The Bilerico Project

Kids in NC Get Thrown Under the Bus

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:00:00 -0500

As has been reported the NC Senate's failure to pass anti-bullying legislation in tact despite having the votes is disappointing shows a disturbing and unacceptable lack of courage and compassion. They threw kids in the state of North Carolina under the bus when they had an opportunity to protect them.

I have communicated privately with many members of the NC House and the NC Senate regarding passage of the anti-bullying legislation. In doing so, I made clear to them that mine was a private correspondence written as a parent, not as a politician and not as someone who planned to publicize our discourse so at to subject them to outside pressures. I did so in order to give them an opportunity to round the votes required for passage of bill without feeling as if I were trying to shame or embarrass them publicly. And I did have continued private conversations with members of both houses, Democratic and Republican.

Now that the bill has failed to pass, I'm am not going to break my word to kiss and tell about those conversations. However, am going to comment on the failure to pass this legislation and go on record publicly with my thoughts. First, here is an excerpt of a personal story which I related to them.

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Obama-Clinton Ticket

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:00:00 -0500

Now that the Presidential primary season is winding down after months and millions of votes cast, it's now time to set our focus on November and winning back the Presidency.

Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have energized millions of new voters, and all of them are committed to seeing a Democrat in the White House in January.

Certainly, there has been a great deal of back-and-forth bickering between Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton's campaigns - and each candidate has millions of passionate supporters. But now it's time for unity - and I believe the best way to unite the party is to unite the two strongest candidates our party has ever seen.

That's why I support an Obama-Clinton ticket.

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A Page Turns...

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:00:00 -0500

Firstly, I want to again congratulate Senator Hagan on her nomination as the candidate to beat US Senator Dole in the 2008 senatorial race. I have told Kay that she has my full support and encourage you to work hard on her behalf.

To the staff, volunteers and bloggers who made our campaign so vibrant I thank you. We were a lean organization running a 21st century grass roots campaign. We took almost 20% (about 250,000) of the votes cast despite our lack of resources and the fact that nobody in NC had a clue who Jim Neal was 7 months ago. I am very proud of each and every person who volunteered their time and contributed to our campaign.

I've become a fan of this site and the blogosphere in general as a fantastic communications medium: the emergent Fifth Estate. Online activism is the future of politics and social change. I believe that the power of the blogosphere is only at the tip of the iceberg (and that iceberg is melting...) so keep your involvement and your voices in the debate.

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The Almighty Dollar

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0500

iPhone users: Click to watch

Raising money is the dirty underbelly of our democracy. And that's why I do not take money from PACs or special interest groups. I do this in order to set an example because until we have meaningful campaign finance reform our democracy will be up for sale.

I hope you will join me in this quest to change politics as usual. Make a donation.

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We did it!

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:20:00 -0500

We did it!

I wanted to drop by and tell you that I was just named the Favorite eQualityGiving Endorsed Candidate. eQualityGiving hosted this contest, pledging to give a $1,000 campaign contribution to the candidate who earned the most votes. The poll just closed at midnight Tuesday morning, and we won by getting over 1000 votes. Together, our campaign won by a 2:1 margin over the next highest vote-getter. This would have been posted yesterday, but I wanted you to be able to know this is no April Fool's joke: I'm immensely proud of all that we've been able to accomplish together, and you deserve to be thanked for all that you've done for our campaign.

Again, thank you so much for your help and your votes over the past month.

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Good News from the Campaign Trail!

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:00:37 -0500

I wanted to take some time out of my busy campaign schedule - I'm visiting at least five different towns today - to talk to the communities that have fertilized the soil for our grassroots campaign.

I've been endorsed by E-Quality Giving, the nation's largest online LGBT donor community, and I'm currently leading my closest competitor for their PAC endorsement by a 3:1 margin - though that doesn't mean you shouldn't drop by and cast your vote.

Hillary Rosen, a member of the Democratic National Committee and major donor to Democratic and LGBT causes, added her voice to ours when she endorsed my candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

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Riding the Democratic Donkey?

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:15:00 -0500

A person with a wealth of experience as a Democratic insider recently told me that the political sophistication of black Americans underpinned the civil rights movement’s sensible decision to “ride the Democratic Donkey” toward securing freedoms for African Americans. I’ve thought about that comment and had a few afterthoughts:

The gentleman from Illinois who signed the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t riding anybody’s donkey. His starry-eyed idealism came at a price which few would argue, in hindsight, wasn’t worth the bloodshed that followed.

Rosa Parks, in Birmingham, Alabama, didn’t mount anyone’s donkey for transportation to the front of a segregated municipal bus. Her starry-eyed idealism has earned her a rightful place among this nation’s most revered heroines

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My responsibility

alumni@bilerico.com (Jim Neal) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:11:19 -0500

Pam, thanks for your warm welcome to The Bilerico Project community. I look forward to sharing my views on issues important to the LGBT community on my newest URL in the blogophere! Our campaign’s all about reaching out to grassroots supporters to build a transparent dialogue between the voters and me. We don’t need the support of the Democratic institution – large grassroots support is far more important to the Jim Neal for Senate campaign.

I’ve said this and will repeat it yet again: I don’t want nor do I take for granted anyone’s vote merely because of my sexual orientation. At the same time I am aware of the historic nature of this campaign and I recognize the responsibility I have to the LGBT community to represent their interests as being consistent with America’s best interest.

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