AIKEN NEWS NETWORK OCT 22 & 23, 2014

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Clay Aiken @ClayForNC

Back in #HarnettCounty for tonight's town hall! #ncpol #nc02 (@ Dunn, NC in Dunn, NC)

[Marilyn]

Clay Aiken @ClayForNC

Great questions tonight at our town hall in Dunn #ncpol #nc02 @ Triangle South Enterprise Center instagram.com/p/uePgtuqRSI/

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Mandy D ?@Acd_hk 2m2 minutes ago
.@clayaiken killing it on Capital Tonight. Glad at least HE showed up! #Election2014

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Emily Thomas ?@Divabaybe 4m4 minutes ago
So proud of my daughter @littledivabaybe she signed on with @clayaiken to help with his campaign today. :-)

[Marilyn]

SEE CLAY'S EMPTY CHAIR DEBATE HERE:

District 2 conversation
By: TWC News Staff 7:00 PM

http://coastalnc.twcnews.com/content/71316...n/?ap=1&MP4

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Secular Coalition for North Carolina shared a link.

Renee Ellmers, on the Supreme Court’s recent decision not to take up same-sex marriage cases from five states:

"I have to admit I was surprised by the Supreme Court, but I’ve been immersed in the campaign and haven’t sat down to read the decision."

Well, that shouldn't take her too long!

https://www.facebook.com/SecularCoalitionforNorthCarolina

[Marilyn]

Democrat Clay Aiken courts Republicans in longshot House bid
Gay Democrat seeking to unseat Rep. Renee Ellmers in deep-red North Carolina district

WHISPERING PINES, N.C. — “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken can’t hand out yard signs for his congressional campaign fast enough. Not because of the openly gay Democrat’s broad appeal in this deep-red district, but because people steal them.

“You don’t see many signs at all, because they keep getting stolen,” Mr. Aiken told a crowd of about 65 supporters at a town hall-style meeting here, urging them to put up more signs and call the police if they see someone swipe one.

In this solid GOP district in central North Carolina, Mr. Aiken has virtually no chance of unseating incumbent Republican Rep. Renee L. Ellmers. The singer-songwriter’s celebrity nevertheless has attracted close attention to the race.

Mr. Aiken shot to fame after finishing second to Ruben Studdard on the second season of the TV talent show “American Idol.” He has released a string of records since then, including multiplatinum debut album “Measure of a Man.”

But his politics run sharply to the left of the district. A SurveyUSA/Civitas poll last month showed Mrs. Ellmers ahead of Mr. Aiken by 8 points, 47 percent to 39 percent. Other polls have given her a bigger lead.

Even Mr. Aiken wasn’t sure how much of the sign theft should be attributed to his fans or to residents who despise him.

“I think there are some people who are taking them for souvenirs, but some of them are taking them for other reasons,” he told The Washington Times.

A man was charged in neighboring Lee County last week for removing an “Aiken” yard sign. His motive was unclear, though he told a witness that he worked for the Democratic Party and the signs were obstructing his view, according to the sheriff’s office.

Signs have become a campaign issues in Mr. Aiken’s improbable run in other ways. He’s been ridiculed for distributing signs that read “Republaiken” in letters that fade from blue to red.

The “Republaiken” signs also are extremely popular with thieves, according to Aiken campaign volunteers.

The Ellmers campaign said the signs expose Mr. Aiken as a “phony” who thinks he can manipulate people into thinking he is Republican or conservative.

He insisted the signs are designed to reach out to Republican voters and communicate that he will work across the aisle and forge bipartisan alliances to break the gridlock in Congress.

“I’ve given out more of those in the last few days on the bus than I’ve given out the other ones,” he told the gathering at the Whispering Pines community center in this rural outpost of Moore County. “Because you’ll talk to somebody, and they’ll say, ‘I’m Republican, but I’m going to vote for you.’”

As he crisscrosses the sprawling district between Raleigh and Greensboro on a bus tour, Mr. Aiken hammers home the message that he’s ready to work with Republicans to fix problems with Obamacare or pass immigration reform.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/o...rce=twitterfeed

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Vincent Jones
Follow · 4 hrs ·

Clay Aiken Been In Dunn For Past Two Days... — at The Decorative Corner.

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David McDowell
1 min ·
I'm shocked I'm saying this, and he isn't representing my district, but Clay Aiken (D) just impressed me with his interview on Capital Tonight on TWC News. Renee Ellmers ® declined to appear on the program

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ERWIN, N.C. (AP) — Eleven years after becoming a national TV sensation, Clay Aiken still attracts a crowd in central North Carolina. In an hour he could only get a block or so down the street during an old textile town's fall festival while fans stopped to talk and take pictures.

"I can't believe you're here!" exclaimed Suzanne Strickland, 23, after she and her mother left their craft booth at Erwin Denim Days. "I saw you watching 'American Idol'!"

Finishing second for Congress won't cut it for the 2003 runner-up on the Fox show that vaulted him to a singing career and another second-place finish on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice." Rather, he would just be another Democratic candidate who failed to beat the odds on North Carolina's congressional map since Republicans redrew it and shifted the delegation's makeup to the right.

While national Democratic groups haven't arrived with financial support, Aiken believes there's a path to victory in the U-shaped 2nd District over Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers. He's trying to attract independent and Republican voters who recall his appearances as a crooner, and he's hoping to catch breaks on the waves of unhappiness with Republican state government and gridlocked Washington politics.

"People are very dissatisfied with Congress in general and getting absolutely nothing done," Aiken said in an interview. He said Ellmers, a nurse, is wrongly fixated on repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care law, rather than fixing its problems. "If after three or four years, you still haven't gotten anything done, then what are you getting paid for?"

Ellmers, who like Aiken was a first-time candidate four years ago when she upset Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge, is throwing political inexperience back at Aiken and suggesting he's role-playing to win votes.

"He's an entertainer. He's an actor," Ellmers, 50, said in an interview after addressing the Kiwanis Club in Apex earlier this month. "He believes that he can change costume and get into character and speak to whichever group and win them over."

Ellmers is surely favored in a district anchored by Fort Bragg, affluent suburbs west of Raleigh, retirees near the famous Pinehurst golf resort and solid red south of Greensboro. The 2011 redistricting made the district swing more Republican, as Mitt Romney received nearly 58 percent of the 2012 presidential vote there, according to an analysis by the business advocacy group the North Carolina Chamber.

If the race were competitive, outside groups would be investing in Aiken's candidacy, said North Carolina Chamber political director Nathan Babcock, but he expected they won't because they've got more pressing races.

Scott Falmlen, a longtime Democratic political consultant in Raleigh, believes there's a recipe for Democratic success in the district and says Aiken is following it well. But Falmlen isn't willing to predict a victory. Aiken raised more than $1 million for his campaign since February, benefiting from Broadway and Los Angeles events along the way. He hired veteran strategists and scheduled a bus trip through the district in the campaign's final three weeks. Ellmers, who has raised more than $1.8 million this cycle, is battling anti-incumbent sentiment.

Aiken has "presented himself as a very credible candidate and I think some people wondered whether that would be the case," said Falmlen, who isn't working with Aiken. "He comes across as knowledgeable of the issues."

During a Saturday in the 2nd District, Aiken, 35, engaged well-wishers as they browsed jewelry and ate barbecue, stopping for photos and hugs. But he also discussed veterans' medical care and Medicaid expansion. He gave stickers to GOP voters that read "Republaiken," wordplay on his name and the opposition party.

Ellmers "has done absolutely nothing and I'm ready for a change," said registered Republican Peter de Young, 67, of Pinehurst, who met Aiken at a street fair in Cameron.

Ellmers, who frequents cable news shows and heads the Republican Women's Policy Committee, blames Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid for refusing to consider House legislation. "I can't force the Senate to act, but the American people can," she said, suggesting they should turn the Senate majority Republican next month.

Aiken has tried to distance himself from Obama, saying he disagrees with him on issues and believes several changes should be made to the president's signature health care law. But during their lone televised debate, Ellmers contended that, in the end, "you support Obamacare."

Aiken is a gay man running in a largely conservative district. Among passers-by in Erwin, it wasn't an issue. "That's his choice, that's his life. It doesn't affect me at all," said Susan Boggs, 38, of Erwin.

Aiken supports gay marriage while Ellmers does not, though she publicly opposed the 2012 constitutional amendment in North Carolina that banned gay marriage. Both said during their debate that the issue of same-sex marriage, which is being decided in federal courts across the country, is out of their hands.

Aiken received almost 12 million votes nationwide while narrowly losing to "Idol" winner Ruben Studdard in 2003. This year, he edged out a well-known local businessman in the Democratic primary. It may take the ardent support of local "Claymates" — Aiken's fan base during his "Idol" run— to win the title of congressman.


BIGSTORY.AP

[Marilyn]

Donald Byrd
7 hrs ·

Clay Aiken came to my Domino's again. He came in and ordered and shook my hand. Two times at Domino's in Dunn, N.C.

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Joe Sinagra
56 mins ·
We the People Grant Legislators the Power of Political Arrogance

North Carolina’s 2nd District Candidate Clay Aiken’s is running against Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers.

While I have nothing against either one, what I find disturbing is the comment made by Ellmers to the Kiwanis Club . . . "He's an entertainer. He's an actor. He believes that he can change costume and get into character and speak to whichever group and win them over."

Aiken came in second during the second season of American Idol. Aiken has a bachelor's degree in special education, created the National Inclusion Project (which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the life environment of their non-disabled peers. Formerly the Bubel/Aiken Foundation), was UNICEF ambassador, taught autistic children, and was appointed for a two-year term to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2006.

Prior to Ellmers being elected she was just a nurse. Other than that what qualified her to a Congressional position other than the people electing her?

In New Jersey’s 12th District we have Democrat Patrick Diegnan, an Assemblyman with the same attitude.

Diegan made well over $1.5 million since 2000 from public paychecks. He had approved 115 tax increases, including taxes on payroll, income and sales, which had a direct impact on the businesses that shed jobs. If you hear Pat Diegnan talking about creating jobs, be sure to ask whether he’s talking about creating jobs for us, or creating jobs for himself that we’ll pay for.

Patrick Diegnan was the primary sponsor of a gas tax increase bill. Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan had hired his wife and daughter to work in his legislative office.

 Diegnan seems to feel that being an assemblyman is his deserved position.

His attitude towards his constituents . . . “I find it personally insulting, I'm outraged that every two years me and a lot of other people in this state have to put up with this baloney.”

Every few years there is a political process otherwise called an election.

What makes politicians, Republican or Democrat, feel that once they are in office the position belongs to them and no one else?

We as citizens eventually wind up paying for arrogance because lifetime legislators seem to feel everyone else is less than qualified. By letting them stay in office year after year we let them inflate their egos, egos that empower them to have the mindset they are above the rest of us.


SAVE JERSEY

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'American Idol' singer Clay Aiken seeks win in first political bid

(Reuters) - "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken is back on tour. This time he is trying to win over North Carolina voters with his political chops rather than his voice, and he has less than two weeks left to do it.

Polls and pundits suggest Aiken, a Democrat running in a solidly Republican congressional district, could be headed for another second-place finish.

Undeterred, he is spending the final stretch of the campaign traveling and living on a bus emblazoned with a "Clay for North Carolina" slogan to tell voters in his native state why he would be an effective advocate for them in Congress.

"I can get people to pay attention," Aiken, 35, said at a town hall campaign event in Asheboro last week. "It's a benefit of where I came from and how I got here."

About 30 people showed up at an historic courthouse in central North Carolina to hear Aiken speak at the event, a far different scene than his heady "American Idol" days in 2003 when 38 million TV viewers watched him perform in the show's finale.

The singing contest launched the gangly, red-headed special education teacher to an entertainment career that has included stints on Broadway in "Monty Python's Spamalot" and on television in "The Celebrity Apprentice." He made the cover of People magazine when he announced in 2008 that he was gay.

His first run for office has also drawn wide attention. He eked out a win in the Democratic primary for the chance to challenge Republican U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers on Nov. 4 and has snapped countless selfies with fans on the campaign trail.

Just don't ask him to sing.

"As soon as I get up there and start singing, they remember me as the guy who sings," he said in an interview. "They don’t remember anything else about it at all, so I’m trying not to do that."


AIKEN ON THE ATTACK

Aiken argues his opponent spends too much time in Washington and puts partisan politics ahead of the needs of North Carolina's sprawling 2nd congressional district, which stretches across nine counties and includes the Fort Bragg military base.

Ellmers, 50, is a former nurse who first won the seat during the Republicans' national electoral sweep in 2010 and clinched her second term with 56 percent of the vote in 2012.

She dismissed Aiken's attacks on her record during a televised debate this month, suggesting he did not understand how Washington works. He seems to think he will be able to sway leaders with "a song and dance," she said.

"Congresswoman Ellmers is good at her talking points, good at calling me an entertainer," Aiken said in response. "But the most embarrassing reality show right now in the country is Congress."

A poll conducted by the conservative Civitas Institute in late September showed Ellmers drawing 47 percent support compared to Aiken's 39 percent. Fourteen percent were undecided, and there was a 5 percent margin of error.

The congresswoman also leads in fundraising and cash on hand, though Aiken's campaign claims it has the momentum in the race after raising more than Ellmers in the past two quarters.

Aiken recently unveiled campaign signs featuring the slogan "Republaiken," which critics saw as an attempt to confuse voters. Political experts say North Carolina's Republican-led legislature re-drew the 2nd district to favor their party.

Aiken's campaign manager said the signs signaled his intent to represent all voters, regardless of their party affiliation.

Janet Pate, the treasurer of a local Tea Party group, left Aiken's event in Asheboro carrying a stack of the signs and said she planned to put one up in her yard.

She was among several Tea Party members at the town hall who said they were disillusioned by Ellmers and were considering giving Aiken their vote.

"She's done nothing," said Pate, 47. "He's open to hearing what we have to say at least."


(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)




REUTERS.COM

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Clay Aiken @ClayForNC
Morning visit to one of our favorite places! #nc02 (@ Sherry's Bakery in Dunn, NC) swarmapp.com/c/aa3ujeT9fqd

[Marilyn]

From FB: https://www.facebook.com/canecreekfarm

Cane Creek Farm
21 minutes ago

Clay Aiken came by Cane Creek Farm this week to see our operation and taste some delicious prosciutto!