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**Written by Doug Powers

Political survival instincts are kicking into overdrive:

A fresh round of Democrats has announced they will not be attending the party convention in Charlotte. Most troublingly for President Obama, several of them are from North Carolina, and not only have they decided not to drop in on a convention held in their own state, they’ve refused to endorse Obama for president in 2012.

The latest round of Democrats fleeing from Obama include North Carolina congressmen Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell, plus candidate Hayden Rogers. Additionally, news broke just before the Fourth of July holiday that Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas has decided not to attend the party convention, although he does support Obama for president.

The North Carolina trio hasn’t been particularly talkative about their decision, with McIntyre and Kissell refusing to return calls from the Asheville Citizen-Times.
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It’s tougher to sell the “too busy campaigning to waste time at the convention” excuse when you’re talking about candidates in the very state where the convention is being held. In fact, Kissell represents the 8th Congressional District, where Charlotte is located. Furthermore, a busy schedule of campaign activities doesn’t explain why these folks refuse to endorse Obama for re-election.

There are some Republicans who have decided not to attend their party’s convention in Tampa, such as George Allen of Virginia, whose opponent Tim Kaine says he will be at the Democrat convention in Charlotte. But far more Democrats are taking a pass on Charlotte, and some of them are making it clear that they want to distance themselves from an unpopular President while running tough races in red and purple states. It’s also telling that a key early Obama supporter, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, is among those skipping the 2012 convention.

President Obama isn’t about to walk back anything to pull these people back into the fold either. Today he reminded an audience in Ohio that Obamacare is “here to stay.” Before you click “play” on this video, make sure there aren’t any swing district Dems around so as to avoid getting trampled during their stampede to get out of the room:

**Written by Doug Powers

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