ENEMY OF THE STATE AND NC GOP STRIKES AGAIN

Dear Friends and Voters,

For those who are Catholics and Christians, this past Sunday was Palm Sunday. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Catholic/Christian faith, it commemorates the day on which Jesus Christ rode in to the city of Jerusalem and was greeted by the ordinary masses who welcomed him with praises and palm branches.

During his sermon, the priest asked a question about the people who were present during the crucifixion and the part played by each. As he spoke, I analogized the situation to modern times and events happening now.

First, who was Pontius Pilate? In Roman times, he was the governor of the Jewish province of Judea. It was the one of the worst places in the Roman Empire to govern because the populace had frequent uprisings. He wanted no problem during his tenure and sought to do what was politically expedient to avoid problems with his superiors in Rome. The character of Pilate is analogous to our leaders, both state and federal, who seek to do not what is right, but what is expedient for their own political or personal agendas.

We next have the Jewish priests. They were the religious leaders who again declined to do what is right by condemning an innocent man to death just for their own political power. And they also played a part in stirring up the crowd to demand crucifixion and the release of a rebel/criminal, Barabbas.

Today, this part is played by other religious and political leaders like Pat Robertson, Dr. James Dobson, the NC GOP and others. They seek to fan the flames of bigotry and religious intolerance by bashing homosexuals and by stirring up the masses to pass a constitutional amendment banning marriage between homosexuals. These same individuals now seek to inflame passions against illegal immigrants, especially Mexicans.

We have the crowd which was manipulated from joy to hatred by the priests even though they realized that Jesus' death was wrong. The same people who called for his death then would do so now if he was present and seeking to upset the established political and social order. They are people who are told what to do and act without engaging their brains to really think about what they are doing.

And finally, we have the character of Jesus himself. Who was Jesus? In essence, he was a "rabble-rouser." He presented a new and different way of doing things. He represented a threat to the priesthood and to the powerful political class by preaching that God was for everyone. And he had to be stopped.

I am not going to suggest that I or other candidates are like Jesus. What I will say is that some of the individuals I have talked about walk in Jesus' path to the extent that these individuals are not professional politicians, but are ordinary people who believe that they have something to offer to the government which has failed us very badly. They are people who want to bring their talents and their solutions to our problems. They are people who have not been corrupted by lobbyists and others, people who will not do what is politically expedient, but who will do what they judge to be the best for the whole of the people or their constituents.

And so, I ask as the priest asked of us at Mass, "were you there? Who would you be? If Jesus did come back to Earth preaching the simple message of loving one another and of God's love for humanity, would you seek to condemn him to death? Or would you really listen to what is being said and try something new and different?

Speaking of continued vilification, I see that I have been the subject of yet another email alert by the NC GOP. That makes two of them in less than one month. I notice that of all the candidates running for judicial office, I am the only one singled out for such special treatment. And who am I? A relative nobody. The NC GOP should be jumping for joy at being faced with the prospects of such a candidate. Instead, they are doing everything in their power to stop me, just as the high priests manipulated the crowd to stop Jesus.

The NC GOP held a conclave this weekend in which they brainstormed about ways to attract more individuals to the party. Who would want to join this party when it has its own version of "cleansing" the party of individuals who do not think and act as they do? Who wants to join a party that bashes homosexuals and illegal aliens instead of coming up with a reasonable solution to the problem? Who wants to join a party of superannuated dinosaurs who are still reliving the glory days of Jesse Helms?

The comment by the NC GOP sparked another thought regarding their endorsement of candidates, particularly those running for judicial seats. The Democrats, to their credit, simply list candidates that they have identified as Democrats for office; they have not endorsed one person over the other. While their may be multiple Democrats vying for a particular seat and while their may be differences amongst the candidates, the party, to my knowledge, has not chosen one individual over another. Not so by the NC GOP. You can see who the "Pope Puppets" are by going to the NC GOP website. It is clear who they have selected and who they have not. Those who are approved get the party's official endorsement; those who are disapproved of get the treatment that I received in 2004. Naturally, Justice Martin is among the candidates so endorsed.

In an earlier piece, I had called upon the good justice to distance himself from the type of treatment to which I have been subjected. I was even prepared to make him an offer - to make this a truly non-partisan race, I would resign from the Democratic Party and run as an independent if he would do likewise. Instead, he is like some medieval priest that hides behind his Latin incantations that the masses do not understand. He is content to let the NC GOP do his dirty work for him while he can sit above the fray and appear judicial, impartial and non-partisan.

We were also treated to the President's visit to Charlotte last week and the comments made by Harry Taylor who asked the President whether he was ashamed. If the President had a bit of decency, he would be ashamed. But typical of the arrogance that seems endemic to this administration, he is not in the least contrite. There is nothing this man will not do if he feels like it. He can declare war without declaration from Congress. He can tap the phone lines of innocent Americans and can imprison Americans and hold them indefinitely, with no charges and without a warrant, all in violation of the 4th Amendment. He can state that he will not torture prisoners, but sign a "signing statement" in which he says he can. If a person dares exercise his or her rights to criticize as set forth in the 1st Amendment, the person who speaks out is labeled as a traitor or is sympathetic to the terrorists. We prohibit "leaks" and the President says he will punish the leakier, but he himself can "leak" information, but its not leaking since the information was declassified, although no one knew it was declassified because that was a secret. It also is a funny way to challenge the veracity of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's article.

All we are asking for is some sign of contrition. An acknowledgement that this administration committed an error, an apology for it, a resolve to do better in the future and to go on. Will we get it? No, we will not. We will not even allow a censure, because this administration cannot admit any level of error under any circumstances. That leaves us with only one choice and is why Senator Russ Feingold's censure request was brilliant. It neatly divided the neo-cons from those who are against the neo-con War Party. That is why the upcoming elections are so imperative. We need new blood in Washington, in our state and in our courts if things are to change in the future.

Have a joyous and happy Easter!

Rachel Lea Hunter

RETURN TO NEWS RELEASE PAGE