United Liberty

A new poll from Public Policy Polling finds President Barack Obama in trouble in North Carolina, a state that he won by a small margin in 2008. But much like like national polls reflect, Obama’s potential GOP rivals are still running mostly even with him:

Barack Obama’s approval rating in North Carolina has fallen to 43%, with 53% of voters disapproving of him.  That’s the lowest PPP has found in monthly polling of the state since the weekend before last year’s general election when Democrats were annihilated at the polls.

Obama’s got 2 big problems: independents and a loss of support with his party base.  Only 31% of independent voters think he’s doing a good job to 62% who disapprove. He was at an already bad 38/56 a month ago and things have only gotten worse for him.  Obama’s other issue is that he’s losing support from Democrats.  He was at 79/16 and now he’s down to 75/20.

Bad numbers for sure, not a position any incumbent wants to be in. Public Policy Polling weighed Obama against five GOP contenders (Bachmann, Gingrich, Palin, Perry and Romney), but to keep this short, I’m only showing the frontrunners, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. As you can see, it would be a very close race; at least on the surface:

Barack Obama v. Rick Perry

• Obama: 46%
• Perry: 46%
• Undecided: 8%

Barack Obama v. Mitt Romney

• Obama: 45%
• Romney: 44%
• Undecided: 11%

Public Policy Polling notes (emphasis mine):

B.J. Lawson reponds to attack ads by his opponent by asking what Rep. David Price, who is starting to sound a little nervous, is afraid of:

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) is trailing Renee Ellmers, his Republican opponent, in what has become a very tough year for Democrats in North Carolina.

• Ellmers: 46%
• Etheridge: 41%
• Other: 6%
• Undecided: 7%

Crosstabs are available here.

The district, which went for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, is viewed as a “Toss-Up” by Real Clear Politics. The Cook Political Report has it listed as “Lean Democratic.”

You may remember Etheridge. He is the guy that roughed up a college kid after he asked if he supported President Barack Obama’s agenda.

Yesterday, B.J. Lawson was mentioned on Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio show thanks to his father calling in to discuss his race against Rep. David Price (D-NC) in NC-4, which is no longer viewed as a “safe” seat for Democrats:

RUSH: To Denton, Texas. This is Bill, and it’s great to have you on the EIB Network, sir. Hello.

CALLER: Hello, Rush. Mega dittos, longtime listener, second-time caller. I have knowledge of the District 4 race because my son is the challenger.

RUSH: B.J. Lawson is your son?

CALLER: Yes, B.J. Lawson.

RUSH: B.J. Lawson is running against this idiot, David Price, North Carolina 4. Charlie Cook just moved that race into toss-up or at least it’s in play from solid Democrat. This district has been gerrymandered to be Democrat in perpetuity ‘til the end of time, ‘til the sun blows up, Durham and North Carolina and includes Chapel Hill. And B.J. is your son?

CALLER: Yes, he is. And he is a Rush Baby. In fact, in one of his campaigns as Dr. B.J. Lawson, he said, “Yep, I grew up on the Rush Limbaugh Letter and then naturally Rush 24/7.”

RUSH: Well, this is a humbling honor. I mean you have made my day here, because I did not know this. You made my day. I knew that B.J. Lawson was the challenger, but I had no idea he was a Rush Baby. I could assume that every young conservative is, but I don’t go that far. My ego won’t allow me to. But you’ve made my day here.

CALLER: Well, thanks, we appreciate everything you do, Rush, and we appreciate the fact that you’re helping us fight the good fight.

With polls showing a close race and attack ads being run against B.J. Lawson, it certainly seems that Rep. David Price (D-NC) is fearing a repeat of 1994, when he was tossed out of Congress during a GOP wave:

At a debate in downtown Durham earlier this month, Lawson’s supporters appeared to outnumber Price’s backers. Police officers turned latecomers away from the already packed venue.

On several occasions when Price attempted to speak, the 11-term incumbent was hissed and heckled by folks wearing Lawson pins and T-shirts. A woman waved a hand-lettered sign declaring that she had been “Priced” out of her job.

Encompassing the deep blue enclaves of Durham and Chapel Hill, the 4th District typically leans Democratic by a healthy margin. But on the district’s more conservative side, in western Wake County, Lawson’s yard signs line the roads.

“I don’t think there’s a Democrat in the country who wouldn’t acknowledge this is a more challenging environment than 2008,” Price said this week. “But it isn’t 1994.”
[…]
Price, 71, won’t discuss his internal polling results, but for the first time in more than a decade, the Democrat has launched a TV ad attacking his opponent. The 30-second spot highlights Lawson’s desire to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and cut federal support for scientific research.

Lawson’s campaign launched a new site yesterday, Nancy’s Price, connecting him to the increasingly unpopular Speaker of the House, who Price consistantly supports.

Rep. David Price (D-NC), who won in 2008 by 26 points, has launched an attack ad on his Republican opponent, B.J. Lawson, accusing him of being extreme (I guess Price missed the report that voters are increasingly seeing his party as the extremists).

Here is the ad:

The Lawson campaign responded to the attack swiftly and directly, noting that his wife is a former teacher and that Price has failed to address the real issues with education while in Congress:

William (B.J.) Lawson, MD, Republican challenger to Rep. David Price in North Carolina’s Fourth District, is the object of new attack ads running on local TV stations.  Price has made a significant TV expenditure for this election, something he has not done in over a decade. Price receives more than 50 percent of his contributions from special interests, while Lawson’s campaign has been funded by individual donors.

Using Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina as an example, Michael Cannon explains how consumer protections have been done away with as a result of ObamaCare:

When President Obama signed his health care overhaul into law in March, he said it would “lower costs for families and for businesses” and that “children who have a pre-existing condition will finally be able to purchase the coverage they need.” Much has already been made of the fact that ObamaCare is instead triggering premiums hikes as high as 30 percent and causing insurers to flee the market for child-only coverage.

But BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina’s announcement that it will refund $156 million to policyholders shows that ObamaCare is replacing badly needed consumer protections with price controls that imperil access to care for the seriously ill.

Market competition long ago generated a consumer protection called a renewal guarantee: if you get sick, your premiums rise at the same rate as the healthy people in your pool. To deliver that protection, insurers collect extra money from healthy policyholders up front to cover the future medical bills of those who become seriously ill. That $156 million is the money BCBSNC collected to pay the future medical bills of its policyholders.
[…]
BCBSNC’s refunds show that ObamaCare is leaving seriously ill patients with less protection, not more. Health insurance was hardly perfect before ObamaCare, but BCBSNC’s policyholders had insurance that had pre-funded many of their future medical bills.

Now, ObamaCare has effectively transferred those reserves from the sick to the healthy. Seriously ill policyholders now have less protection against BCBSNC reneging on its commitments to them. Competition used to discourage skimping; ObamaCare rewards it.

FreedomWorks PAC has endorsed B.J. Lawson in his race against Rep. David Price (D-NC) in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District:

Today, FreedomWorks PAC officially endorsed William “B.J.” Lawson in the North Carolina District 4 Congressional race as the clear choice for limited government voters in that state.

FreedomWorks PAC believes that B.J. Lawson’s promises to protect the Constitution and fight on behalf of taxpayers against runaway government spending and the continuous erosion of our fundamental freedoms will propel him to victory in the November 2nd general election.

Lawson will be an important vote in the next Congress on behalf of core limited government issues.  And his leadership in combating the big government agenda of the liberal establishment will be critical to FreedomWorks’ overarching mission to “Take America Back” on behalf of freedom starting on November 3, 2010.

FreedomWorks PAC is supporting endorsed candidates through Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts, including direct mailings, yard sign distribution, volunteer phone banks and neighborhood literature drops leading up to election day.

“We are pleased to add B.J. Lawson to our list of endorsed candidates this election season,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks PAC. “After evaluating the candidates in this race, we believe that B.J. Lawson will best serve the interests of hardworking North Carolina taxpayers by advocating the principles of lower taxes, less government and more individual freedom.”

B.J. Lawson, a candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District, received endorsements from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) yesterday in his bid to unseat Rep. David Price (D-NC):

Today the Lawson for Congress campaign received strong endorsements from the leading doctors in Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).  Lawson, a physician challenging Rep. David Price in North Carolina’s 4th district, has made pro-market health care reform a cornerstone of his campaign.  He strongly opposes the mandates, rationing and increased bureaucratic intervention in the health care delivery process.

Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Randall, candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District:

“Maybe they wanted it to leak, but then it got beyond what was anticipated and we had an explosion and loss of life,” Randall said. “Is there a cover up going on? I’m not saying there necessarily is. But I think that there are enough facts on the table for people who really need to do so to do some investigative research and find out what went on with that.”

Randall has the support of the Tea Party movement in North Carolina and faces fellow Republican Bernie Reeves in a runoff election on June 22nd.