Yes, Clay Aiken

Published February 7, 2014

by Gary Pearce, Talking About Politics, February 6, 2014.

Your first reaction was probably the same as mine. Clay Aiken? The singer? For Congress?

Then I met him. He’s the same person you meet in his announcement video. He’s smart, serious and genuine. He clearly has thought deeply about policy matters. He has a unique voice that is a breath of fresh air in a polluted political climate. And he has a genuine empathy for people that he has demonstrated as a YMCA counselor, a special education teacher, a foundation leader and a UNICEF representative overseas.

He’s kind of like Opie Taylor would have turned out if he’d had a big voice. Except he’s tougher than he looks.

Republicans predictably pushed the rewind button on their political mud machine. The haters and the homophobes crept out of their Internet cellars. Have at it. Aiken’s campaign feeds off their fuel – and the public’s disgust with it.

For Democrats, there’s a choice between competing theories of the race.

Keith Crisco’s theory is that he can peel off Republican voters in Randolph County. He says he did it when he ran for county commissioner in 1992. He lost, but he ran ahead of Governor Hunt and President Clinton.

Aiken’s theory is that he can mobilize a new wave of new and young voters. He can inject new energy, reshape the electorate and shake up the race.

There is a new generation of voters – and leaders – rising in North Carolina. They are idealistic and driven to make a difference. They are connected and engaged. If Democrats win them now, they can win with them for a long time to come.

The question for Democrats is which path is right for the future. Which helps Kay Hagan most this year and helps candidates for governor and President in two years. I think the answer is obvious. That’s why I’m for Clay.

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February 7, 2014 at 10:33 am
Norm Kelly says:

Gary supports Clay? Really? Now there's a surprise! (does the sarcasm show?)

First because Clay has name recognition, which will help bring votes. What other Demon has name recognition?

Second because Clay is running as a Demoncrat. Has Gary supported anything else?

What are Clay's credentials? Why would he run as a DemocRAT? Let's look at how Gary describes him. 'A unique voice': since he's come out of the closet there's a certain number of Democrat voters that will automatically vote for him. Since he's come out of the closet, anything that Republicans use against him in the election cycle will automatically be translated to homophobia. Just like every statement against Barack is a racist statement. His 'uniqueness' allows him to 'stand above the fray' regardless of what he claims his policy stands are.

'A polluted political environment': that can only be cleared up by a Democrat? By a gay person? By a young person? What does Gary claim is the cause of the pollution? Does it involve union money? Does it involve racist claims by demons everywhere? Does it involve homophobia claims by democRATs everywhere? Does it involve claims of hatred toward 'the poor' by everyone in the Demoncrat party? Tell us Gary, what makes the environment polluted?

'Empathy for people' that he has demonstrated by working/volunteering in areas that are designed for libs to be in as well as churn out libs where none previously existed. It doesn't bother me that Clay spent time in these organizations. It doesn't bother me that anyone chooses to volunteer or work to help the 'less fortunate'. It doesn't bother me because I do it also. What bothers me is when libs have favorite volunteer organizations. They take their love for something/someone/somegroup and FORCE it on the rest of us. Libs love to get governments to support their favorite charity. Except then it's not volunteering anymore, is it? Forcing me to support your favorite charity through my tax dollars stops being volunteering when you start forcing me to participate. And chances are extremely high that Clay's background is such that he favors governments supporting his pet peeves, just like every other lib wants to force me to support their pet peeve. Except when you force me to support your favorite charity, it prevents me from supporting MY favorite charity. It prevents me from volunteering where MY heart lives. If Clay has been raised in this type of environment, he doesn't bring clarity to the mud. He brings his preconceived liberal bias to his positions on charity and volunteerism. Based on the fact that he is running for office for the first time as a Democrat, he is making his statement that the liberal philosophy of taking from group 1 to give to group 2 is his philosophy also.

Gary finishes with claiming that Clay is 'idealistic'. Which describes every young person who lacks a certain amount of worldly experience. It's true that Clay has experiences that the majority will never have, since he won a singing contest and has lived the life of Riley ever since. But that doesn't mean he knows much about working for a living, trying to make a budget work, knowing how negatively government rules, regulations, taxes, give-away programs affect real people. If Clay follows the good Demoncrat, liberal philosophy then it will be bad for the majority of people. It will be good for the charities that Clay likes or libs in general like, but it will be bad for everyone else. Socialism and crony capitalism are not sustainable. Noble perhaps. But not sustainable. And I question the noble part of it also. If Joke Biden donates less than $1,000 annually to charity, but forces the rest of us to support his favorite charity through our taxes, then he's doing harm to the majority and being disingenuous in his support for said charity. If Clay is like Joke, we're in trouble if he wins.

It is probably quite true that Clay will spark a certain response in the electorate in our district. It will probably be led by young people. Who are also idealistic. But are becoming less so as they graduate from college and start to experience the real world created by too much liberalism. It's possible that the recently graduated, out of work, living with mom&dad will overwhelm the otherwise idealistic young vote. One can hope.