DC Week (5 of 8): Ten Swing State Congress Reps

Cong. G.K Butterfield (D-NC; pictured top) is one of only four Democrats representing North Carolina in the House as fellow Democrat Brad Miller got gerrymandered out of office.

Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va) and Cong. Mike Coffman (R-Col.; pictured bottom) are among the relatively new members of the House. Both have made provocative statements about the government shutdown which appear to be tailored to the Tea Party. Griffith was cited today by "Mother Jones," a liberal publication, for stating that it might be better for America in the long run if America went into default.

The oldest person on this list is Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.) who at age 87 is the oldest member of the House. The youngest member of this list is Cong. Sam Graves (R-Missouri).

Here is the list:

1. Cong. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) 1st District. Age 66

2. Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va). 9th District. Age 55

3. Cong. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.). 6th District. Age 58

4. Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.) 12th district. Age 87

5. Cong. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) 3rd Dist. Age 63

6. Cong. Sam Graves (R-Missouri). 6th District. Age 49

7. Cong. Ann Kuser (D-NH). 2nd dist. Age 57

8. Cong. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) 5th Dist. Age 50. (Ellison is the first and only Muslim in the House).

9. Cong. Steve Pearce (R-N.Mex.) 2nd dist. Age 66

10. Cong. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) 1st dist. Age 58.


http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com/

http://www.rollcall.com

http://www.c-span.org

Special Report-Controversial Amendment Passes in North Carolina

On May 3rd, just three days before North Carolina was to pass the politically charged Amendment One which effectively makes gay marriage illegal in the state constitution, Chris Knight, a blogger from Reidsville, NC, (a personal friend), said: "I'm a Christian. I'm called a 'conservative.' I'm not voting for Amendment One."

Knight said the choice was a tough one for him at many levels, but ultimately he felt uncomfortable with the politicizing of morality: "I've no doubt that there are many well-meaning people who will be voting for Amendment One because they sincerely believe that marriage is something that 'must be protected.' (But) It's not. It's really not. Not by a political gimmick anyway."

Unlike Knight, many North Carolina conservatives voted for Amendment One, which "The Charlotte Observer" called 'a Bible Belt showdown,' which pitted two elements of the Tarheel State against one another. The first being conservative rural and small-town North Carolina from places like Eden, Burlington and Salisbury against urban and college-town progressives in places like Asheville, Chapel Hill and Greensboro.

Amendment One passed by a 61-39 margin on May 8th, in a day in which Tea Party activists also tried to challenge congressional representatives from the right even within the Republican Party with one such effort by arch-conservative Billy Yow to upset Cong. Howard Cobel (R-NC) ending up in futility.

In his May 3rd blog spot, Knight also talked about the root origins of the Amendment One movement which progressed when Republicans took over the House of Delegates in the fall elections of 2010. According to Knight, the movement was started by the Rev. Ron Baity of the Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, and that during one service the minister referred to Pres. Barack Obama as 'Hussein Obama.'

One church in Winston-Salem, Edgewood Baptist Church openly encouraged people to vote for Amendment One both with its church sign and on its web site. The church said there was bipartisan support for the measure, but many prominent Democrats, such as Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) opposed it.

The opposition was quite vocal about the matter as well as 10,000 people gathered on Fayetville Street in downtown Raleigh on the day of the vote, according to "Indy Weekly."

The Unitarian Fellowship of Raleigh also expressed opposition to the initiative by stating it would be a clear civil rights violation for gays and lesbians across North Carolina.

(For more on this story, including how it was viewed by African-Americans and how the Bert and Ernie are gay suggestion actually originated in North Carolina, visit our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://www.knightshift.blogspot.com

http://www.uufr.org

http://www.theedgebc.com

Pictured above: 1) Two gay grooms on a wedding cake 2) Welcome to North Carolina sign 3) The Rev. Franklin Graham, though not mentioned in this piece, he is the leading conservative evangelical activist in the state of North Carolina.

Late Night PSA..........

Our Public Service Announcement tonight is a fairly straightforward one:

"Friends Don't Friends Vote Republican."

Hey, those of us who are fairly uber-partisan Democrats can use Cold War scare tactics too right? Perhaps, we should tell the kids- the image is of the Russian duo Boris and Natasha (from the '60s Jay Ward cartoon "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

I dedicate this entry to our 'good friend' Russell Peck, who is the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party in Raleigh (I don't actually know him). His counterpart is David Young at the North Carolina Democratic Party. I wonder if these two ever meet up at an Indian restaurant in Cary?-(a Raleigh suburb).

I must profess, as I admitted publicly in a letter to the Greensboro alternative newspaper "Yes Weekly," that I am perhaps the only Turkish-American in North Carolina who is not a supporter of Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). She has been very partial to Turkish-American political needs in Congress which I appreciate, but nevertheless Foxx is a bit far too the right for me. She did publicly say that Barack Obama's health care plan was more dangerous to America than terrorism?!

Foxx actually represents a portion of the county I live in, but thankfully my rep is Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC), who received death threats from Tea Parties for supporting health care reform!

Know Your Congress Reps and Senators (Entry 17 of 21)- Chris Lee (R-NY)

Since we are known to be a bit cheeky here at "The Daily Vampire," we thought we'd profile Cong. Chris Lee (R-NY) for our entry in this series (our last entry was on British actor Christopher Lee).

Cong. Lee is a freshman representative who was sworn into office on Jan. 6. He represents the 26th district in western New York. The congressman was born on April 1, 1964, in Kenmore, NY. His residency is Clarence, NY.

Lee has a business background, and his web site promises to lower taxes and create jobs. He worked for Microtech Labs in California before returning to New York to work for Enidine Inc.

Lee also serves as the director of Patrick Lee Foundation which promotes awareness, education and prevention of cancer and mental illness.

Lee serves on the Financial Services Committee, which is chaired by Cong. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and includes my congressional rep Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC).