VETERANS PUSH FOR JOHN MCCAIN IN RALEIGH
Associated Press
July 22, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C. - Veterans backing John McCain are calling on North Carolina voters to consider the Republican candidate's military experience when making their pick for president.
About three dozen supporters gathered Tuesday at the Legislative Building in Raleigh to highlight McCain's Navy background. They also trounced Democrat Barack Obama's qualifications to be commander in chief.
West Point graduate and Army veteran Kate Kohler said the next president should offer the country good judgment and tested military experience - not merely hope….
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McCRORY MEETS THE PRESS
Governor wannabes meet the press
By Nelda Holder
Mountain Xpress News
July 23, 2008
The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor of North Carolina presented themselves and their platforms to a roomful of reporters and editors from around the state on July 18 during the N.C. Press Association’s summer convention. Afterward the two answered questions, touching on various issues.
Pat McCrory: The Charlotte mayor said that state government is plagued by an “inaccessible” culture and run by a “small power elite.” He pledged he would seek better transportation and energy planning, among other changes. “This is what the people have been telling me,” said Republican Pat McCrory, now in his 12th year as mayor of Charlotte. “First, the current culture of state government is inaccessible,” with a “small power elite that seems to run the state while at times ignoring parts of the state.”
Second, North Carolina’s high-school dropout rate hovers around 30 percent, while “manufacturers cannot find qualified labor” and “gangs have been infiltrating schools and neighborhoods.” The criminal-justice system has failed to deal with the problem, he added. “We should have been working on [this] for a long time.”
Gas prices and utility bills are causing a “tremendous strain” on family budgets, and North Carolina “must take a leadership role” regarding energy policy, said the candidate. He promised an energy initiative that would include planning for conservation, land-use policy, conversion to alternative energy, requirements for higher-efficiency buildings, and tax incentives for energy-saving homeowners and businesses. McCrory, who worked for Duke Power for some 28 years, cited the coal-fired Cliffside power plant now under development near Charlotte and the state’s historic use of nuclear power as steps toward energy self-sufficiency, as well as potential wind and offshore-oil resources. …
McCrory also outlined an expansive vision for transportation planning, vowing to “take the politics out of transportation. We should be appointing the DOT board based on their expertise.”e
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HAGAN CONTRADICTED
The NRSC
July 22, 2008
Kay Hagan claims she'll work across party lines, but her record in the State senate proves otherwise. Doug Clark of News & Record said that Democrats in the State senate "denied Republicans the chance to debate their budget." (News & Record, June 25, 2008) And, the News & Observer reported "year after year, leaders in the Democrat-controlled state Senate use the rules to close off debate and limit budget amendments." (News & Observer, June 19, 2008)
"You only need to look at the kind of state Senator I've been for the last 10 years to see what kind of U.S. Senator I'll be."
- Kay Hagan
MCHENRY NAMED “HERO OF THE TAXPAYER”
Press Release
July 21, 2008
Congressman Patrick McHenry recently received the “Hero of the Taxpayer” award by the nation’s leading taxpayer advocacy group, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).
“Commitment and dedication to taxpayer’s interests, has been imperative in the fight against excessive taxation in the 1st session of the 110th Congress,” said Grover Norquist, President of ATR. “These Congressional ratings allow taxpayers to see, when it comes to their hard-earned money, exactly who the heroes and the ‘villains’ are in Congress. It is clear that Patrick McHenry has proven to be a hero.”…
“I have never voted for a tax increase on Western North Carolina families and never will. With a federal budget that is expected to grow to $3.1 trillion next year, there is no reason why the federal government can’t meet its obligations, and then some, without raising taxes,” Congressman McHenry stated.
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SHORT SESSION DISPLAYS DEMOCRAT FAILURES
Wait ‘Till Next Year
By Tom Campbell
NC Spin
July 17, 2008
Legislative adjournment may signal relief to some but to many more it is another year of frustration. The purpose of the so-called “short session” of The General Assembly was to adjust the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, but in years past this session has produced some significant legislation. Not this year.
What we witnessed was a system out of control, especially in our Senate. A handful of Senators made decisions behind closed doors and shoved them through to approval with only token opposition from other Democrats, who supposedly hold majority control. …
Even more offensive was the unwillingness to address North Carolina’s serious issues. The list is long. One-third of our ninth-graders drop out of school before graduating. The Mental Health reforms the legislature passed in 2001 are a disgraceful failure. Our roads are crumbling and congested. Schools need to be built, water and sewer systems need replacement and expansion, many of our bridges are structurally unsound and we are trying to pay for public needs with a tax code that is woefully out of date. Our courts and criminal justice system scream for modernization, sentencing reform, fixing the parole system, and we have waited over a year for leadership from our legislature as to what to do about resuming executions of those on death row. The state’s economy is softening and state revenue projections have been adjusted downward, while our legislature passed a record $21.4 billion budget.
We deserve better. We need more openness in government and we need more leadership from our legislature in solving problems. … The people of North Carolina deserve better than “Wait ‘til Next Year.”
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FROM THE PRESS ROOM: OBAMA FAILS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF TEST AGAIN
NCGOP Press Release
July 22, 2008
RALEIGH— Last night, Barack Obama in an interview with Terry Moran of ABC News refused to recognize the success of the surge, or articulate support for the strategy – even after its universally reported success.
ABC's Terry Moran: "This is Obama’s second trip to Iraq. His first was in January 2006 when the country was plunged into horrific violence. But the surge of U.S. troops, combined with ordinary Iraqi’s rejection of both Al Qaeda and Shiite extremists have transformed the country. Attacks are down more than 80% nationwide. U.S. combat casualties have plummeted. Five this month so far, compared with 78 last July. And Baghdad has a pulse again. If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you – would you support the surge?"
Barack Obama: "No, because – keep in mind that –"
Moran: "You wouldn't?"
Obama: "Well, no, keep – these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think what I am absolutely convinced of is that at that time, we had to change the political debate, because the view of the Bush Administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with."
Watch interview excerpt with Barack Obama from ABC's "World News Tonight":
Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:
"It is clear now that Barack Obama's foreign policy judgment is shaped not by the facts on the ground but on his standing in the polls. When John McCain called for a change in strategy in Iraq and supported the surge, he said losing an election was not as important to him as winning in Iraq. Not so for Obama. Obama would rather see failure in Iraq than admit that he was wrong to oppose the surge. This issue exposes Barack Obama's poor judgment and is an indictment on his ability to lead America as Commander-in-Chief.”
