Although Obama might enjoy star-like status in Quebec, Canada, and Europe, that might not always be the case in the United States. And certainly not in America’s Deep South, where the government is often unwelcome in the health care and financial systems — as well as in people’s firearm collections — as a matter of principle. There is no doubt that Obama’s reform efforts are taken there with a heavy grain of salt.
That’s what I was able to discern in the beginning of May, in North Carolina, just before leaving for Louisiana (sorry for the delay, dear readers, it wasn’t possible to blog during the trip). With a small delegation, reunited by the “Quebec Leadership Mission” [an association], I was able to observe the first round of the Primaries for the Democrats, in anticipation of the senate’s mid-term elections, slated for November.
Since none of the Democratic candidates met the 40 percent threshold during the first round, Cal Cunningham and his main rival, Elaine Marshall, are presently fighting it out during the second round.
Out in the field, I had lost count of the anti-Obama comments. The day of the election, just outside a voting station, a young mother with her family railed against a Democratic party representative.
“What?! A Democrat?! Believe me, you can’t argue with Democrats in this day in age. I have a friend in Europe, and I’m telling you, things are horrible over there,” (a reference to the European-style socialism Obama allegedly wants to transplant to the United States).
Then, right after, she turned to a Republican party representative standing nearby (Republicans are also in the Primaries) and the both of them started going off on a rant against Obama. “They want to tell us what to do!” “That’ll never work here!” “They want to tell us how to run our schools!” And so-on and so-forth.
A little bit later, a disillusioned Democrat murmured, while heading to the voting center, “After everything he’s done…”
Just look at this kind of talk. Examples are legion.
Individual Liberty Above All
But to ridicule all of this would be too easy; for there is certain coherence in the discourse of those against Obama. These people have chosen individual liberty before all else, with its benefits and pitfalls.
Banks? “Let them go under. It’ll be hard, but then they’ll learn,” people told me several times, in a state that houses the headquarters of Bank of America and Wachovia, and is considered to be the second largest financial center of the United States, after New York.
The same goes for the universal health care system. “Each person must pay for his own care. I shouldn’t have to pay for others!” Oddly enough, one of the folks who shared this opinion with me had teetered on the brink of bankruptcy after having incurred the heavy medical costs of a hospitalization.
When you don’t like the government, you really don’t like the government.
The Kiss of Death?
The candidacy of Cal Cunningham deserves particular attention. Who is he? He’s a candidate with a serious chance of winning. He has all he needs to please — or almost. Let me explain.
Cal is what they call a true American. He’s young, 36 years old, and he was born in North Carolina. He has a dazzling white smile, he speaks with aplomb, he’s married, he’s a happy father of two beautiful blond children, he has a Golden Retriever, he’s a lawyer, he’s been a senator in his state and — perhaps the most important thing on his resume — he’s a military man. Veteran of the War in Iraq, he received the prestigious Bronze Medal for exemplary service.
And, if elected to the American senate, he would be the first veteran of the Iraq war to win a seat. (Please understand that this is absolutely fundamental: with the military base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina is just as much a “military state”. A huge number of soldiers sent abroad transit through it. And the people of North Carolina are incredibly proud of them).
Add to this something that, in normal circumstances, would be an “open sesame” but could become a kiss of death since the passing of the health care bill and the financial reform project: an endorsement from Obama. From among the three main Democratic candidates in this first round, Cal is the one with the presidential backing.
Cal was the second most popular candidate at the first round, and he still has the chance to win at the next one. But the slope is abrupt: he’s gained a noticeable 10 per cent less in support than the leading candidate, Elaine Marshall.
This first result hasn’t lived up to the hopes. Too young? Poorly organized? Maybe. But you can bet that the association with Obama certainly didn’t help. And that it won’t help in the weeks and months to come.
An Election Worth Paying Attention To
No matter who wins the Democratic Primaries, North Carolina will be a state to follow during the mid-term elections in November. The seat up for grabs in the senate during this election (there are two per state, and the other seat in North Carolina was filled in 2008 for six years) is presently occupied by a Republican. However, it has swung in every election since 1986. No departing senator has managed to get re-elected in 25 years. Polls indicate that the race between the two parties will be very, very close.
In short, it’s the kind of local election that has the potential to swing the senate from one side to the other, and to keep us all in suspense until the end.
Stay tuned.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.