The influence of the oil industry on Congress is the focus of a recent study by the Sunlight Foundation. Among the number of congressmen who have a vested interest in the oil market, Republican incumbent Robin Hayes of North Carolina's 8th Congressional District has the largest amount of money tied to the financial wellbeing of the industry.

With at least $3,645,012 invested, and a possible $13.5 million, Hayes recent protest on the Capitol floor to vote to open up offshore drilling may be related more to his pocketbook than his constituency.

Democratic challenger for North Carolina's 8th Congressional District's House seat, Larry Kissell utilizes his strong grassroots organizational ability to help get him elected. After being defeated in 2006 by only 330 votes, this social studies teacher from East Montgomery High School has mobilized thousands of young people to his cause in defeating Republican incumbent Robin Hayes.

In the last four election cycles, candidates have learned how important grassroots support is in combating the large spending of established candidates with big money interests. With the support of so many die hards, Kissell stands a good chance of reversing the last elections results.

During this 2008 election year, you hardly ever hear any Democrat running for office, even a Republican for that matter; promote less government and less bureaucracy however, Democratic Congressional Candidate for North Carolina’s 8th District Larry Kissell promotes these values of paleo-conservatism.

“Massive new programs, even if well meaning, such as federal intrusion into the traditional area of state interest with No Child Left Behind, the creation of the enormous and lumbering Homeland Security Department and the confusing boondoggle of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan all demonstrate the contradiction of what was promised versus delivered.”

Mr. Kissell even refers to President Bush’s comment to the head FEMA during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, “FEMA is not doing a ‘heckofva job.’”

“Less government means that our privacy as autonomous individuals must be respected as per the Constitution.” Only a handful of candidates or congressmen have stated the word “Constitution.”

Former Democratic Presidential Candidate and former Senator John Edwards endorses Larry Kissell in this video:

In this media savvy world, having a member of Congress who has the knowledge and insight to maintain a full fledged position as a blogger for a private organization can be a liability as well as an asset.

Larry Kissell, Democratic challenger for North Carolina's 8th Congressional District's House seat against incumbent Republican Robin Hayes, has used his position as a blogger for the Daily Kos, a liberal website, to attack his opponent.

Using a format much more personal than those in the past has given Kissell an edge over the younger voters more in tune to the individuality of the internet, but also caused outcry from opponents of such a position, saying that a person running for office should limit themselves to official statements from their campaign.

The connection between illegal immigration and national security and even in economical terms is gigantic and that is why the Republican Congressman, “voted for the toughest immigration reform bill to pass the U.S. House of Representatives ---H.R. 6061, The Secure Fence Act of 2006. This legislation increased border security by adding new border agents, new physical barriers on our borders and implements widespread, state of the art surveillance technology”

However, for the traditional Conservative Republicans Mr. Hayes also voted for the REAL I.D. Act, which is dangerous to civil liberties to any average American, “which requires states like North Carolina to require driver's license applicants to prove they are in the country legally.”

Mr. Hayes also opposed the amnesty for illegal aliens in 2007.

Hayes is out raising his opponent by almost 3 to 1 as of their last report filed. Both report large percentages of PAC donations with Kissel especially relying on PAC money to the tune of almost half his collected funds.

“Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations thrive on poverty, despair, violence and fear, and the bottom line is, they cannot afford for freedom to succeed.”

The Republican Congressman of North Carolina’s 8th District Robin Hayes believes that the War on Terror carries a wide of variety battles and threats such as: North Korea, Iran and even China because of “building its military and showed the world that it's ready to wage war in space.”

An interesting quote Congressman Hayes states in his Congressional Government website is, “Ultimately, this is a war we must win using all the assets at our disposal - legal, diplomatic, law enforcement and military.” What about monetarily and fiscally? Where will the money come from to pay for this war on terrorism?

The Republican Congressman from North Carolina Robin Hayes has co-sponsored, authored and voted for many bills that contained United States economic sovereignty such as: less dependence on foreign energy, “curbing the flow of Chinese textiles which were saturating our markets” and voting for Farm Bill H.R. 2419 which “To provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes,” once again through subsidies.

Republican incumbent of North Carolina's 8th Congressional District Robin Hayes has taken aim at allegations that Larry Kissell somehow manipulated his worker's paycheck for 27 years in an attempt to charge them for the full amount of social security and Medicare. In addition, the charges claim that he failed to carry unemployment insurance at his Star, NC company Renfro, a hosiery mill which closed in 2003.

Kissell responds to the allegations by calling them lies and exaggerations perpetrated by Big Oil.

The questions brought up by the media stem from an FEC Report released in 2006 just before Kissell's previous run for the House seat.

In October 2007, a press leak showed that the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement to House and Senate staffers to get vaccinated before attending NASCAR events. This highly offended fans of the sport and rallied many people behind Republican Congressman Robin Hayes as he held rallies and wrote letters to officials.

Pointing out the absurdity of not requiring staffers to get vaccinated before attending every large social event was a hypocrisy designed to single out NASCAR fans as being something different or inferior to the average sports fan.

Hayes defense of the Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District gained him a large grassroots team of devout racing fans.

A campaign ad allegedly made by students in a government class at East Montgomery High School located in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District has been making rounds on the internet. The ad presents Larry Kissell, a schoolteacher, taking questions from a class of students as they probe him on his more conservative issues. They point out Kissell's stances of lowering taxes and creating a smaller government as reasons to not cast a vote for him in November. The students claim that if you are going to vote for a Republican, one should support incumbent Robin Hayes and not a potential Democrat in Name Only (DINO).