In Case You Missed It: Obama Will Tax & Spend Despite His Promises

Bill Bolling
Op-Ed
Richmond Times-Dispatch
July 14, 2008

Barack Obama's campaign has asked voters to ignore their candidate's brief and inconsistent record and listen instead to the "value" in his words. ...

[O]ne thing remains clear, under an Obama presidency hard-working Americans and small business owners will see their taxes rise, job creation and exports suffer, and government spending skyrocket when they can least afford it.

During the Democratic primary Obama pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class, saying, "I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes."

BUT OBAMA'S voting record this year shows that when it was time for action, he broke his word. Obama voted twice in favor of the Democrats' fiscal 2009 budget resolution that would raise taxes on individuals earning as little as $31,850. In addition, a review of his record indicates that he has voted at least 94 times for higher taxes while in the U.S. Senate -- amounting to a vote for a tax increase once every five days that Congress has been in session. ...

[I]n May, a Wall Street Journal Asia editorial cast Obama as "the most protectionist U.S. presidential candidate in decades," reflecting his then-opposition to NAFTA, CAFTA, the South Korea and Colombia free-trade agreements, and normal trade relations with China.

But now, Obama says he believes in free trade and has recoiled from his pledge to reopen NAFTA, admitting his primary rhetoric was "overheated and amplified"...

It's easy to question Barack Obama's commitment to fiscal responsibility. All one has to do is look at the more than $930 million in pork-barrel spending projects Obama has requested in his three years in the U.S. Senate. By comparison, in more than 20 years in the Senate, John McCain has requested exactly zero dollars in pork.

Likewise, while Obama has said he would account for every dollar of new spending he proposes, he hasn't said where the money will come from. ...

Actions speak louder than words, and on the issues that matter most to Americans it's clear that Barack Obama has no credibility. ...

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ICYMI: Obama's frequent regrets may make us sorry

By Luke Boggs
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 10, 2008

Barack Obama just may be the most regretful figure in American politics, no small feat for a freshman senator.

On Wednesday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he regretted allowing his young daughters to participate in a family TV interview with "Access Hollywood."

It was an abrupt shift from decision to regret, even for Obama. The family sat down for the interview on July 4, and the first segment ran on July 8. By the next morning, Obama was saying he regretted including his daughters, even before the other two parts of the interview could air. …

So what jumped out at me was how quickly Obama regretted his decision. And that, in turn, made me wonder how often the senator has regretted other choices. Answer: pretty often. (Googling "Obama" and "regrets" yields more than a million hits.)

In November 2006, Obama said he regretted buying property adjacent to his Chicago home from Tony Rezko, a longtime supporter and big-time fund-raiser who has since been convicted of mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting bribery and money laundering.

In February 2007, as his presidential campaign was beginning, Obama said he regretted saying that the lives of American soldiers who died fighting in Iraq had been "wasted."

In April 2008, Obama said he regretted his choice of words when he told some well-heeled donors in San Francisco that "bitter" folks in Middle America who have lost economic hope "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them."

To be sure, these are choices worth regretting. Anyone can understand why Obama would regret his land deal with a convicted felon. And even liberal Democrats like Obama have been careful not to say American lives have been "wasted" in Iraq, even as they imply the same thing when they dismiss the war effort as corrupt, inept, unnecessary and worse.

Obama's most costly regret, however, may well prove to be his condescending shot at those decent, hardworking Americans he said were desperately clinging to God and guns and bigotry. It was a regret-worthy statement that said volumes about Obama's easy contempt for those in what elites call "flyover country."

Perhaps the American people are looking for a regretful guy this time around. …

But I'm not so sure. After all, a lot of Americans understand that you don't get a bunch of easy do-overs in the Oval Office. You have to make tough calls, even when they may be politically costly.

I can't help wondering what Obama might regret in four years as president. What might he regret doing —- or not doing —- on the world stage? What might he regret saying —- or not saying —- to Putin or Kim Jong-il or Ahmadinejad?

Only time will tell. Depending on what happens in November, we may begin to find out next January. When we do, some voters may well have regrets of their own.

Click here to view the full article…
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/07/10/boggsed.html

NCGOP E-Letter - July 9, 2008

Jesse Helms

Editorial
Dunn Daily Record
July 7, 2008

Unlike so many in politics, Jesse Helms understood the responsibility that comes with public office. He therefore refused to compromise on matters of principal.

He wasn't about to waste an opportunity to fight for individual liberty and a smaller, less intrusive federal government. And he took every opportunity to extend freedom to those in other parts of the world.

It's more than a little ironic that many lesser men in politics have bent with the ebb and flow of public opinion, only to lose the next election. Sen. Helms, on the other hand, ignored the pollsters yet never lost at the polls.

Calling Sen. Helms a patriot is not an overstatement. So it is fitting that he died on the Fourth of July….

It's sad to lose a tenacious leader who had the courage to stand alone, if need be, on important issues. It's also sad to lose such a gentle, sweet man. Of course, major news outlets often portrayed the former while ignoring the latter. But even those who bitterly disagreed with Sen. Helms' positions would acknowledge his kindness.

The late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, a champion of the far left, once said of Sen. Helms, "I think one of the ways you judge a person is just the way you watch them treat people ... I don't think there is anybody in the Senate who treats them (pages and support staff) with more grace and is kinder and more appreciative."

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served under President Bill Clinton, once said Sen. Helms "was the kindest, most infuriating, politest, most aggravating and nicest politician I had to deal with in the United States Senate."…

Sen. Helms also used his influence to increase funding to fight AIDS around the world, an issue with which he worked with rock superstar Bono. "[W]ithout his taking a stance on AIDS," Bono said, "We would have lost a lot more lives."

In 1976 Sen. Helms resurrected the political career of Ronald Reagan, who had lost a succession of Republican presidential primaries. Gov. Reagan's North Carolina victory that year kept him alive as a national player, enabling him to run again - and win - in 1980. Many political observers agree that without Jesse Helms there would have been no President Reagan. And President Reagan, of course, played a pivotal role in the fall of the Soviet Union.

It's hard to imagine how different the world would be today if it were not for Jesse Helms; we do know America lost a great leader in his death. And we know our republic would benefit if more of our leaders exhibited his kind of fortitude.

Click here for the full editorial…

At rest, Helms stirs a crowd
Conservative icon draws humble, grateful -- and surprising -- loyalists

By Jay Price
The News & Observer
July 8, 2008

RALEIGH - Jerry Musselwhite wanted to make sure he saw Jesse Helms one last time. So Musselwhite left his home in Lumberton at 6 a.m. Monday for Raleigh, where the former U.S. senator was to lie in repose after dying July 4.

The doors at Hayes Barton Baptist Church weren't open when Musselwhite arrived, so he sat on a low wall for a breakfast of Mountain Dew and a cigarette.

"I just wanted to come to show how I respected the man," Musselwhite, 60, said as he waited. "He might have stepped on some toes, but when Jesse Helms spoke, it carried the truth."

Helms' funeral today, also at Hayes Barton Baptist Church, is expected to draw prominent political figures from North Carolina and elsewhere. Monday was largely for folks like Musselwhite, who showed up in jeans and an N.C. State University baseball cap.

Musselwhite had left his home early in case the crowd was large. It wasn't -- Helms has been out of the public eye for years, after all -- and only about 35 people were waiting when the doors opened. Jeans seemed to outnumber neckties early in the day as a slow but steady trickle of people filed past the flag-covered coffin, which was flanked by two N.C. Highway Patrol troopers in dress uniform and an oil painting of Helms seated at a desk with a sheaf of papers in his hand.

The pace picked up later in the day, when Helms' family welcomed visitors, and more formal dress became the norm. By the end of the evening, hundreds of people had paid their respects….

Many who did talk to journalists said they knew Helms or at least had met him, and offered stories about his good manners or something he had done for them. Most offered some variation on the same theme: You knew where Helms stood because he had the courage to say exactly what he thought.

Many also hastened to add the caveat that they didn't agree with Helms on everything, such as his steadfast opposition to the civil rights and gay rights movements.

Lilly Rose DeVee, 62, said she knew Helms for years when she worked in the art department at WRAL-TV, where Helms read an editorial after the newscast from 1960 to 1972. DeVee described herself as a liberal Democrat and said she disagreed with Helms about social issues.

But she said she admired Helms and learned a lesson from him.

"Jesse Helms taught me something important, and that is to be yourself, to say what you mean, mean what you say and stand behind it," she said….

Former Wake County commissioners Chairman Gary Pendleton came to the church with five members of the staff from his insurance and financial planning office. He recalled when he was in his early 20s going down to the Wake County Board of Elections with Helms and a group of about a dozen other disgruntled Democrats, and switching their affiliation to the GOP.

It was a bold move at a time when Democrats greatly outnumbered Republicans, and a crucial step in Helms' rise to national and international prominence. But it also turned out to be a pivotal moment for Raleigh and Wake County.

Pendleton went on to work full time for Helms' 1972 Senate campaign, and those Helms also took under his wing included Tom Fetzer and Helms' nephew, Paul Coble. Fetzer and Coble both went on to win terms as mayor of Raleigh, and Pendleton was the second Republican elected since Reconstruction to the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

None of the trio, who jokingly call themselves "The Three Amigos," ever would have run for office without Helms' tutelage, Pendleton said.

"He molded us to stand firm, to not pay attention to polls and do what you think is right," Pendleton said….

Click here for the full article…

State budget includes big debt
Rise in spending is reduced, compared with past 2 years

The Associated Press
July 8, 2008

The General Assembly tentatively approved last night a nearly $21.4 billion final budget bill for the new fiscal year, a plan that slows down the recent rapid rise in spending but provides a hefty IOU in the form of $857 million in debt.

The bill is the result of two weeks of intense negotiations between House and Senate Democrats. It increases spending by 3.4 percent, or $698 million, compared with more than 9 percent growth in each of the previous two years.

The relatively small increase results from a slowing economy that provided a meager surplus for the year ending June 30 and required legislators to make some last-minute changes to try to satisfy fellow Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.

"Not everybody gets what they want, but I believe this is a very good budget for the state of North Carolina," said Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, a chief budget-writer, before the Senate gave it initial approval by a vote of 34-16.

The Senate and the House, which minutes later approved the spending plan 97-21, were scheduled to cast the second of two required votes today. Easley will be asked to sign the bill into law….

But some Republicans complained that the budget still spends too much in uncertain economic times and borrows too much without requiring statewide voter approval. And they warned that the budget would require higher taxes to pay for the debt in the future.

"I think given the economic times that we've got, it would be much more prudent for us to look at our situation realistically," Sen.Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, the minority leader, said during the Senate debate….

Easley was worried that there wasn't enough revenue after tax collections missed estimates by $63 million total in May and June, forcing some last-minute spending reductions. Easley, who has never vetoed a budget bill, is in his final year in office.

"The overcollections were not what we expected them to be," said Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham, the chief House negotiator.

Easley however, failed to get all he wanted for his signature. …

The bill also permits the state to borrow $857 million over the next four years to build 1,500 additional prison beds, university and state buildings -- even renovating the polar-bear exhibit at the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro.

Democratic leaders say that the borrowing -- the most authorized by the legislature in a single year in recent memory and more than either the Senate or House budget proposals offered -- could generate 20,000 jobs in the state during a tough economy. They also say it remains within the level of borrowing that State Treasurer Richard Moore says is reasonable….

Click here for the full article…

Easley's last year in office: a long rough patch

By Gary D. Robertson
Charlotte Observer
July 6, 2008

Gov. Mike Easley spent his first year in office helping the state climb out of a fiscal crisis.

In his final year, Easley seems to be spending as much time trying to defend himself from public controversy as keeping the state out of another budget shortfall.

"I've referred to it as the quack of the lame duck," joked Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

For his role in mental health reform, destroyed e-mails and expensive taxpayer-funded overseas trips, Easley has been accused of bad judgment, shifting blame, or tone-deafness to the problems of every day residents.

"It is easy to make fun of people when you are trying to do the right things," Easley said in a television interview last week with WRAL-TV. "It is easy to tell half the story. It's easy to demagogue."

His popular achievements as governor - such as More at Four, the state lottery and alternative high schools - may be overshadowed as he leaves the Executive Mansion in January if the dustups continue. Controversy also gives the Republican Party verbal ammunition in the November election that Democrats are out of touch with the average citizen.

"He's having a bad last year," said Gary Pearce, a longtime Democratic consultant to past clients such as then-Gov. Jim Hunt and Sen. John Edwards. "They say first impressions count, but when you're going out of office, last impressions can last a long time."

The most recent predicaments surfaced after The News & Observer of Raleigh reported six-figure expenses for business recruiting and cultural exchange trips to Europe led by Easley or his wife, Mary. He's also had to defend his wife's $80,000 pay increase at N.C. State University, where she is taking on expanded duties….

Easley took heat earlier this year for failing to get out in front of fixing a state mental health system whose 2001 reforms worsened treatment in some areas and may have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on unnecessary, overpriced care.

In March, Easley ultimately shared some of the blame, but not before he or his staff ordered the firing of Debbie Crane, the spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services. Then Crane alleged Easley's press office directed public relations workers at cabinet-level agencies to delete e-mails sent to and from the governor's office.

Several media outlets ultimately sued him, alleging his administration and he personally violated the state's public records laws. Easley has said nothing unlawful was done.

Even at the Legislature, where he has historically enjoyed success, relations with the Democratic leadership have been strained this year.

Lawmakers refused to give average 7 percent raises to public school teachers because he wanted to raise taxes to do it. And then he criticized Democrats for spending too much and offering too many tax breaks in the budget during uncertain economic times.

"His rhetoric wasn't very helpful," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, "but we tried to listen to the substance."

Despite Easley's rough patch, Blue believes Easley's legacy will depend on whether he his education initiatives worked, not whether he got along with lawmakers or the media.

"At the end of the day against a long line of history, he'll be judged whether he responsibly managed the state's resources," Blue added.

Click here for the full article…

ANOTHER BOGUS ATTACK BY DEMOCRATS ON McCRORY
Charlotte does not have 'highest tax rate'

Editorial
The Charlotte Observer
July 3, 2008

“Pat McCrory is trying to have it both ways,” said Jerry Meek, a Fayetteville lawyer who chairs the N.C. Democratic Party. “His city has had the highest tax rate in the state for seven years running and now McCrory wants to be a fiscal conservative. That's like drinking Slimfast and eating ribs.”

Spiffy quote. Wrong information.

Here are the facts.

Mr. Meek quotes a John Locke Foundation study that did say, “Charlotte continues to top the list of cities with the highest local government costs in North Carolina, according to a new report from the Raleigh-based Center for Local Innovation.”

But Mr. Meek apparently failed to look beyond the quote. The report reaches that conclusion by combining city and county taxes. Mecklenburg County's tax rate is relatively high, for reasons we'll address in a minute. Charlotte's isn't.

The property tax is the main revenue source for N.C. cities. In 2007-08, Charlotte's property tax rate was .4586 cent per $100 property valuation. That's lower than the rate in, for instance, Mr. Meek's Fayetteville (.5300). It's also lower than the rates in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham, Greenville, Salisbury, Hickory, Chapel Hill and Rockingham, to cite a few.

Charlotte raised its property tax rate only once in the past decade. Mayor McCrory vetoed the increase, but City Council's Democrats overrode his veto….

Mecklenburg County is about to spend more than $300 million to build a new jail. One reason is that the present one is packed with prisoners awaiting trial. The state provides too few prosecutors and courts to handle the caseload.

The state is responsible for teacher pay, but its one-size-fits-all salaries are too low to attract and keep good teachers in Mecklenburg County. So the county has spent millions to supplement the state's funding.

A “fiscal conservative,” to use Mr. Meek's term, knows there's nothing conservative about neglecting community needs. Our city and county – and many others across this state – have raised the money to meet local needs.

The state, by contrast, has inadequately funded courts, highways and teacher salaries. That's neither liberal nor conservative. It's irresponsible.

Click here for the full editorial…

FROM THE PRESS ROOM: N.C. REPUBLICAN SENATORS CALL FOR DOMESTIC DRILLING
North Carolina’s Families Demand Action

Press Release
Senator Phil Berger and Representative Paul Stam
July 3, 2008

With record high gas prices continuing to climb, the Republican Senate Caucus today sent letters containing an outline of a plan to increase domestic oil production. The proposal also calls for a long-range policy designed to provide for future energy needs and development of the next generation of power resources. Letters were sent to the North Carolina Congressional Delegation, President Bush, and presumptive presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Senate Republicans called for action by the Federal Government on issues including drilling in ANWR and exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of North Carolina along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), 45 to 100 miles offshore. The proposal, if adopted, should lower fuel prices in the short term and will implement a long-range plan for energy independence.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said, “North Carolina's people, especially our working families, are seeing their economic security and stability threatened by high fuel prices. Those high prices and the domino effect on the cost of food and other necessities, demand the immediate and full attention of all elected officials in North Carolina and beyond. Thus far, calls for help have fallen on deaf ears as Democrats, in control of Congress at the Federal level and entrenched in power in North Carolina’s Legislature, ignore obvious steps to deal with the growing problem.

“Dependence on foreign sources of energy, especially oil, exposes our country and our economy to great risk as we have seen all too clearly in the last year. We cannot afford oil and energy dependency that leaves us this susceptible to economic harm. By supporting domestic exploration and drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere, we will see additional supplies become available, reduce upward price pressures, and lessen our dependence on foreign supplies. The law of supply and demand teaches us an increasing supply of oil in the market will cause prices to fall. Once oil producing countries see us take these steps toward self-sufficiency in energy, much of the current speculation on future prices will lose its attraction as there will be a substantial risk of downward price movement. This is the only plan that will work and will do so quickly.

“For North Carolina, as a coastal state, deep sea oil exploration and drilling on the outer continental shelf has the additional prospect of bringing new jobs and industry. For years, we have seen various government plans to create a thriving, sustained economy in the eastern part of our state; this plan will make those dreams a reality without costing the state treasury millions of dollars for risky incentive- laden gambles. The leasing of exploration and drilling rights will actually bring money into our state’s coffers. And with available modern technology, oil exploration is environmentally safe and provides new and significant benefits to coastal marine assets. Lease proceeds could be used, in part, to help fund significant initiatives for wetlands and estuary restoration. Every North Carolinian wins by adoption of this approach.”

Senator Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg), an advocate of immediate OCS exploration and a signer of the policy statement, said, "The people of North Carolina, facing the negative consequences of the energy crisis, expect their elected officials to lead, follow or get out of the way. Our Federal Delegation should step up and support North Carolina’s working families by implementing these recommended policies to immediately lower oil and gas prices and promote the development of alternative energy technology, long-term energy independence and economic prosperity for all North Carolinians."

NCGOP E-Letter - July 2, 2008

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Dear Republican Friends,

On July 4, 1776, 56 delegates of the Second Continental Congress gathered in a stuffy room in Philadelphia to make one of the most important decisions the world may ever know. 56 brave souls chose that day to forgo the comforts afforded them by staying loyal to a despotic, controlling regime and instead embark on a journey to liberty that would threaten all their lives but change the course of history forever. We celebrate Independence Day for the 232^nd time this year still commemorating that faithful day and the bravery of the Founding Fathers whose stand for liberty yet echoes throughout our country.

The actual document of the Declaration of Independence was penned mostly by Thomas Jefferson. According to Jefferson, the purpose of the Declaration was “not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of . . . but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take.” As conservatives, we are wholly committed to defending the principles of liberty and resistance against government tyranny that the Founders laid out for us on the first Independence Day. We defend our freedom not with new principles or new arguments, but unapologetically with the same values and beliefs that have provided strength to our country and our greatest leaders throughout our history. A faith in God and country, in the inherent dignity of men and women, in the fact that democracy is our last, best hope for freedom; these are the values that have shaped this nation and made it great. We celebrate it today and we celebrate those who have fought and died to defend our freedom and way of life, including the brave men and women who place themselves in harm’s way everyday to see that we continue to enjoy our freedoms.

Years later, after a young America had prevailed in its fight for independence, a different group of delegates convened to create a Constitution for the new nation. The story is often told that upon the adoption of the Constitution, Ben Franklin was approached by a group of citizens who asked what kind of government the delegates had created. Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” What we must recognize now more than ever is that the duty of keeping our republic falls on us as citizens and descendents of the Founding Generation. We must work to protect and preserve the principle of freedom and legacy of liberty that we have received as precious gifts. We are the ones who must pledge ourselves anew to the cause of defending the values that have knit our union together and kept us strong while growing from a fledgling nation to the greatest defender of democracy the world has ever known. We must be the ones to do this because there is no one else. We must understand that still today we have a republic, if we can keep it. Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifice on behalf of our country, our state, and the Republican Party. God bless you and God bless America!

Happy Independence Day!

Linda Daves
Chairman, North Carolina Republican Party

McCRORY: Offshore drilling could benefit eastern N.C.

By Brock Letchworth
The Daily Reflector
July 1, 2008

Eastern North Carolina would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of offshore oil drilling if the state was permitted to do so, Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory said Monday morning.

Speaking during a campaign stop at the Greenville Convention Center, McCrory said pursuing offshore drilling permits would be one of his first acts as governor if he is elected in November.

The Charlotte mayor said he would meet with the Coastal Resources Commission to change coastal energy policies. He would then issue an executive order providing for safe, technologically sound deep-sea exploration and drilling before petitioning the federal government to permit North Carolina the right to drill off its coast.

Drilling could provide thousands of new jobs for the east and produce revenue which would go a long way toward balancing the state's budget, he said.

"The east has a higher unemployment rate and lower per capita income than the rest of the state, but it does not have to be that way," McCrory said. "With safe, environmentally sound drilling in the deep sea off our coast, we can create new high paying jobs, jobs that the people of our poor counties can fill." …

McCrory said the Manteo Project is evidence of the possibilities. The project, located 45 miles off the state's coast on the Continental Shelf, indicates there are nearly 1.5 billion barrels of oil or equivalent gas there, McCrory said.

Officials also project the area could contain as much as five trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent of 833 billion barrels of oil, he said.

McCrory said the state could see as much as a 37.5 percent revenue share if drilling is approved. The additional money could be used to protect the environment, help schools and address the infrastructure needs of the state, he said.

"At a time when the North Carolina budget is in dire shape, we think this will help bring more revenue to state government," McCrory said. "I'm not sure where else we're going to get that money in the next decade. It is our job as leaders to prepare for the future. I think future generations will depend on this."

Click here for the full article…

EASLEYS CAUGHT SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY ON TRIPS OVERSEAS… AGAIN

NC governor defends wife's taxpayer-funded trip

Associated Press
Forbes.com
July 1, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley on Tuesday defended overseas cultural exchange trips led by his wife that cost taxpayers $109,000, saying such visits can reap exponentially larger monetary rewards for the state with art exhibits.

The Democrat also said the weak exchange rate for the U.S. dollar in Europe made the trips he and his wife have taken more expensive.

"I wish it didn't cost that much," Easley told reporters, but "it cost what it costs."

Mary Easley, an executive assistant and a Highway Patrol trooper traveled to France in May 2007, while the first lady and state arts leaders also went to Russia and Estonia in May this year.

For the France trip, taxpayers paid more than $27,000 for the chauffeured Mercedes sport utility vehicle that Mary Easley used, according to The News & Observer of Raleigh, which first reported on the expenses.

Another $8,900 was paid to the first lady, the assistant and a state highway patrol trooper, who provided security, to stay in a hotel and participate in a Monet-themed tour.

For the Estonia and Russian trip, business-class airfare for five people traveling cost more than $34,000, the newspaper reported. In St. Petersburg, Russia, the group stayed in an $800-a-night hotel and had ballet tickets that cost about $1,100. …

A taxpayer-funded trip to Italy taken by the Easleys, state commerce officials and others in April cost more than $170,000. Easley said the trip was designed to attract Italian residents and companies to come to North Carolina.

The state's travel policy, covering both elected and appointed officials, prohibits luxury accommodations "for the convenience or personal preference of the employee in the performance of official state business."

State Republican leaders jumped on the recently disclosed trips. GOP chairwoman Linda Daves said the Easleys are again "lavishly spending taxpayer money on vacations overseas."

"I think we all agree that a certain amount of cultural exchange ... is an appropriate thing," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, but "the average person that's out there, standing by the gas pump paying $4, $4.15 per gallon ... just is not very well served by our leadership in those kinds of decisions."

Click here for the full article…

FROM THE PRESS ROOM: NCGOP CHAIRMAN RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR EASLEY’S REMARKS ON THE STATE BUDGET

RALEIGH—On Sunday, Governor Easley attacked the repeal of the state gift tax included in the state budget, saying “It makes no sense to provide almost $20 million in tax cuts to the wealthy in this economic environment.” (Biesecker, Michael, “Taxes, raises may stymie budget,” The News & Observer, June 30, 2008, http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1125065.html)

FACT CHECK

• North Carolina’s gift tax is far harsher than the federal gift tax. The federal gift tax allows $1,000,000 in lifetime gifts without tax. The NC gift tax only allows $100,000 in lifetime gifts.
  

• North Carolina is one of only three states with a state gift tax at all. (Connecticut and Tennessee are the others.)


• Current NC gift tax law does not distinguish between the rich and non-rich. The NC gift tax affects many middle class families. A common example is siblings settling finances of a sick or elderly parent with one sibling giving to the other a “gift” of more than $12,000 and being forced to pay NC gift tax.


• An argument can be made that the middle class is more adversely affected by the NC gift tax because the rich are able to easily pay the tax. The rich also employ accountants and lawyers who find ways to lower their overall tax burden. The middle class giver is often completely unaware of the NC gift tax at the time of the gift and is only later hit with the tax bill which they must pay out of their own pocket.


• From a revenue collection standpoint, it makes more sense for the state to encourage lifetime gifts because that causes the recipient of the gift to pay income tax on any appreciation of the gift if the recipient decides to later sell the gifted asset.


• The NC gift tax also discourages retirement and location of businesses to North Carolina for those who can afford to locate elsewhere. Why retire to NC or locate a business in NC when our neighbors in the Southeast and across the nation have no such tax? The income and sales tax collections that would be gained from those who might decide to retire or move their business here but for this tax could make up a large share of the difference in revenue when the gift tax is repealed.

Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:

“Either Governor Easley is misinformed on the nature of the NC gift tax or he has deliberately mischaracterized it in order to continue the class warfare rhetoric typical of the Democrat leadership in Raleigh. The Governor loves high taxes so much that he opposes the repeal of even the most unfair, capricious taxes in North Carolina. What makes no sense in this economic environment is to continue tax policies that have made us the highest taxed state in the Southeast. North Carolinians want more money in their pockets and not in the feeding trough of free spending Democrats in Raleigh.

Meanwhile, those who are truly being shafted in this budget are children. While Governor Easley remains in lockstep with teachers’ unions and tries to protect his prized rhyming pet programs, we do nothing to broaden our approach to educating North Carolina’s children. The truth is we have no idea whether Governor Easley’s programs are offering results because there is no oversight or study being offered on their effectiveness. The same is true of dropout prevention grants which have thus far done nothing to lower the abysmal graduation rate in North Carolina.

It is time to look at new ideas like lifting the cap on charter schools so that parents have more choices in their children’s education. It is time to think about raising teacher pay for those teachers who volunteer to teach the most at-risk students. It is time to consider expanding vocational education so that students can learn skills that will help them get a job instead of merely getting frustrated with the curriculum and dropping out. It is time for fresh vision and a renewed commitment to excellence in education in North Carolina. Over the past eight years, that is a test that Democrats have consistently failed.”

Perdue Advances Dishonest Argument

Dunn Daily Record

Editorial
June 23, 2008

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue - who is now running for governor - owes much to the North Carolina Association of Educators, the primary agenda of which is to fight every effort to allow parents to choose which schools their children will attend.

Wealthy parents, of course, can choose any school for their children. And there is growing support for the idea of giving that choice to all parents, not just the wealthy. And it would be easy to do. For an amount much smaller than is spent to send a student to a public school, a parent could be given a voucher that could be used in any school.

And as long as the amount of the voucher is less than the current per-pupil public school expenditure, those remaining in public schools would actually benefit.

Let's say it costs $5,000 per year to send a child to a public school (the real number is higher). And then let's say we offer parents a $2,500 voucher. So for every parent who uses a voucher for her child, there would be an additional $2,500 available for the remaining public school children.

To extend this illustration, if just 1,000 students were to take advantage of such vouchers, there would then be an additional $2.5 million for the remaining children. Just imagine how much more per child North Carolina's public schools would have if 10,000 vouchers were used; Or 100,000.

Still, the NCAE makes the intellectually dishonest argument that vouchers would somehow make public schools poorer. The only way that could possibly happen would be for the amount of the voucher to be larger than the per-pupil public school expenditure.

There's only one organization that might be weakened if vouchers were adopted: The NCAE, which would end up with fewer dues-paying members. So candidates who receive a coveted endorsement from the politically powerful NCAE know they must also repeat the group's dishonest argument. And that is exactly what Lt. Gov. Perdue did this weekend. …

Click here to view the full article...

FROM THE BLOG: Why we need more judges like Justice Scalia

By Brent Woodcox
Communications Director/Assistant Legal Counsel, North Carolina Republican Party

By a slim 5-4 majority, the Supreme Court upheld the right of private citizens to "keep and bear arms" this week. Though we thought that this right was guaranteed in 1791 when the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was first adopted, the reality is that we are always one rogue decision of the Supreme Court from having even basic liberties stripped from us. For today, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief as those who would further erode the freedoms guaranteed us by the Founding Fathers have been defeated once again. This is why the issue of the role of judges and judicial appointments is so important. Please read Justice Scalia's brilliant opinion on behalf of the Court in Heller for yourself, but I particularly enjoyed this section and wanted to share it with you.

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District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. ___, (2008)

We know of no other enumerated constitutional right whose core protection has been subjected to a freestanding "interest-balancing" approach. The very enumeration of the right takes our of the hands of government--even the Third Branch of Government--the power to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the right is really worth insisting upon. A constitutional guarantee subject to future judges' assessments of its usefulness is no constitutional guarantee at all. Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them, whether or not future legislatures or (yes) even future judges think that scope too broad. We would not apply an "interest-balancing" approach to . . . the First Amendment . . . The Second Amendment is no different. Like the First, it is the very product of an interest-balancing by the people--which JUSTICE BREYER would now conduct for them anew. And whatever else it leaves to future evaluation, it surely elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home. ...

We are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country, and we take seriously the concerns raised by the many amici who believe that prohibition of handgun ownership is the solution. The Constitution leaves the District of Columbia a variety of tools for combating that problem, including some measures regulating handguns. . . But the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table. These include the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home. Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of our Nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security, and where gun violence is a serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct. ...

To read the full opinion, click here...

NCGOP Political Quiz of the Day

For all our political junkie friends, the NCGOP has pulled together a political quiz to test your knowledge of what’s going on this election cycle. Our quiz revolves around one central question:

What do Comedian Al Franken and Larry Kissell have in common?

Q. What do comedian Al Franken and Larry Kissell have in common?

a) They are both running for federal office
b) They are both liberal
c) They have both saved thousands of dollars by not paying employee benefits and taxes
d) All of the above

A. d) All of the above – Al Franken is running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota and Larry Kissell is running for Congress in North Carolina. Both are liberals, and despite their populist rhetoric, they both have saved thousands of dollars by not paying benefits on their employees and certain taxes. When confronted, Franken admitted that he failed to pay thousands of dollars in income taxes and he also admitted not paying thousands of dollars in worker’s compensation premiums (required under the law). When confronted, Larry Kissell admitted not having paid even a penny of the thousands of dollars in payroll taxes owed on the workers in his campaign – nor has he ever paid worker’s compensation.

Q. What do comedian Al Franken and Larry Kissell have in common?

a) They are willing to fix their tax problems
b) They have apologized for not following the law
c) They have paid the back taxes they owe
d) None of the above

A. d) None of the above – Although Al Franken’s actions are reprehensible and fly in the face of his “pro-worker” rhetoric, he has apologized for not paying and said he would pay all the taxes and worker’s compensation he owes. Kissell on the other hand said he would change his practice of not paying taxes on his workers in July, but continued to maintain that offloading thousands of dollars in taxes on his workers was the way they really wanted it.

Q. What do comedian Al Franken and Larry Kissell have in common?

a) They are both properly paying their campaign employees
b) Their campaign employees are eligible for unemployment and disability benefits
c) Their campaign employees are receiving health care benefits
d) None of the above

A. d) None of the above – Al Franken has been quick with the class warfare and populist rhetoric – and slow to correct his tax issues and problems with worker’s compensation. Franken does treat his campaign workers appropriately, by classifying them as employees. Larry Kissell has misclassified his campaign workers as “consultants” so he can offload thousands of dollars in payroll taxes. By doing this, Kissell – who is also quick with class warfare and populist rhetoric – is denying his employees the ability to file for unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or health care benefits.

Meaningless

By Linda Daves
Chairman, North Carolina Republican Party

For Mike Easley to be given the “America’s Greatest Education Governor’s Award” just proves what the NEA really stands for. Let’s just call this award what it is: Politician Most Beholden to Teachers’ Unions and Special Interests. When one-third of North Carolina students are failing to graduate high school, it is reprehensible that the Governor is gloating about his “successes.” Gov. Easley’s term has no doubt been a boon to teachers’ unions, but it has been a disaster for North Carolina’s children. What are the criteria for giving out this award anyway? With the abysmal graduation rate here in North Carolina, I would hate to see what the situation is in the home state of the runner-up.

It is time to look at new ideas like lifting the cap on charter schools so that parents have more choices in their children’s education. It is time to think about raising teacher pay for those teachers who volunteer to teach the most at-risk students. It is time to consider expanding vocational education so that students can learn skills that will help them get a job instead of merely getting frustrated with the curriculum and dropping out. It is time for fresh vision and a renewed commitment to excellence in education in North Carolina. Over the past eight years, that is a test that Democrats have consistently failed.

With Bev Perdue only offering more of the same for fixing the problems facing our state’s public school system, there is a clear choice in the race to become the next Governor. Those who refuse to protect the status quo, those who reject placing the interests of powerful unions over the interests of our children, and those who believe that we can do better will choose Pat McCrory as our next Governor. He will be an Education Governor to truly make us proud.

America's Greatest Education Governor?

Under the Dome blog
July 2, 2008

Gov. Mike Easley is going to Washington D.C. on Thursday to get some love from the nation's teachers.

Easley will receive the inaugural "America's Greatest Education Governor's Award" from the National Education Association "for his achievements in transforming North Carolina's public school system." He will get the award while receiving the cheers of 10,000 delegates at the NEA's 86th annual Representative Assembly.

It beats being in Raleigh to answer questions about the budget and his wife's overseas travel costs. …

Click here for the full post…
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/americas_greatest_education_governor

Dunn Daily Record: Perdue Advances Dishonest Argument

In case you missed it...

Dunn Daily Record
Editorial
June 23, 2008

Perdue Advances Dishonest Argument

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue - who is now running for governor - owes much to the North Carolina Association of Educators, the primary agenda of which is to fight every effort to allow parents to choose which schools their children will attend.

Wealthy parents, of course, can choose any school for their children. And there is growing support for the idea of giving that choice to all parents, not just the wealthy. And it would be easy to do. For an amount much smaller than is spent to send a student to a public school, a parent could be given a voucher that could be used in any school.

And as long as the amount of the voucher is less than the current per-pupil public school expenditure, those remaining in public schools would actually benefit.

Let's say it costs $5,000 per year to send a child to a public school (the real number is higher). And then let's say we offer parents a $2,500 voucher. So for every parent who uses a voucher for her child, there would be an additional $2,500 available for the remaining public school children.

To extend this illustration, if just 1,000 students were to take advantage of such vouchers, there would then be an additional $2.5 million for the remaining children. Just imagine how much more per child North Carolina's public schools would have if 10,000 vouchers were used; Or 100,000.

Still, the NCAE makes the intellectually dishonest argument that vouchers would somehow make public schools poorer. The only way that could possibly happen would be for the amount of the voucher to be larger than the per-pupil public school expenditure.

There's only one organization that might be weakened if vouchers were adopted: The NCAE, which would end up with fewer dues-paying members. So candidates who receive a coveted endorsement from the politically powerful NCAE know they must also repeat the group's dishonest argument. And that is exactly what Lt. Gov. Perdue did this weekend. …

Click here to view the full article...
http://www.mydailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=97998&TM=19581.59