Perdue supporters run false attack ads against McCrory

Watch the video, and then read the facts:



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Hilarious, right?

Pat McCrory actually did not say that he opposed raising the minimum wage (much to my chagrin, as someone who personally opposes any kind of a government-mandated minimum wage). In fact, when asked by an anti-minimum wage group for his stance, McCrory stated that he WOULD consider raising the minimum wage, and added, "Any one-time minimum wage increase should be coupled with a tax cut to small business to help offset additional costs. I would also back an alternative such as adjusting minimum wage to the cost of living."

What? A minimum wage increase AND tax cuts? Somewhere, a Democrat's head just exploded.

And how about that part where McCrory "supports pay raises for politicians, including himself"? I'm actually dying to know where that comes from. The ad cites a Charlotte Observer article from 6/10/08, but the article says no such thing. All it actually addresses is that Republicans in the city council voted against a pay raise, while Democrats voted for it. It also lists how each member voted -- but does NOT include a vote from Mayor McCrory. Hmmmm...

The last part of the video (about McCrory opposing free community college tuition for high school graduates) is the only true part of this smear ad. Since the primaries, McCrory has opposed this socialist measure, always arguing that "The teachers aren't going to work for free. The buildings aren't free. The textbooks aren't free." That's just plain common sense. It's the taxpayers that pay for it all, and as North Carolinians, we're already some of the highest taxed citizens in the US.

In a nice twist of irony, however, Perdue has never voted to decrease the tuition in community colleges; rather, she has never failed to INCREASE the tuition.

The attack ad closes by urging viewers to call the mayor's office of the City of Charlotte. By attempting to flood the office with needless phone calls, this ad attempts to waste more of the taxpayer's money (which really only proves to us that this is backed by the Democratic Party, since they're so good at spending taxpayer money).

Now, you want to know what REALLY irks me about this ad?

Of course it only stands to reason that an anti-McCrory ad would be backed by Perdue or a Perdue supporter. But Perdue spokesman Tim Crowley has denied having anything to do with the ad.

The group that's running the advertisement is called Alliance for North Carolina, and according to the group's website, "Its purpose is to communicate independently with the citizens of North Carolina on vital public issues, including but not limited to education, economic development, health care, public safety and better government." Nicely generic, yes? Not quite. The group is receiving funds from the Democratic Governor's Association, an organization whose main objective is to help elect Democratic governors across the US.

What does that ultimately mean? That sweetheart Bev can play innocent all she wants, but these are her people that are running this ad. But I know it'll be a cold day in hell when she calls for the removal of this attack ad (and the many others that will follow), because this makes it so much easier for her to pretend to run a "positive" campaign while still falsely smearing McCrory.

Too bad Bev's not any better at debating, or she wouldn't need to rely on such sleazy methods to insure a victory in November. I would hope that the North Carolina voters are too smart to fall for her shenanigans, but they sure fell for her BS in the race against Richard Moore.

Perdue Hypocrite on PAC Contributions

Charlotte, N.C. – Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee for governor, today called Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue a hypocrite for accepting over $850,000 in PAC and committee money since 2000 and then criticizing McCrory for sending a fundraising letter to PACs.

“The lieutenant governor has criticized me in recent news reports for sending a letter to political action committees requesting a contribution,” said McCrory. “My request stated it would help me make constructive change to state government. There was no promise of any political favors in return. Perdue, on the other hand, has a record of slipping special provisions in the budget to help special interests who give her large contributions. She is part of the culture of arrogance and corruption I intend to change.”

In 2008, Perdue reported $376,293 in contributions from PACs and committees while McCrory reported $62,657. McCrory campaign consultant Jack Hawke dismissed Perdue’s criticism by saying, “the PAC lady sitting in the smoke-filled rooms making deals has no standing to criticize her opponent.”

Perdue has been investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) for illegal contributions from the health care industry and for contributions alleged to be in return for road paving. During the primary with Richard Moore, a member of the state Board of Transportation resigned in controversy over fundraising for Perdue. In addition, Perdue was editorially criticized for a fundraiser by the Chairman of the ABC Board and for fundraising efforts by a liquor industry executive.

McCrory: When it comes to public safety, where has Perdue been for the past eight years?

New Bern, N.C. – Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee for governor, today presented his plan to improve public safety and reform North Carolina’s criminal justice system at the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association Conference in New Bern. He highlighted many key differences between his record of effective executive leadership and the lieutenant governor’s record of supporting a failed status quo for the past eight years.

“When it comes to fighting crime, I’ve been on the front lines for the past 12 years while the lieutenant governor has turned a blind eye to the problems,” said McCrory. “I’ve seen county jails overflowing with people sleeping on floors, gangs infiltrating our schools and illegal aliens filling our jails. I’ve seen our state judges and district attorneys work out of cardboard boxes and I’ve seen our state mental health patients transferred to local jails. When I led a bipartisan group of mayors and law enforcement officials to Raleigh to work on solutions to these problems, the lieutenant governor was nowhere to be seen. Now she’s ‘forming a plan’ that’s ‘emerging and changing’ that calls for another government commission to meet in Raleigh and talk about the problems. Where has Lt. Gov. Perdue been for the past eight years?

“Now that she is campaigning for governor, Perdue is drafting a plan that should have been written eight years ago. North Carolina needs a governor who cares about public safety even when it’s not an election year. We need action and effective executive leadership.”

As Mayor of Charlotte, McCrory responded to an inadequate state criminal justice system by:

• Hiring hundreds of new police officers;
• Opening a local crime lab because the state lab couldn’t handle workload; and
• Transferring local funds to state district attorneys.

McCrory defined his vision for improving public safety if elected governor by saying he will work to:

• Increase salaries for judges and district attorneys;
• Lobby for an immigration court and detention centers for juveniles;
• Build a bigger and better crime lab;
• Pass anti-gang legislation with stronger penalties;
• Provide more flexibility for local administrators of courts;
• Build more prisons;
• Reform mental health program so we don’t have overflow patients going to local jails; and
• Lift the death penalty moratorium.

because it's not snooping when a Democrat does it

Well, Bev Perdue has proven once again that she can't run a clean race to save her life.

It seems our illustrious lieutenant governor sent a mole to a Pat McCrory fundraiser last night in Sanford, North Carolina. Will Matthews, a Duke University student and "Strategy Statistics Analyst" for Bev Perdue attended the event with the one tool a sneaky "statistics analyst" should never be without -- a tape recorder. Matthews also made a contribution of $50 to the McCrory campaign, stating on the check that the payment was for "The future of America".

The campaign appears to be taking this pretty well. Campaign manager Richard Hudson looks on the bright side of the issue in a statement released this afternoon: "“Mr. Matthews has clearly seen the light as indicated in the $50.00 contribution he made at the Sanford fundraiser, noting on his check that the contribution was ‘for the future of North Carolina. I am giving this young man the benefit of the doubt. Surely he wasn’t engaging in campaign dirty tricks when he attended our fundraiser with a tape recorder."

Come on, Bev. This is so... so.... 1972.

"What will the future scholars see when they study us?" -- Mona Lisa Smile

It was like everything just hit me at once.  Last night, I was browsing through the MoveOn.org videos (and LAUGHING my ass off), then this morning I read Jon's post on Gen Y'ers and their voting habits, and then, to top it all off, I saw a commercial on a network station this morning urging young people to vote.  "When you vote, you have a voice," the tagline taunted.  Basically, voting by peer pressure.  "It's so cool to vote.  Look, these kids are doing it."

I'm pretty sure it was a non-partisan effort, but what a crock.  If some pothead drop-out punk doesn't want to vote, who cares?  If some apathetic idiot wants to sit around and gripe about how he isn't going to vote because it's all fixed anyway, LET HIM.  Truth is, even the kids that aren't like these examples don't know jack squat about politics.  They can't tell you one thing about Obama or McCain that isn't some regurgitated online talking point.  "Well, I mean, John McCain says we need to stay in Iraq for 100 years, but Obama, he's like, wanting to change everything."  I feel like Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile.  "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

They don't even require Civics classes in some high schools today.  These kids can't name the three branches of government or tell you what their duties are, but we're pushing them to go out and help choose the next leaders of the United States.

In high school, student government elections are nothing more than popularity contests.  I saw a few kids work their way up the student government ladder for three years only to have some big shot on campus run against them for Senior class president or even SGA president, because it suddenly occurred to them that they needed something to put on their college application other than how many drunk chicks they had sex with.  And the sheep in the school vote for the more popular kid not because they think he is better suited for the position, but because he's in that hot band they heard Saturday night.

This is what we're trying to do to America's election system, as if we're not already halfway there.  These commercials don't ask you to make an informed decision -- they just ask you to get your ass to a voting booth on election day.  They couldn't care less whether or not you know what you're doing.  They just want to see voter turnout go up.

You know, maybe lower voter turnout is a GOOD thing.  Maybe only the people that take the time to learn about the candidates and make an informed decision should be the ones that choose the president, not just the dumb masses.  They're looking for quantity in the vote experience, not quality.

Neal Boortz is right.  There really should be some kind of an exam to vote.  Like if you go into a computerized booth and press "Obama", a question pops up about where he stands on a certain issue.  Not only would it force people to learn about the candidates, but it would force the candidates to actually TAKE A POSITION ON AN ISSUE (which is something we don't see much anymore either).

And I'm sure some young idealist will stumble upon this blog post and be morally outraged that I could suggest such a thing, and to retaliate, they'll be sure to get to the voting booth and cancel me out.  That's awesome.  Whatever floats your boat.  Just don't fool yourself into thinking that you have any freaking clue of what you're voting for.  Yeah, I know, CHANGE.  What does that mean?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?