June Mabry has confirmed she is running for First Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Mabry, 53, is challenging Stella Adams who is seeking re-election. Despite what has been described as a lackluster performance over the past two-years, Adams, 52, is desperate to hang onto her position on the state party's executive board.
These two candidates differ widely in their approach to serving the party, work ethic, effectiveness and, most importantly, getting results. For these reasons, NCDP Politics proudly endorses June Mabry for First Vice-Chair of the NCDP.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Part 1: Meek, Faison launch Smear Campaign on Parker for NCDP Chair
In his speech tonight at the Arizona memorial service for the Loughner shooting victims, President Barack Obama urged Americans to "not turn on one another" and to demand civil discourse return to politics, replacing heated debates that have digressed into smear campaigns and harsh rhetoric inside the political arena.
Here in North Carolina, few democrats expect Bill Faison and Jerry Meek will ever proactively return to civil discourse as President Obama urged. Case in point: Faison's statewide teleconference on Tuesday, January 11th. During that teleconference Faison who is running for Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party launched into a blanket smear campaign disparaging his opponent, front-runner David Parker.
Here in North Carolina, few democrats expect Bill Faison and Jerry Meek will ever proactively return to civil discourse as President Obama urged. Case in point: Faison's statewide teleconference on Tuesday, January 11th. During that teleconference Faison who is running for Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party launched into a blanket smear campaign disparaging his opponent, front-runner David Parker.
Meek, a former NCDP chair quickly recruited Faison upon learning of Parker's candidacy in December 2010. Meek has since taken a very active role in Faison's campaign and this blanket smear campaign has Meek's fingerprints all over it. Faison and Meek are collaborating to discredit Parker's record and influence the state party's 800-member executive committee to elect Faison instead. This is a prime example of the anti-social behavior that defines party in-fighting and is just another continuation of the uncivil political discourse President Obama spoke out against during Wednesday night's memorial service.
It took a little research to get the dirt on mudslinging, how it's done and why some people choose to do it. It's best defined as a....
Smear Campaign: (noun, idiom) An effort to damage or call into question somebody's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda.
Here's are the basic elements to creating your garden-variety smear campaign:
Who: A weaker candidate will use a smear campaign to distract and confuse voters about the opponent's reputation. Smears are considered to be a low, disingenuous and unethical form of discourse.
What: A smear is a simple attempt to undermine the opponent's credibility. A smear campaign is multiple attempts to ruin another's reputation. The #1 tactic is fabricating an alternative record for the opponent and filling it with distortions, half-truths or even outright lies, and unverifiable rumours, better known as baseless gossip.
How: In politics a "blanket smear campaign" takes multiple issues that don't really have any direct connection to each other and compiles them into talking points to blanket the opponent in negative statements. The goal is to get people to question the target's ethics, capabilities and accomplishments.
When the facts contradict the smears, the attacker will ignore them and shift gears to statements that cannot be easily refuted and referencing "witnesses" or people from the target's past to sound more credible and appear to be "common knowledge." When the target disputes this alternative record, the attacker will claim "where there's smoke, there's fire" to give the impression there must be some truth among the multiple smears.
Caveat: "Don't blink and don't blush." An attacker must stick to his guns when publicly busted for smearing his opponent. He will then need to rely on being nebulous and evasive when pushed to produce evidence or name names alluded to in the smears.
Caveat: "Don't blink and don't blush." An attacker must stick to his guns when publicly busted for smearing his opponent. He will then need to rely on being nebulous and evasive when pushed to produce evidence or name names alluded to in the smears.
When: The best timing for using smear tactics is whenever an opponent is presenting an effective argument, case or campaign. Trial lawyers know this tactic is extremely effective in undermining a witness's credibility.
Why: Political smear campaigns, mud slinging, whatever you want to call it, all boils down to deliberate attempts to malign another's reputation. The motives for engaging in smear tactics are usually personal, financial or revenge.
Most importantly, a smear campaign requires enlisting stupid people to support and perpetuate it. You know the type. People who enjoy besmirching others.
Most importantly, a smear campaign requires enlisting stupid people to support and perpetuate it. You know the type. People who enjoy besmirching others.
That brings us full-circle to Bill Faison, a trial attorney selling his soul (and integrity) to win the state party chair election on Saturday, January 29, 2011. Now that you know how a smear campaign works, we'll detail the differences between Parker and Faison and how they're conducting their campaigns.
Read Part 2's follow-up article here that reveals Faison's unfounded attacks and specific smears with links to irrefutable facts and evidence we located online and that anyone can veri-google. This fact-check article is a must read for anyone voting in the NCDP's January 29th party election in Raleigh.
Bookmark NCDPpolitics to find out the inside story of NCDP's back-room politics.
June Mabry running for NCDP office?
The field of candidates is growing in the election races for the North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Board. June Mabry, 53, is listed among the candidates attending the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party Candidates Forum and Meet & Greet in Charlotte on Saturday, January 22nd.
As of January 11th, Mabry is one of six candidates confirmed to attend the forum. Insiders are betting on Mabry to challenge Stella Adams for the First Vice Chair seat. The forum will run from 4 pm to 6pm at the Carole A. Hoefener Community Center (610 E. 7th Street) in Charlotte.
Mabry is the 8th congressional district chair and a resident of Albermarle. Check back here for confirmation and more details on Mabry's candidacy.
As of January 11th, Mabry is one of six candidates confirmed to attend the forum. Insiders are betting on Mabry to challenge Stella Adams for the First Vice Chair seat. The forum will run from 4 pm to 6pm at the Carole A. Hoefener Community Center (610 E. 7th Street) in Charlotte.
Mabry is the 8th congressional district chair and a resident of Albermarle. Check back here for confirmation and more details on Mabry's candidacy.
Kevin Smith, Delmas Parker announce state party candidacy
Two candidates announced their intentions to run for officer positions in North Carolina Democratic Party yesterday, Tuesday, January 11, 2011. After reviewing their announcements and intentions, NCDPpolitics is endorsing only one of the two.
Kevin Smith, 34, made it official in announcing his bid for party Secretary on BlueNC.com, the progressive democrats blog, Tuesday. Delmas Parker, 73, also came forward seeking re-election as the party's Second Vice-Chair.
Smith's priority is to "move forward and build a strong Democratic Party(...) controlled by the people and not special interests," according to his announcement. Smith says his focus will be on the issues that are of greatest concern to the people, reconnecting with the people and rebuilding the party's future through several goals:
NCDPpolitics endorses Kevin A. Smith for state party secretary. Stay tuned for an upcoming article later today on Delmas Parker's candidacy.
Kevin Smith, 34, made it official in announcing his bid for party Secretary on BlueNC.com, the progressive democrats blog, Tuesday. Delmas Parker, 73, also came forward seeking re-election as the party's Second Vice-Chair.
Smith's priority is to "move forward and build a strong Democratic Party(...) controlled by the people and not special interests," according to his announcement. Smith says his focus will be on the issues that are of greatest concern to the people, reconnecting with the people and rebuilding the party's future through several goals:
- Information on Demand
- Streamlined Information Process
- Accurate and Expedient Distribution of Party Minutes
- Transparency of Party Activities
- Accurately archiving all Party documentation
NCDPpolitics endorses Kevin A. Smith for state party secretary. Stay tuned for an upcoming article later today on Delmas Parker's candidacy.
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