Judson Cox, July 1, 2004

Whenever I hear someone claim that there is no liberal bias in the media, I respond, "Y’all aren’t from North Carolina , are you?" The NC press is, for all intents and purposes, the media wing of the Democratic Party, and has been since the Civil War. This is not hyperbole; the "Raleigh News and Observer" was founded for that very purpose!

The paper’s website admits that its founder, Josephus Daniels, viewed his newspaper as a partisan political tool. "Daniels’ goal -- and the paper’s role -- is to support the state Democratic Party." Although, they mention the racist goals the Democratic Party held from the Civil War through at least 1970 -- "In 1898, the paper helped lead a vicious, racist campaign to reclaim the legislature from a Republican coalition, and its efforts helped bring about the disenfranchisement of black voters." -- they attempt to marry the N&O’s legacy to the policies of modern Democrats. "Over the decades, he also fought for progressive causes: open government, improved public education and against child labor."" Regardless the era, the "News and Observer" has served as the propagandist organ for the Democratic Party in North Carolina .

The N&O sets the tone for all NC newspapers. What the N&O reports gets covered in NC, what they refuse to cover does not. In large measure, the N&O controls what most North Carolinians know about our state government. This explains why a state that votes in excess of 60% Republican in national elections has allowed Democrats to retain control of the State Legislature since the Civil War. North Carolina has suffered under one party rule for longer than the Soviet Union existed! In the modern era, the N&O presents itself as a legitimate newspaper that follows the fair and balanced rules of journalistic integrity -- but, does it?

I’ve written extensively on North Carolina's driver’s license problem. North Carolina has issued driver’s licenses to over 400,000 illegal aliens and thousands more criminals seeking false identities. Following the 9-11 attacks, NC made it easier to obtain a driver’s license without proper identification. Anyone willing to pay $2.00 and sign an affidavit, or show and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number can get an NC driver’s license. Atty. Gen. Ashcroft has asked that states require greater proof of identification than North Carolina does, The IRS has said the ITINs are not to be used as identification and South Carolina's Atty. Gen. has requested that the Transportation Security Administration not accept NC driver’s licenses as proof of identification for boarding airplanes.

In spite of the fact that 2 of the 9-11 hijackers carried NC driver’s licenses, and learned to fly in NC, North Carolina's Governor Easley (Democrat) made it easier for terrorists to obtain passable identification, allowing them to hide among us. The "News and Observer", and the newspapers that follow its lead, have refused to cover this issue. What little mention they have given has been to congratulate Gov. Easley for "fixing" this problem.

The only people in North Carolina willing to address this issue have been Sen. Fern Shubert, myself and a few others. We have been trying to get someone -- anyone - to cover the problem. Sen. Shubert made it the cornerstone of her gubernatorial campaign, and garnered an endorsement from the 9-11 Families for A Secure America (people whose family members were killed in the 9-11 attacks). Peter Gadiel, the 9-11 families’ spokesman, even came to North Carolina and addressed the State legislature. The NC press reacted to Mr. Gadiel’s speech by calling him and Sen. Shubert xenophobic, anti-Hispanic and racist! No matter what we did, we could not break through the defensive line of the N&O.

The only way to alert voters to the issue was to buy advertisement, showing the 9-11 footage as we explained the issue. The 9-11 Families for A Secure America helped Sen. Shubert buy $25,000 worth of advertisement to get their message to North Carolinians. The ads show the planes hitting the Towers, as Peter Gadiel explains why his organization is endorsing Sen. Shubert. Shock waves rippled across the country! The Associated Press ran a story on the ads in hundreds of newspapers, Hannity and Colmes did a segment on them on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh mentioned them. The liberals where aghast! NC papers called us liars! Easley, terrified at the aspect of having his corrupt policies revealed, sent out his representatives to claim that the problem had been fixed, and how dare we capitalize on this tragedy!

We didn’t capitalize on a tragedy, we got the issue covered in the only way we could. 9-11 belongs to us all -- it was a horrendous attack that affected the entire nation. The liberals want 9-11 forgotten. How dare we point out the policies and the politicians that made us vulnerable! We dared; we won one against the liberal media and the Democrats and, God willing, we will kick the bums out of office.

Judson Cox is a political columnist from the mountains of North Carolina. He is quickly gaining recognition as one of the most popular and influential voices of his generation. As a college student, and a young entrepreneur, he has a unique perspective on matters of politics, economics and culture.

Copyright © 2004 Judson Cox