Kay Hagan is Gaining Momentum

***UPDATE***: Since posting, you’ve given another $160 to Hagan’s campaign!

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Readers of this site have donated over $2000 to the campaign of Kay Hagan, the Democrat challenging Republican Elizabeth Dole for a Senate seat in North Carolina.

One reader even sent me this email:

I’ve been unemployed since May, but I have been waiting for a candidate who would stand up to the so-called “religious” right for twenty years. My Texas Senator is owned by the oil industry and the challenger can’t win, so I sent Hagan $200 and emailed Dole. Ironically, I campaigned against Bob Dole in Kansas. He didn’t even leave his home in Washington to come to Kansas and vote for himself!

Today, The Wall Street Journal adds:

… A new poll by a Democratic firm shows Mrs. Hagan with a five-point lead, echoing a host of recent polls that show a tight race getting tighter. Mrs. Dole is the biggest star on the North Carolina stage now that John Edwards is in disgrace. Chapel Hill-based venture capitalist Alston Gardner emailed us to explain why she’s in trouble: “Much like John Edwards, she’s just another pretty face that hasn’t delivered for the citizens and leaders of North Carolina. Her focus has always been on a national audience and not doing the less glamorous, but politically necessary constituent services.” Ouch.

On Wednesday Mrs. Dole launched her first attack ad against her opponent. The spot portrays Ms. Hagan as a yapping dog and calls her “Fibber Kay,” and defends Mrs. Dole as “one of the 10 most admired women in the world” whose “clout works wonders for North Carolina.” The campaign also turned up the heat over a scheduled fundraiser for Ms. Hagan in two weeks hosted by author Wendy Kaminer, whose real estate developer husband is a board member of the Secular Coalition for America. Says a Dole press release: “Kay Hagan does not represent the values of this state; she is a Trojan horse for a long list of wacky left-wing outside groups bent on policies that would horrify most North Carolinians if they knew about it.”

You can still donate to the Hagan campaign.

If you do, please let me know!

mkb

mkb — sent her $50 at your request
Stu

-just sent $50
The Science Pundit

I just sent $10. We’ll see what my budget looks like in the next few weeks so that maybe I can give a little more.
efrique

“one of the 10 most admired women in the world”

Do obvious lies* like this actually work?

*Can anyone name a country outside of North America where more than one person in a hundred could say anything substantive about her, aside perhaps from guessing some form of relationship with Bob Dole?

(And I’d be surprised if you could find more than about two in a hundred who would know who he was either.)
Paul

Dole. She’s the Bananas lady, isn’t she?
SarahH

“I’m one of the most admired women in the world! So admire me, masses! I’m clearly awesome, or why would so many people admire me?”

Bleh. Even if it was true (which – what efrique said) it has no real bearing on whether or not she’s the right pick for Senate. Lame.
jessa

I just gave $100. Here’s my letter:

I am resident of North Carolina. I am also an atheist.

Therefore, I was extremely upset when I read your August 26 press release entitled “Godless Americans PAC?”, in which your campaign attacks your opponent, Kay Hagan, for meeting with members of the Secular Coalition for America. The purpose of the SCA is to protect the civil rights of all Americans, regardless of religious belief, by upholding the secular principles outlined in the Constitution. It is not “anti-religion”, and its goals are far from what could be described as the “left-wing fringe of political thought”.

I was particularly distressed by the statement of your Communications Director Dan McLagan that lumps the SCA into “a long list of wacky left-wing outside groups bent on policies that would horrify most North Carolinians if they knew about it.” Such a statement reflects a state of thinking that could be described, at best, as ill-informed. At worst, it’s bigoted fear-mongering.

I will choose to think the best of Mr. McLagan and assume that he is speaking from a postion of ignorance when he paints all nontheists with the same brush. Nontheists share only one similarity – lack of belief in a personal god. Beyond that, we are an extremely diverse group. We are Democrats, Republicans, and independents. We are liberal and conservative, both fiscally and socially. We give our time and money to charitable causes. We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, small-business owners, truck drivers, restaurant servers – and just about every other occupation you can imagine. We are mothers and fathers who want the best future for our children. We’re people you would feel “comfortable having over for dinner”. In fact, you probably already have.

I feel compelled to remind you that, as Senator, your duty is to represent the interests of all of your constituents, including the 10% of us who are not religious. After reading the divisive rhetoric in the press release, I no longer have any confidence that you can fulfill this duty. Therefore, I will not be voting for you in the fall. I have also decided to give a financial contribution to your opponent. It is the first time I have ever donated to a political campaign, but I feel that I need to take a stand against the gross mischaracterization of nontheists.

Thank you for your time in this matter.
mkb

Great letter Jessa!
recorderjoe

Sent her $25 on the first posting you had put up about her visit with the non-religious.
I’m saddened by the fact that she was actually attacked by that, really shocking…and worthy of a few bucks to hopefully defend my right to remain free to choose what I believe.