Lawson for Congress

With just a few days until Nov. 4^th, it’s instructive to highlight the endorsements that B.J. Lawson did not receive – from the various newspapers in the area. The evolution of the language used in the non-endorsements generally grows from negative to positive in B.J.’s favor. We can only hope that readers of these Price endorsements could “read between the lines” and do their own research to reach their own conclusions before they voted.

Here are the highlights with links to the full articles and overall they are fairly entertaining:

News & Observer, October 16. The N&O took the lazy and biased road in endorsing the three Democratic Congressional incumbents in the area. The N&O devoted a lot of ink to Rep. Price, writing, “The voters of this district should be proud of their congressman, and proud of having sent him to Washington for 20 of the last 22 years. David Price of Chapel Hill is thoughtful, knowledgeable, responsive. His instincts and record are progressive — even though he sometimes catches flak from the left as a too-prudent pragmatist. Price, who is 68, surely knows his way around the partisan minefields…”

All they could write about B.J., because the Editorial Board REFUSED to meet with him and never interviewed him, is, “Republican opponent William “B.J.” Lawson of Cary, a 34-year-old physician and medical software entrepreneur making his first run for office, depicts Price as too willing to support deficit spending and too comfortable with corporate interests. He has some worthy goals. But he does not make the case for replacing a congressman who has performed in outstanding fashion.”

You will see 10 online comments when you click on the link, all calling the N&O on their bias and their dismissal of B.J. as a serious candidate. And my letter to the editor was published two days later because they ignored B.J. from the very beginning, as was one from Marcia Patton. Thanks Marcia!!

Independent Weekly, October 22. This one really left us scratching our heads the most, especially since Editor Lisa Sorg had written an excellent, in-depth feature story about B.J. the week before that received lots of reader praise. The Rep. Price endorsement is certainly not a glowing one, however, opening with, “This race is a tougher call than it looks: We cautiously endorse incumbent U.S. Rep. David Price for many of his progressive stands on the Iraq war, media reform, gay and lesbian rights, and reproductive rights. He also supports pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants.” The Indy then moves on to question and criticize Rep. Price’s stance on issues (or lack of stance) and voting records.

Their much shorter commentary on B.J. states, “Depending on your litmus test issues, Republican challenger William (B.J.) Lawson is a viable choice. While Lawson’s Libertarian free-market stances and opposition to Roe v. Wade preclude us from endorsing his candidacy, he has many progressive views, including opposing the war in Iraq, strong stands on civil liberties protections, and a disdain for extending to corporations the same legal rights as individuals.”

The campaign feels that there were definite politics in play within the Indy editorial staff in coming to their decision. We just hope that the article the week before spoke for itself and carried more weight in the minds of the readers.

The Chronicle (Duke University), October 27. Well it appears that Duke students have more loyalty to a former professor than to an alumnus twice over! We also know that Duke is a significant contributor to Price’s campaign too. In any case, it’s just more bias but they write some positive comments about B.J.: “North Carolina’s 4th District is facing its tightest congressional race in more than a decade…Both candidates for this seat have presented a unique and powerful vision of what this country should become. After meeting with both B.J. Lawson and David Price for a candid discussion of their views, however, it is clear that Price’s ideas and ideology are precisely what the 4th District needs to move forward.”

Here’s more: “Lawson’s success thus far in his campaign is not without foundation. A Duke-trained physician and entrepreneur, Lawson embraces lofty ideals in both the positive and pejorative sense.

Lawson’s advocacy on behalf of price sensitivity in higher education and endorsement of localism, coupled with his positions on the issues of Iraq and gay rights are laudable.
Unfortunately, Lawson displays a naivety regarding the machinations of policy creation in Washington and a myopic view of the policy implications of his ideals.”

This is contrasted with, “…David Price, a 10-term incumbent, offers both a deep institutional knowledge of Washington and a history of leadership on Capitol Hill. Price serves as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, positions of notable influence that benefit his legislation on behalf of the 4th district.”

The Chronicle staff acknowledges that B.J. is a serious candidate, but it’s obvious that they want to keep an old, longtime incumbent in the broken Congress because he can do favors for the 4^th District. We shouldn’t be surprised. You will also see 28 comments sharply criticizing the Price endorsement too.

Herald-Sun (Durham), October 29. Unlike the N&O, at least the Herald-Sun has devoted ink to the Lawson campaign on a somewhat regular basis, publishing letters to the editor in support of B.J. and including his quote against the bailout legislation. But like the other newspapers, they took the easy road, writing, “Price has been representing the 4th District in Congress for nearly 20 years now, serving from 1987 to 1994 and again from 1996 to the present. Price has taken bold stands and also worked quietly behind the scenes. He has been a thoughtful and effective legislator and, we believe, deserves to be reelected.”

This non-endorsement is a bit more balanced in B.J.’s favor than the others. “His Republican opponent, B.J. Lawson, has taken on a tough challenge in a difficult year, although Price is not invulnerable, as his defeat in 1994 showed. Lawson, a Cary resident, is a young, energetic candidate with intriguing positions and an impressive background — he earned a medical degree before becoming a successful software entrepreneur…Lawson has some good ideas, including an emphasis on alternative energy that isn’t far from Price’s view. Lawson also says, correctly, that Congress is too influenced by lobbyists and corporate interests, that some members of Congress don’t read legislation before voting on it, and that the health system needs overhauled so doctors can spend more time with patients. If Lawson doesn’t win, we hope to hear more from him. He may represent the next generation of Republicans.”

Well gee, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!!

The Daily Tar Heel (UNC-Chapel Hill), October 31. This final one to appear is really just as much of an endorsement of B.J. as it is of Rep. Price. They write, “This year’s election is unquestionably about change. So we are particularly hesitant to endorse a long-serving incumbent for the U.S. Congress, which has a lower approval rating than lame-duck President George W. Bush.”

It continues, “And as a 20-year veteran of Congress, Price is a fixture of the Washington political establishment.

His opponent, William (B.J.) Lawson, is by contrast a political rookie with some very fresh and compelling ideas.

Though running as a Republican, Lawson subscribes to a political philosophy that transcends typical partisan boundaries.

Lawson strongly opposes the defense facility and disagrees with Price on a number of issues like health care, drug prohibition and the death penalty. On these particular issues, Lawson seems like the more progressive candidate.

Lawson’s passionate disdain for a debt-obsessed corporate culture on Wall Street and lobbyist-run political culture in Washington also make him an appealing choice.”

BUT HERE’S THE KICKER, FOLKS: “But when it comes to which candidate would best represent District 4 and bring effective leadership to Congress, David Price gets our endorsement.

In this particular race, we’ll take Price’s record of proven leadership over Lawson’s fresh perspective.”

Nah, we don’t need new blood in Washington, do we???

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 11:36 am and is filed under BJ Lawson, good government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.