#66: "I'm Clay Aiken, and I Approved This Message!"

[ldyjocelyn]

The North Carolina Foundation for Public Schools posted pictures of their Champions for Children Gala, which Clay attended.

[jmh123]

Asheboro Courier Tribune

Details of Keith Crisco's accident released

Randolph County will say farewell to a favored adopted son Friday. Family members announced the funeral service for Keith Crisco will be Friday at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 224 N. Fayetteville St., Asheboro. City leaders lowered the Bicentennial flag at City Hall to half-staff in his honor until after the funeral. News of Crisco's sudden death Monday came as a shock to those who heard of it.

In the official report from the Asheboro Police Department, Crisco's wife, Jane, told EMS workers that her husband had left to run some errands earlier in the day. She told officials she saw Crisco drive up to the residence around 12:50 p.m. and heard him open the door to the home. She said when the door opened, she heard him call out. When she went to check on him, he was laying in the doorway. Emergency workers reported they found Crisco on the floor. They attempted CPR but were unable to revive him.

In the days leading up to the accident, Crisco was awaiting the final results from the May 6 Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives District 2 seat. He was in a close race with Cary’s Clay Aiken. The winner would run against U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, who currently holds the seat after surviving her primary challenge.

The final results from the canvass Tuesday had Aiken with 40.86 percent of the vote, Crisco with 39.49 percent and Fayetteville’s Toni Morris a distant third with 19.65 percent. Aiken will now go on to represent the Democratic party in the general election for the District 2 seat on Nov. 4. Aiken announced Monday he was temporarily suspending his race out of respect for Crisco and his family.

[ldyjocelyn]

I don't think this one has been posted here. I found it on the CH:

So Many Selfies, So Little Time

Shaking hands, kissing babies and autographing campaign signs no longer suffice when canvassing for votes. Voters are much more interested in capturing themselves cheek to cheek with the candidate in a selfie than, say, discussing the economy.

And it’s a time suck.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, campaigning for local Conservatives this week, told London’s Evening Standard that all the picture-posing makes the meet-and-greet component of campaigning take much longer.

“You can be walking down the street for a chat, but until you’ve got the selfie out of the way, people aren’t ready to talk. Not only do they want a photograph, but they want to actually take it themselves, thanks to the new technology,” Cameron told the newspaper.

One might recall that President Obama, visiting South Korea shortly after the melodrama over his selfie with Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz, denied a little girl’s request for a selfie, telling her that if he took one with her, he’d have to take one with everyone along the rope line.

Perhaps no one running for public office this year understands the selfie craze better than Democratic congressional candidate Clay Aiken. A well-known commodity from his “American Idol” days before his foray into politics, the North Carolina singer is constantly asked to pose for photos. He offers to take them himself to save time, he told the Raleigh News & Observer in February.

For a candidate working to endear himself to voters, it would be terrible politics to say no to a selfie.

And that makes selfies a campaign scheduler’s newest nightmare.

I guess there were a few glimpses of Clay on Idol this evening. The show hit 500 episodes tonight, and there were appearances by many former stars of the show. Would like to see the clack!

[ldyjocelyn]

Quiet around here, but probably rightfully so. I've got a huge project coming up soon, so I can't really spend time doing much. I'm guessing the campaign will kick in again next week though. Meanwhile, I pray for the family of Keith Crisco today....

[FearofH2O]

Just saw on the crawl of our TWC, "Friends, politicians and family say farewell to Keith Crisco". Good thoughts to his family.

[merrieeee]

I guess the national enquirer has an article about Clay Aiken's past! I'm not going to bring it over, as it is just trash. It's not too bad but still trash.

I have been sitting, bored out of my mind, in a hospital room for 3 days. When I have time to bring tweets, articles etc. Clay goes into his man cave. Typical!

[justclay12]

I read the NE article over at CV. Could have been worse but it's still trash. Don't understand why these mags/tv shows of this type are still around, but I'm also shocked that people watch FOX news, and I use that term loosely.

I don't know if Clay will win in November or not, but his running reminds me a lot of when Obama and Bill Clinton ran. No one would have expected them to win in the beginning, but they have, as Clay does, that undefinable thing that draws people to them. For the pathetic, it's an unreasonable hatred, but for many it's something that is inspiring. They have a connection with people and they draw people to them because you can feel that they understand and care. And they all bring a message of hope and quiet strength. They all are also incredibly smart and damned fine to look at. I'll be interested to see how this all plays out, but at the least, I think Clay will make Ellmers work for a win.

I'm excited and inspired by Clay's run. I've always voted in Presidential elections, but I mainly focused on who was running for president. Now I've been paying more attention to local elections and the midterms, and I'm determined to be more informed, and to vote in the midterm election. I couldn't vote in the primaries because I'm moving back to WV, at least temporarily, and they just had their primary, and MD doesn't have theirs until next month. But I am determined to get more involved now. I may even volunteer to drive democrats to the polls in November. I can't give all the credit to Clay since I've done a lot of evolving over the years, but he sure has been a major part of my evolution. I love and respect that man so much.

[ldyjocelyn]

I thought I read that the National Enquirer went under a few years ago...hmmm.

Totally agree with you analysis about Clay and that "thing" he has. His ability to listen to people and make them feel special is amazing, and it's something that any good politician can do. And yes, I'm not sure if Clay will win, but I think Ellmers will have her work cut out for her. If nothing else, it's going to shed light on his beloved state, and the way it's being run. That, in my opinion, is a good thing.

I have to admit, I don't normally vote in primaries for off-year elections. I did, this year, because of Clay. Heh. I am also trying to broaden my knowledge of the local politics, although around here it's going to be interesting. With the tornado that blew through here last year, our tax base was cut by a third -- with resources being used enormously also because of said tornado.

However, I do vote in November in off-years, as that's our governor's race. In Illinois, that's always fun. *snerk* We don't seem to have good luck with them.

[FearofH2O]

Sorry merrieeee. It does get old waiting in a hospital room. I hope things are getting better.

Saw some video on the news f Crisco's funeral, but the camera was outside and I was raining.

[ldyjocelyn]

From the News & Observer:

The Wake Senior Democrats will meet Wednesday, May 21, at the Crabtree Marriott. The meeting starts at 11 a.m. with lunch followed by the program at 11:30 a.m. Speakers will include the Democratic candidates for Congress: Brenda Cleary, 13th District, and Clay Aiken, 2nd District.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/16/3867121/former-wake-manager-david-cooke.html#storylink=cpy

[FearofH2O]

Here's hoping that by Monday Clay will be able to resume his campaign. He has shown his respect by shutting down his website during a time when many might have been seeking information about him and, perhaps, donating. I hope the Crisco family will at some point be able to support Clay. I think that would end the book on a very successful career for Mr Crisco. JMO

[ldyjocelyn]

Bill Maher's HBO show last night mentioned Clay. It may be somewhat tasteless, but I laughed like crazy at "Clay Aiken is gonna take what Clay motherfuckin' Aiken wants!"

http://youtu.be/uRwKxomU8Bw

[merrieeee]

So now Clay has cred!! Ha ha!

[FearofH2O]

I did laugh at that video. Don't miss the Godzilla joke at the end of it too!

[justclay12]

I used to be a big fan of Bill Mahrer when he was on Politically Incorrect, and I still agree with a lot of stuff he says, but I hate when he does those kind of monologues. I don't like his delivery, don't like him laughing at the material. Now I think I'd still like his group debates, even if I didn't agree with him because they are unscripted and because he makes you think. I saw him defend that racist who owned the Clippers, not for being a racist, but because he was kind of set up while he was in his own home. Of course, then the guy went on another show and publicly said stupid stuff so it's hard to feel sorry for him. But I did get what he was saying, that we should be able to say whatever we want in our homes without having to worry about being taped unless you're a criminal and then I think you're fair game.

[FearofH2O]

They are looking for volunteers at the Clay campaign on Wednesday 1:30 to 3:30. I can't make it but I hope some of you who live nearby can. Someone from our tax volunteer program is coming to collect all our computers on Wednesday and also is interested in our community of homes, so I'll have to show him around. Phooey !

[merrieeee]

He's out and about! NYC

@GloriaMiele: And we met Clay Aiken, a big supporter of GLSEN and the #respectawards http://t.co/jsngcWok06 http://t.co/fDjid6D0IN

[merrieeee]

@NickPatrickNYC: @clayaiken looks happy @GLSEN #RespectAwards http://t.co/WyelIT82Tg

@AskMrMickey: Hello Clay Aiken! glsen_official Respect Awards with @target http://t.co/kyFfE4uW4f

@CSRphil: Clay Aiken y'all! @glsen #respectawards http://t.co/AyCyJUX4wV

@GloriaMiele: No child should have to be "lucky" to survive HS @clayaiken #respectawards http://t.co/8uyyJW5z6E

@ryankny: Clay Aiken loves GLSEN Research. So do I http://t.co/4HWJonYOe9

[merrieeee]

Clayaiken.com is back

[ldyjocelyn]

The best of the pictures from the links above:

Looks really good, and I'm glad he's still working for GLSEN!

I've been checking the website all day today, and of course, it comes back while I'm in a meeting! But I figured this would be the day when it came back. A week is a good amount of time.

[ldyjocelyn]

His speech is up already at the CV vault. It should be at the CH vault soon. I'm downloading now...

ETA: good job Clay! He always sounds so polished at events like this. It's part of his passion, IMO!

[ldyjocelyn]

According to CV, Clay is appearing on the Today Show this morning!

[merrieeee]

He's going to get as much tv time as Ellmers. Being a celebrity has it's advantages!

[ldyjocelyn]

He's going to get as much tv time as Ellmers. Being a celebrity has it's advantages!

That's for sure! I love it.

The Today Show clip is up already at their website.

From Twitter:

Dee Snider Radio ‏@DeeSniderRadio · 50s

Catch our friend @clayaiken talk about his primary win and tragic death of his opponent on the @TODAYshow this morning. #TalkThatRocks

ETA: If you could spare a few prayers/good thoughts for merrieee's DH, they would certainly appreciate it. It's not looking good for him. Cancer rears its ugly head, once again....

[merrieeee]

Thanks Ldyj! It's difficult to post about something like this. He's stuck in the hospital and all he wants is to go home!