had a do-over on where they would pick their convention site, they might pick someplace other than Charlotte,” Kyle Kondik, a senior political analyst at the University of Vir- ginia Center for Politics, tells Newsmax. Democrats hoped the Charlotte convention would pro-
pel them to victory. But Kondik and several other pundits list North Carolina in their “lean Republican” column. The president’s biggest obstacle is the number 9.4. That
was the state’s May unemployment figure. As that grim sta- tistic indicates, North Carolina, once home to thriving tex- tile, furniture, and tobacco industries, is experiencing seri- ous economic pain. Adding to the president’s popularity problem is the unpopularity of Obamacare. The healthcare industry is a major pillar of the state’s economy, buoyed by major medical programs at the universities of North Caro- lina, Duke, East Carolina, and Wake Forest. Nor can Obama hope to ride any political coattails this fall. North Caro- lina’s De mocratic gov- ernor, Bev Perdue, is so unpopular that she has announced she won’t be seeking a second term. And fundrais- ing for the big event has been running way behind schedule. Obama’s timing on
“If the Democrats had a do-over, they might pick someplace other than Charlotte.”
— Kyle Kondik, senior political analyst, University of Virginia Center for Politics
gay marriage hasn’t helped either. In May,
North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage by a whopping margin of more than 20 points. One month later, Obama announced he was sup- porting gay marriage. There are indications the president’s support may be
slipping even among African-American voters, who com- prise 21.5 percent of North Carolina’s electorate. A recent poll by Public Policy Polling reported that one-fifth of blacks currently plan to cast their votes for Romney. Ada Fisher, RNC chairwoman from North Carolina,
says: “The thing that has almost destroyed the black com- munity is its lack of stability in families . . . So here you come out for gay marriage, which does nothing to help black families proceed, in a logical way, to help themselves.” Despite polls that show the race very close there, most
analysts are skeptical Obama can hold on to North Caroli- na in 2012. “It was superclose last time,” says Kondik, “and we feel the president is in a weaker position nationally. So it would be only logical that one of the states he only won by a razor-thin margin would swing back in 2012.”
OCCUPY CAMP Police remove Occupy Charlotte protesters from city-owned property in January.
AUGUST 2012 | NEWSMAX 31
Democrats Brace for Problem-Plagued Convention in Charlotte
T
he problems surrounding this year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., reflect the
problems the Obama campaign is experiencing generally across the Tar Heel State. At the heart of the controversy is North Carolina’s status
as a right-to-work state. So offended was organized labor by the party’s choice of Charlotte that it pulled the plug on millions in expected funding. The DNC aggravated that money crunch by prohibiting
cash donations from corporations or lobbyists. So it was no surprise when Democrats revealed in May that they were running about $20 million shy of their fundraising target of $37.5 million to offset the costs of the convention. Gay and lesbian activists shared the unions’ pique over
Charlotte’s selection. In May, North Carolina voters passed a constitutional ban against gay marriage by a huge margin. This prompted activists to circulate a petition signed by more than 25,000 voters urging the Democratic Party to move its convention someplace else. Party leaders refused. But the impasse added to the sense that North Carolina and the Democratic Party are heading in two different directions. Charlotte oficials are bracing for more fallout once the
convention gets under way. Bank of America makes its headquarters in Charlotte, and
hundreds of Occupy protesters camped out there for more than four months last year before the city passed an anti- camping ordinance. For the Democratic convention, much larger protests are expected. So how much noise will Occupy generate in Charlotte?
One Occupy leader told The New York Times “thousands upon thousands” of protesters are expected. — D.P.
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