Tonight, John McCain will attend a fundraiser for his presidential campaign in Michigan. According to the invitation, he will be joined by the chair of his Michigan Victory 08 committee, John Rakolta, Jr., and McCain Michigan co-chairman Robert Liggett. What the invitation does not say, however, is that Rakolta and Liggett were two of the key backers of an organization that helped finance an ad that compared Democrats to Adolf Hitler in the 2006 election. Rakolta and his wife contributed $10,000 to a group called Voice the Vote, which used the money to buy a newspaper ad that compared Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and a procession of Democratic presidents to Hitler.

By Marjory Holder

I didn’t start life as a Democrat. Instead, I followed my parents very much like any young elephant.

Three things happened to change that.

The first happened in 1968 at a meeting of the Young Republicans where a good friend of mine suggested we raid the local Democratic headquarters and steal a pile of their election material to throw it away. I don’t know if the others went ahead with the plan, but I refused, and that was the end of the active phase of my membership in the GOP.

I did, however, continue to vote Republican for a while.

For one thing, fiscal responsibility has always appealed to me. I keep my own checkbook balanced and I think the federal government should, too.

We launched our first national television ad of the presidential election cycle, highlighting how little John McCain understands the economy. Watch it:

The North Carolina Democratic Party pauses today to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was murdered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead sanitation workers on a protest against low wages and unsafe working conditions.

This grim anniversary comes at a time when Democrats are poised to elect the nation’s first African-American or female President.

We carry the embers of Dr. King’s unfinished work as Democrats have successfully worked to increase state and federal minimum wage rates.

The Democratic Women of Wake County will hold their 38th annual Jefferson-Jackson Breakfast on April 26.

The State Party has changed the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner to May 2 to accommodate unprecedented turnout.

Resolution in Support of the NC NAACP’s H-K on J (Historic Thousands on Jones St.) Rally and March on Saturday, February 9, 2008

Whereas, the NC NAACP has a long and illustrious history of fighting for the rights of the African Americans, low income people, and other victims of discrimination in our state, and, and, in so doing, exemplifies the goals of the NC Democratic Party; and

Whereas, the NC NAACP and its over 75 partner organization are organizing the second annual H K on J rally and march on February 9th in Raleigh to bring the 14 points of the People’s Agenda first developed last year, again before the state and the legislature and to step up pressure for their enactment;

Therefore be it resolved that the North Carolina Democratic Party strongly endorses the “H K on J” meeting and march again this year, and will communicate such to its members and elected officials and strongly urge them to attend.

Passed January 26, 2008

NCDP Chair Jerry Meek made the following statement today in response to the news that Senator John Edwards has dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary:

"John Edwards ran an honorable campaign, one that all North Carolinians can be proud of. Senator Edwards is a fiery champion for the middle class and shifted public debate to real and serious questions facing American families such as how we’re going to educate our children and pay for health care when illness strikes.

We admire his sincere dedication to public service and enriching the lives of those whose voices are often forgotten in horse-race politics. We wish Senator Edwards and his family well."

President George W. Bush gave on Monday night his last State of the Union address of his presidency.

Bush limped through his speech, an obvious cut-and-paste job during the final lame-duck leg of his journey.

While our economy flounders, our soldiers are encamped in Iraq with no end in sight, and working families grapple with many challenges, the President offered few ideas for solving many of the country’s most pressing problems.

Voters are calling for change. We see it in the overwhelming support and record turnout in the presidential nominating contests on the Democratic side and lagging enthusiasm among Republicans.

The 110th Congress is heeding the call for change by moving America in a new direction and squarely facing challenges that demand more action.

The following is a round-up of Democratic responses to Bush’s cut and paste approach to our nation’s problems.

To find out what GOP candidate Fred Smith spent $100,000 on, click here.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction...

Following a page from the national GOP playbook, nearly all of the Republican gubernatorial candidates refused to show up Saturday for the NAACP debate.

African-Americans make up more than 20 percent of North Carolina’s population.

Republicans would rather ignore 1.1 million African-American voters than address concerns about education, health care, jobs, and safe communities.

Republicans have no trouble pandering to special interests. But they can’t look black voters in the eye and tell them they will govern for all people, not just those who look like them.

Then Republicans complain that black people won’t vote for them.

Maybe it’s because a Republican redistricting lawsuit threatens to pack minorities in districts and dilute their vote and representation in the General Assembly.