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Tues: Trail Talk
posted at 2008-09-23 21:04 | Last modified 2008-09-24 07:17
Dirty Sexy Money (minus the sexy)
Over at Dome, Ryan Beckwith reports tonight that DOT Board member Louis Sewell has cancelled the fundraiser he was set to hold Thursday night for Dem Gov candidate Bev Perdue. That’s after this N&O story questioned Sewell’s backing of $375K in DOT money to road projects that would increase the value of real estate held by Sewell and/or his son.
The cancellation is a welcome breath of common sense in a story that’s been getting steadily uglier since Dan Kane and Ben Niolet broke it last weekend. Topping it off today was Perdue’s refusal to say whether she would reappoint Sewell to the DOT board if she’s elected. When Char-O’s Jim Morrill asked her the question, her answer was, “Lord have mercy. I'm trying to win the governor's race.”
Whatever the right answer is, I'm pretty sure that ain’t it. The guy’s been referred for investigation by the State Ethics Commission. Why not just say you’ll wait to see how the investigation turns out?
Predictably, the McCrory campaign called on Perdue to give back the money Sewell raised for her. Also predictably, the Perdue campaign countered by calling on McCrory to give back money he received from a donor tied to a strip club.
Sigh. I feel like I need a shower. This is starting to look like the Dem primary, and that’s no compliment. Could we maybe talk about issues that actually affect voters’ lives…like, say, home foreclosures, or jobs, or schools?
Look who’s (not) talking
Maybe Republican Pat McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger can address those issues tomorrow night. But Bev Perdue won’t be part of the conversation. She turned down an invite to the UNC-TV debate. In most cases like this, the spurned media outlet simply cancels the whole event, but it appears UNC didn’t get the memo, and good for them. Spokesman Steve Volsted said today the station has an obligation to work with the candidates who said yes.
Perdue spokesman Tim Crowley defended the Lt Gov’s decision to take a pass on the UNC-TV panel, noting that she’s agreed to five statewide televised debates – more than have been held for any other NC gubernatorial race.
“We spent a good amount of time getting Bev’s message out to the voters, and we’ve been successful in doing that. And five debates is enough to get Bev’s message out. And that’s what we agreed to early on.”
No one’s arguing that five debates isn't enough to "get Bev’s message out.” The argument is whether that’s enough to get voters’ questions IN.
Talking heads
Charlotte’s Jack Betts said today he thinks Perdue made the right call in opting out of this debate. (HT: Dome).
"I used to think her advisers were wrong, that after presiding over the Senate for nearly eight years and having to deal with such challenges as former Sen. Hugh Webster or Democratic leader Sen. Tony Rand, she wouldn't have any trouble with her opponents. But McCrory's the more polished campaigner in such head-to-head confrontations, though Perdue has improved some."
Most days, I think Betts walks on water. But this time, I disagree. He’s right in saying debates aren’t Perdue’s strongest suit, at least compared to McCrory. But how does it benefit her to give two smart guys free rein to criticize her, totally unanswered, for an hour on statewide TV? And you know that’s what’s going to happen. The old saw about the dangers of attacking a female opponent doesn’t hold true if she doesn’t show up.
Like the saying goes, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. From where I'm sitting, this could be a big miss.
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