The Charlotte Observer
Sunday, November 5, 2006
www.charlotte.com

EDITORIALS

For Congress

We recommend Myrick, Watt and Kissell

In the District 9 and 12 congressional races on the Mecklenburg ballot Tuesday, we recommend the re-election of Sue Myrick, a Republican, and Mel Watt, a Democrat. In District 8, we recommend challenger Larry Kissell.

District 8: Larry Kissell

The district spans 10 counties along the southern tier of the state, from Fayetteville to Charlotte. In between are some of our state's most economically damaged counties.The district once had one of the state's heaviest concentrations of textile jobs, but more than 10,000 have vanished since 2000 alone. The Associated Press recently used Census Bureau data to rank every congressional district based on changes in median household income and poverty rates from 1999 to 2005 and in unemployment rates from 2000 to 2005. The rankings identified the districts that have fared the best and worst economically in that period. The 8th was among the 20 that have fared worst in the nation.

Robin Hayes, a Concord Republican first elected in 1998, has worked hard and with some success to bring federal help to the district. But that's only one measure of a representative. Rep. Hayes argues on the campaign trail that "Washington isn't on the ballot," but it is. The only way to change Washington is to change the people sent there to govern.

That's especially true for Rep. Hayes, whose record shows high loyalty to the president and the Republican agenda. In 2005-06, for example, he supported the Republican House leaders' position on 95.49 percent of the votes -- more than any other N.C. Republican, according to the nonpartisan report HillMonitor.

A memorable example was his 2005 vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He said before the vote he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA," and "it's not in the best interests of the core constituency I represent." Then, under pressure from House Republican leaders, he voted for it, giving CAFTA a 217-215 victory. When the final House-Senate proposals came back to the House with amendments permitting additional textile and apparel imports, he voted against it. But his vote had kept it alive.

He also voted with Republican leaders to oppose legislation by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held by U.S. forces. He supported legislation to require a federal judge to intervene in the case of Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman who was in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years after suffering brain damage. He opposes embryonic stem cell research and supports government vouchers to pay for attending private schools.

Rep. Hayes' financial resources -- he's the third wealthiest member of the House, with assets exceeding $92 million -- have deterred Democratic challengers. In 2002 his opponent was Chris Kouri, a 32-year-old Charlotte lawyer in his first political race. In 2004 it was Beth Troutman, a 27-year-old Hollywood production assistant who grew up in the district, in her first race. Rep. Hayes outspent Mr. Kouri more than 3-1 and won 54 percent of the vote. He outspent Ms. Troutman 7-1 and won 56 percent of the vote.

When asked why anyone might vote against him, Rep. Hayes told the Observer's editorial board it would be because they wanted a Democrat. He's probably right. The 8th, as redrawn after the 2000 Census, has the smallest percentage of Republican registered voters (30 percent) of any N.C. district represented by a Republican. Rep. Hayes has worked tirelessly to connect with residents of the district and thus is hard to beat.

This year his opponent is Democrat Larry Kissell, a textile worker-turned-high school teacher from Biscoe, in Montgomery County. Mr. Kissell presents himself as a working man running against a multimillionaire businessman who, he says, is out of touch with regular people.

Mr. Kissell, a Baptist deacon and Wake Forest graduate (B.A. in economics), is a serious, intelligent, hard-working man with a quiet sense of humor who probably would serve well. He says he'd be a tougher advocate for protections for U.S. workers in international trade agreements, more skeptical about the Bush administration's Iraq policy and more responsible on balancing the federal budget than Rep. Hayes has been.

But the real questions for voters involve the House and Rep. Hayes, one of the most loyal supporters of the Republican leadership's agenda. Do you agree with the House's unquestioning support of President Bush's Iraq policy? With its decisions to cut taxes and increase spending that have produced deficits among the largest in the nation's history? Its votes on international trade agreements? Its refusal to raise the minimum wage, unchanged since 1997?

If so, Rep. Hayes is your man. If you want change, vote for Mr. Kissell. We think the House, with its scandals, fiscal irresponsibility and willingness to serve as a rubber stamp for the president, is a disaster. Larry Kissell would better represent the district.

[For complete recomendations from the Charlotte Observer editorial board, please visit www.charlotte.com]