Perdue's Ridiculous Claim on Drilling

By Linda Daves
Chairman, North Carolina Republican Party

Much has already been made of Bev Perdue's complete about face on offshore drilling. When once she stood "100 percent" opposed to it and said it would never happen on her watch, she now says she has always supported it. For those experiencing massive cognitive dissonance standing right now at the intersection of those two counterfactual statements, I will attempt to wade through her argument. Apparently, Bev Perdue is for offshore drilling… in Texas. Unfortunately, her staff forgot to remind her that she is actually running for Governor of North Carolina. Your position on offshore drilling in Texas is somewhat inconsequential in the race for that office. However, wanting to have it both ways and be able to say that she stands with the 70 percent of voters in North Carolina who want to open our shores to safe, responsible deep sea exploration, she is deliberately trying to mislead North Carolinians. This is truly the most cynical type of politics: betting that you can say one thing, mean another, and hope the voters are too uninformed to notice.

When a politician shifts positions to suit the political winds of the day, it causes one to wonder about their leadership when we are considering elevating them to an office and stature that will cause them to have immense pressure from all sides each day. We want to know that the person will stand for us and not for those who would whisper in their ears with plans not in the best interests of North Carolina. When a politician does not actually change her mind, but merely manipulates the facts to make a claim to deliberately mislead voters, we can know with certainty that person will do anything to get elected. A person who will do anything to get elected will do anything when elected and you cannot count on that person to look out for you. Can voters trust Bev Perdue? Not as long as she continues to deliberately mislead them and hope they don't figure her out before Election Day.