Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Renee Ellmers is running for Congress in the 2d District of North Carolina against Bob Etheridge (you remember him, more below).

Mrs. Ellmers was kind enough to tape a video for Legal Insurrection readers, asking for your support.  I'm completely on board for her campaign, and just made a $100 donation.



This is a critical race.  As those of you who read this blog know, I view taking the House as the single most important goal this election.  In order to do that, we need to win not just the "easy" races, but also some of the "tougher" ones.

This race is tough because Etheridge is a long-term incumbent -- but the race is winnable.

Etheridge is a liberal in a conservative district, who has tons of campaign money in the bank.  Etheridge was a big supporter of Obamacare, but in typical politician style, spoke out of both sides of his mouth on the public option, neither committing to it nor rejecting it:



Etheridge has used taxpayer money to send out a "mailer" which smacks of campaign literature in disguise:

The mailer states:

"The issues that matter most to North Carolinians are Bob Etheridge's priorities. Good jobs that stay in N.C. Reducing the deficit. Main Street over Wall Street. Congressman Bob Etheridge. Putting North Carolina's working families first."

Etheridge also has been dodging debates with a Harry Reid-like arrogance: 

"Etheridge campaign spokesman said the incumbent isn't dodging anything. The candidates in the race have received multiple invitations for debates, and the question isn't "if," but "when," said Mike Davis, the campaign spokesman.

"The congressman has always done multiple events with opponents and would anticipate and plan on doing it this time," Davis said.

Etheridge voted for the Iraq war, but as his speech on the floor of the House reflects, came out strongly against the surge in Iraq, which he called "more of the same." Etheridge used the standard Democratic Party dodge to excuse his Iraq war vote on the false claim that "I took the president of the Unted States at his word, we learned to our great regret what that was worth" (at 2:40). (As I have documented before, this standard line is false, as a classified Iraq report listing all of the caveats was made available to all members of Congress.)



There are many important races this November.  Getting Renee Ellmers elected is one of my highest priorities.

I hope you can help her out.

If you are on the fence about helping, just keep watching this video over and over:



Update 9-22-2010 - The Ellmers campaign has rolled out an advertisement about the Cordoba mosque and Islamic center project, arguing that it would be a victory mosque and taking Bob Etheridge to task for not opposing it.  It it unfortunate that the campaign took this turn.  Ellmers had a compelling message that Etheridge was part of the problem, not part of the solution.  The over-the-top advertisement was a mistake, which I hope the Ellmers campaign will pull.

--------------------------------------------
Related Posts:
How Bob Etheridge Reacts to Democratic Questioners
Ellmers v. Etheridge

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube