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Stories tagged with “Kay Hagan”

Justice

Poll: Voters Are More Likely To Support Two Red State Democrats Who Voted For Background Checks

By Ian Millhiser on May 3, 2013 at 9:00 am

(Credit: AP)

Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) state of North Carolina supported Mitt Romney for president in 2012, albeit by a narrow margin, and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) hails from the blood red state of Louisiana. Both of these Democratic women also voted for legislation expanding background checks for gun sales. As it turns out, this wasn’t just the right thing to do, it was also the right thing to do purely from the standpoint of electoral politics:

In Louisiana 72% of voters say they favor background checks to only 20% who are opposed. There is strong bipartisan backing with Democrats (81/13), independents (73/20), and Republicans (61/29) all expressing at least 2:1 support. 45% of voters in the state say they’re now more likely to support Landrieu for reelection because she voted for background checks, compared to only 25% who say they’re now less likely to vote for her. Landrieu has also seen a 6 point improvement in her net approval rating from the last time we polled the state in February, from +2 then at 47/45 to now +8 at 49/41.

It’s a similar story in North Carolina. There 73% of voters support background checks with only 22% opposed. Again there is a strong consensus across party lines with more than 60% of Democrats (86/11), independents (67/28), and Republicans (61/34) all supporting them. 52% of voters say they’re more inclined to reelect Hagan next year because she voted for background checks, while only 26% of voters say they will be less likely to support her because of it.

The same polls finds voters are less likely to support Republican Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and David Vitter (R-LA) because of their votes against background checks. This comports with another recent poll, which found Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s (R-NH) net approval rating plummeted 15 points after she opposed additional gun regulation.

Four Democrats opposed the background checks provision. They may want to rethink that decision in light of recent polling.

LGBT

Kay Hagan Joins Democratic Senators Supporting Marriage Equality

By Zack Ford on Mar 27, 2013 at 11:25 am

This week’s marriage equality arguments at the Supreme Court have catalyzed an avalanche of new support from Democratic Senators who previously were tentative about supporting the freedom to marry. The latest is Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), who is ready to “move forward with this issue“:

HAGAN: I know there are strong feelings on both sides, and I have a great deal of respect for their opinions, but after much thought and prayer on my part this is where I am today.

I know all our families do not look alike. We all want the same thing for our families. We want happiness, we want health, prosperity, a bright future for our children and grandchildren. After conversations I’ve had with family members, with people I go to church with and with North Carolinians from all walks of life, I’ve come to my own personal conclusion that we should not tell people who they can love, or who they can marry. It’s time to move forward with this issue.

When North Carolina was considering a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions last year, Hagan spoke out against the measure but stopped short of supporting full marriage equality.

At this point, only nine Democratic Senators remain who have not expressed full support for same-sex marriage: Mark Pryor (AR), Bob Casey (PA), Bill Nelson (FL), Tom Carper (DE), Joe Manchin (WV), Mary Landrieu (LA), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Joe Donnelly (IN), and Tim Johnson (SD). Johnson indicated this week that he does oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, but he has not spoken out for full marriage equality.

Politics

Why Are These Six Democratic Senators On The Fence About Universal Background Checks?

By Aviva Shen and Adam Peck on Mar 26, 2013 at 11:00 am

After axing the assault weapons ban from the Senate’s comprehensive gun violence prevention plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is struggling to scrape together enough votes to pass the centerpiece of the plan: universal background checks. Republicans are refusing to vote for it, and even several Democrats in red states are wavering on their support. According to Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, these key votes include Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND).

Universal background checks are considered essential to the gun bill. They would close the “gun show loophole” that currently allows anyone to skip a background check if they buy a gun through a private sale. “Private” transactions between individuals or at gun shows are the origin point for 80 percent of guns used in crimes.

ThinkProgress examined data from the home states of six Democratic senators currently on the fence: Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alaska, and North Dakota. According to the most recent data available, these six states had: 1) 1,462 gun murders in 2010; 2) 351 gun deaths since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre at the end of last year; and 3) widespread support for universal background checks (following the national trend). Meanwhile, 152 gun shows are scheduled to take place in these states this year, providing criminals who can’t pass background checks in stores with ample opportunity to stock up on guns. All of the states, with the exception of North Carolina, allow individuals to buy guns at these shows without any review:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his pro-gun regulation group Mayors Against Illegal Guns recently launched an ad blitz to encourage residents in 13 key states to lobby their senators to support the proposal. Sen. Donnelly (D-IN) is reportedly considering “a bipartisan compromise on background checks.”

NEWS FLASH

Senator Hagan Speaks Out Against Discriminatory Amendment | With voting only two weeks away, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) is now speaking out against North Carolina’s Amendment One, which would ban same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships. In a new video released today, Hagan points out that if the discriminatory measure passes, businesses will be less inclined to bring new jobs to the state and thousands of families will be negatively impacted. She added, “In North Carolina, we say our state is where the weak grow strong, and the strong grow great. Amendment One harms our state’s resolve to make all people and all families great.” Watch it:

NEWS FLASH

Sen. Hagan ‘Remains Wary’ Of Altering North Carolina’s Constitution | Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) office has released a vague statement in response to the effort by North Carolina’s Republican legislature to advance a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Without referring to the measure itself, her office said: “Senator Hagan implores elected officials everywhere to focus on lowering the nation’s unemployment rate and remains wary of attempts to alter constitutions in the heat of today’s charged political environment.” Hagan has been supportive of numerous LGBT equality initiatives such as the hate crimes law and repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but is surprisingly hesitant to outright condemn legislated discrimination in her home state.

Economy

Three Senators Co-Sponsor Bill To Delay Financial Reform Provision They Voted For Last Year

By Pat Garofalo on Jun 8, 2011 at 9:31 am

As part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, a new provision was put into place allowing the Federal Reserve to cap the amount that banks can charge merchants for processing debit card transactions. The Fed has proposed capping the fees at 12 cents, far below the 44 cents per transaction that the banks currently charge. These fees account for about $16 billion annually for the banks.

The banks have launched an all-out lobbying campaign to delay (and ultimately repeal) this swipe-fee amendment, which was written by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and passed by a bipartisan 64-33 vote. The Electronic Payments Coalition, which is representing the banks in this debate, spent $2.5 million lobbying on this issue between January and April.

Today, the Senate will vote on a provision authored by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) that would delay the swipe fee cap for a year, giving the bank lobby another 12 months to convince Congress to kill it off entirely. And already, three senators who supported Durbin have flipped and will support Tester’s plan, delaying for a year a regulation that they already voted to approve:

The amendment represents the latest twist in the uphill effort to roll back a provision of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law and would prevent the financial industry from losing billions of dollars in swipe-fee revenue. The changes have won Mr. Tester the support of at least three senators who voted for Sen. Richard Durbin’s (D., Ill) amendment to curb swipe fees last year: Sens. Kay Hagan (D., N.C.) and Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) and Michael Bennet (D., Colo.)

As the Roosevelt Institute’s Mike Konczal pointed out, “Interchange rates in the United States are among the highest, if not the highest, in the developed world.” The fees have grown by more than 300 percent in the last decade. “The proposed regulations will benefit consumers by lowering the billions of dollars annually in non-negotiable swipe fees paid by merchants to large banks and the dominant credit card networks,” said Ed Mierzwinski of U.S. Public Interest Research Groups.

Dodd-Frank is under assault in multiple ways, from House Republicans looking to gut the budgets of the financial regulatory agencies to the bank lobby pushing for delay after delay in bringing rules online. These three senators agreed last year that swipe fees needed to be reined in. So what changed?

Politics

Sen. Kay Hagan’s Office, Government Buildings Vandalized In North Carolina

By George Zornick on Dec 19, 2010 at 2:10 pm

Early Thursday morning, in the midst of a busy week in Congress where the DREAM Act, a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the Obama-McConnell tax cut package were all considered, a vandal struck the offices of Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) in Greenville, North Carolina. Police say a “white male with a thin build,” wearing a long coat and a backpack, approached her office and several other government buildings around 2 a.m. and spray-painted phrases like “Criminal Government,” “blind follow blind” and “what good is justice if the scales are bent.” (Some of these slogans appear to be lyrics to a song by the artist Mason Jennings). Swastikas, lightning bolts, and other symbols were also painted on several of the buildings. Unfortunately for the vandal, however, surveillance cameras in Hagan’s office were running and caught him in the act. Police are soliciting leads based on the video.

Watch video of the criminal mastermind in action, via WNCT:

Local news outlets interviewed several Greenville residents “outraged” by the vandalism. “Just the symbol alone, just what it represents, that just somebody would go to that level, it’s very upsetting,” said one man. “When you have these kinds of things go on, hatred symbols put up, it can be depressing, it can be demoralizing for the community,” said another. Earlier this year, five Democratic Congressional office were vandalized during the health care reform debate, and last year swastikas were also painted on the office of Rep. David Scott (D-GA). Just before the recent midterm election, Rep. Tom Periello’s (D-VA) campaign office was broken into and vandalized.

Yglesias

Newspapers Heart Hagan

By Matthew Yglesias on Oct 17, 2008 at 12:43 pm

hagan_headshot2_1.jpg

Of all of this year’s Senate races, the one that’s most taken me by surprise is the Dole-Hagan race in North Carolina. Right out of the starting get, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia, and New Hampshire were understood to be solid pickup opportunities. And Oregon and Minnesota (along with Maine, which now looks very safe for the GOP) are classic instances of going after GOP incumbents in solid blue states in a bad year for Republicans. Then there’s Alaska where obviously Ted Stevens’ legal problems were going to create problems with him. And then you’ve got some longshot races in Kentucky and Georgia. But Hagan doesn’t fit those models and her race isn’t a longshot at this point — she’s clearly favored. It’s a turn of events that’s really taken DC by surprise.

I’m not sure exactly how to account for it, but her impressive string of newspaper endorsements does seem noteworthy. Conventional wisdom has it that these endorsements don’t matter, but part of that is probably because most newspaper endorsements are pretty predictable. Something like the Washington Post, which always endorses the Democratic presidential nominee, endorsing the Democratic presidential nominee despite having tilted somewhat more to the right in recent years passes for noteworthy. But the solidity with which Hagan has picked up endorsements — every paper in the state that’s endorsed so far — suggests something well-beyond picking up the predictable sources of support. And one can see how that kind of thing could be a big boost to a candidate who didn’t start out with great statewide name recognition or a strong financial backing.

Yglesias

Hagan and Transit

By Matthew Yglesias on Oct 5, 2008 at 6:49 pm

kayhagan_ec.jpg

Like Atrios, I haven’t really paid any attention to the North Carolina Senate race and thus don’t know anything about it beyond the fact that Democratic challenger Kay Hagan seems to have an improbably good chance of winning. So I thought I might poke around at her website, and she turns out to be . . . a mass transit advocate just like me like and Atrios. Her energy plan devotes substantial space to the idea that increased investments in mass transit infrastructure will boost economic growth while also helping to clean up the environment.

An economic downturn is the best time to start working on the big new infrastructure projects that, among other things, will partially determine the contours of future growth when the next upswing begins. It’d be really nice for the country to be smart about this stuff if, as seems likely to me, we have a renewed push for economic stimulus early next year.

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