -- those who want to send Easley a message, those who think the state party ignores local Democrats and liberals who think the party is too pro-business, too conservative and too tied to monied interests.
"You are seeing the beginning of an ideological divide," said Lorrin Freeman, 33, a Raleigh lawyer who is chairman of the Wake County Democratic Party and backs Turlington. "Some believe the Democratic Party needs to move back to its liberal roots. Others think we have espoused the moderate position and that is the route we need to stay on."
A lot of Meek's supporters in Wake, Freeman said, are backers of former presidential candidate Howard Dean who are playing an increasing role in party activities.
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Some Easley supporters worry that if Meek, a trial lawyer, becomes chairman, business contributions to the party would dry up. And they are concerned that liberal party activists would press Easley to address hot-button cultural issues, such as a death penalty moratorium or gun control, that can be politically toxic in North Carolina.
