Katy's Conservative Corner

Democrat Polling Firm Shows McCrory in Lead in Governor's Race

According to a Public Policy Poll released today, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory leads Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue in the Governor's race.  The poll puts McCrory at 44% while Perdue is pulling in 41% of sampled voters. 

Even though this poll undersampled Mayor Pat McCrory’s home base of Charlotte, it shows he’s moved up four points from PPP’s poll two weeks ago.  This is the fourth poll in September showing Pat in the lead.

“It is remarkable that as other Democrats on the ballot do better than could ever have been imagined, Bev Perdue is doing far worse than most people anticipated,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “She’ll need a more coherent and relevant message over the final five weeks of the campaign if she’s going to connect with the voters she needs to win.”

PPP surveyed 1,041 likely voters on September 28 and 29th.  The poll's margin of error is +/- 3.0%, making this race very tight.  McCrory and his team of staff and volunteers must keep working away to continue to turn what were likely Perdue voters to the Charlotte Mayor. 

If McCrory were to win back the Governor's mansion for the GOP, he would be only the third Republican governor since reconstruction. 

Editor's Note:

Your blogger feels that it's time to turn the Governor's mansion AND the General Assembly back to the GOP.  It's time to give someone else a turn to run things, given the abuses of power that have occurred in the many years of Democratic control. 

She works as the McCrory campaign's Wake County chairman of Women for McCain and is a member of Bloggers for McCain.

Turn NC RED in 2008

Another Perspective on McCain -- Telling it Like it Is! (Video)

This man has an interesting perspective on John McCain and Barry Obama.  He's funny, and is from the old school of clean comedy.  Check it out, as it was recommended by a reader that your blogger highly respects.  It's entitled "BTW, I'm supporting McCain".

State Sec. of Cultural Resources Has 2 Jobs, Received Lucurative Home Deal

North Carolina Secretary of Cultural Resources, Libba Evans (left), seemingly has a conflict of interest.  According to Don Carrington of the John Locke Foundation:

Evans has been the head of the Cultural Resources department since 2001, when Gov. Mike Easley appointed her to the position. In addition to her state government duties, she remains involved in multiple real estate businesses.

One such real estate deal may prove to be a situation where she used her high position with the state to acquire a home in a sweetheart deal.

Read why one building contractor told Carrington, "I ain't tellin' you nothing" here.

John McCain on Financial "Crisis" (video)

Here's an ad that readers may be interested in:

Lawsuit filed in Pitt County to stop illegal campaign practices by national political committee

COURT SET OCTOBER 10th HEARING

GREENVILLE, N.C.—The Pitt County Republican Party and an aggrieved voter have filed a lawsuit today in Pitt County Superior Court against the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee ( a Washington, D.C. based “527” ) and the DLCC North Carolina PAC (a North Carolina “Campaign Committee.”) The lawsuit accuses the 527 D.C. based organization and the NC PAC of engaging in illegal campaign activities.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the NC PAC is really the alter ego of the 527 D.C. organization. The 527 D.C. organization accepts and spends corporate contributions, which are unlawful for North Carolina political committees. The lawsuit also alleges improper reporting and failure to report by the organizations.

The lawsuit also alleges the unlawful activity of “giving in the name of another,” a crime which ultimately led to the incarceration of former Speaker Jim Black. It is noteworthy that Jim Black was at one time the Finance Chairman of the 527.  The lawsuit is asking a Pitt County Superior Court Judge to enter an injunction prohibiting the 527 and its alter ego from making expenditures in this year’s election.

Kieran J. Shanahan, (left) Principal of the Shanahan Law Group, who is serving as legal counsel to the Plaintiffs said: “The injunction sought in this lawsuit is essential to the voters in North Carolina if we are to have a fair and honest election conducted on a level playing field.” Shanahan further stated: “It is regrettable that the Board of Elections has ignored its own staff’s warnings about this situation and that it has failed to act to protect the integrity of the voting process in North Carolina.”

Some of the charges in the lawsuit include:

* That the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which is based in Washington, D.C., accepted corporate contributions and illegally transferred them to the DLCC North Carolina PAC in an effort to influence legislative elections in North Carolina.

* That the Washington D.C. based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee failed to properly file any disclosures with the N.C. State Board of Elections.

* That the Washington D.C. based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee raised and accepted money in its name, then transferred the money to the DLCC North Carolina PAC as contributions purportedly under the original contributor’s name.

Kimberly (Kim) Hendrix, the Plaintiff suing as an aggrieved voter, said: “The people of North Carolina are tired of folks from outside of North Carolina trying to influence our elections. And, if you are going to get involved, you need to play by the rules.”

THE COURT HAS SCHEDULED A HEARING ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ON OCTOBER 10 IN THE PITT COUNTY COURTHOUSE, GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

Perdue Friend Resigns From DOT Board of Transportation

A member of the North Carolina Board of Transportation is resigning following reports he supported transportation projects near properties owned by him or his family.

In a letter to Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday, Louis Sewell said he should have removed himself from decisions where he appeared to have a conflict of interest.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported this week that Sewell helped get $375,000 in projects approved near properties he or his son co-owned. The state's top transportation official, Lyndo Tippett, referred the issue to the State Ethics Commission.

Sewell said the projects were in the best interests of Onslow County, not his own.

Sewell also has canceled a fundraiser he was scheduled to host for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue.

For details, see here, here, and here. 

Your blogger expects an indictment to come, eventually.  Stay tuned!

Katy on Kay Hagan's Budget Ad

Kay Hagan, who is hoping to unseat US Senator Elizabeth Dole, (who hasn't been called "Liddy" since she was a child), brags about nothing in a current TV ad.

In it, Hagan says she "has balanced seven budgets".  While it is true that Hagan is one of the state's chief budget writers (who meet in secret as part of the group Pat McCrory discusses in another of today's articles), the budget is balanced because it is North Carolina law!

Because a balanced budget is state law, your blogger wonders why Hagan must feel compelled to include it in her commercials? 

Does she really think VOTERS ARE THAT ILL-INFORMED?  Does she really think that voters are that uneducated? 

McCrory: Perdue Has Shady Record on Ethics (updated)

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Wednesday, accused Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue, of having a shady record on ethics.  Further, he admonished her for not appearing at a debate, broadcast Wednesday evening on UNC-TV.  Only Libertarian Mike Munger, looking uncomfortable in his ill-fitting suit and crooked tie, appeared alongside McCrory.

At a press conference at Raleigh's Velvet Cloak Inn, McCrory stated that as Lt. Governor -- the second highest post in the state, Perdue should have known that the budget dealings were held in secret and should have done something to stop it. 

What he didn't say is, her post was once powerful, Perdue depends mightily on liberal Senators Marc Basnight and Tony Rand for help and hasn't gotten anything done on her own! 

In 1988, Jim Gardner was elected to the post, and Basnight and Rand lead the state Senate in stripping the Lt Governor's post of nearly all powers.  Gardner was the first Republican elected Lt. Governor in modern history. 

Thus, Perdue has had little to do these past eight years, and what she claims as victories, are based on the good graces of Democrats Basnight and Rand.  One of her few "claims to fame" was casting the tie-breaking vote on the North Carolina lottery, which is now being contested at the NC Supreme Court.

"Perdue acted 'shocked' when she said she learned of the budget proceedings." McCrory stated
Wednesday, but "what she should have walked in and thrown open the doors". Even without power, she did have the bully pulpit to do the right thing.

     The Charlotte Mayor also discussed a number of fundraising scandals that Perdue has been a part of, most notably, from the NC Department of Transportation (DOT), Board of Transportation (BOT) members. 

In 1998, Perdue was placed in charge of transportation reform in the wake of a series of scandals involving DOT BOT members.  The State House passed a strict bill, but Perdue watered down the final version, according to a News and Observer editorial (2/5/08). 

Further, In 1996 and 1998, the SBI investigated Perdue's campaign for soliciting contributions in exchange for the approval of a road-paving contract in Carteret County.  According to news reports, neighbors claimed that former DOT employee Rodney Gross solicited contributions for Beverly Perdue's campaign.  One said a DOT employee told residents of a Bar Harbor subdivision that if they contributed money to Perdue's campaign in 1994, they would get their gravel roads paved (N&O, 8/2/98).

The Associated Press reported that one neighbor, Helen Gisbon Otte, signed a $50 check to then-Senator Perdue's re-election campaign, marking it "donation/paving".  Perdue's campaign cashed the check.

The list is long and storied and McCrory deftly handled tough questions by reporters who refused to believe that the Lt. Governor had anything to do with the current budget mess we are in.  According to a reporter at the news conference, the next governor inherits a purported budget shortfall of $200 million. 

McCrory said he could handle that shortfall, by making "tough decisions, as he has had to do" as mayor. 

Your blogger spotted a regular in the crowd, with video camera in hand (left).  He's an employee of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Look for more from both camps as the campaigns wind to a close.  Perdue is unsuccessfully trying to tie McCrory to jailed Democrat House Speaker, Jim Black.  The charges are not sticking to Mayor McCrory, who this blogger has dubbed, "Mayor McCee". 

He's hitting back hard with stories of her poor record on ethics.  He hasn't needed to veer into what some say is a "dubious" personal life.  As regular readers of the New Bern Sun Journal over the years have learned, once should never be shocked at what happens with Beverly Perdue.

Editor's Note:

Your blogger feels that while Lt. Gov. Perdue is a very nice lady, we need Mayor Pat McCrory as our governor.  That's why she is the Wake County chairman of Women for McCrory and a member of Bloggers for McCrory.   

All images copyright 2008 Katy's Conservative Corner/KTCreations and may not be used without previous written permission from the photographer.

Civitas Poll Shows McCrory in Lead

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory *(left, with children) has taken his first lead over Democratic rival Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the race to replace Governor Mike Easley according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

According to the live telephone survey of 600 likely General Election voters, Perdue leads McCrory 39-38 among those who initially voiced support for a candidate. However, when undecided voters are asked which way they lean, McCrory takes a 43-41 lead. Libertarian candidate Michael Munger receives three percent of the vote. 13 percent of voters remained undecided.

“For the first time since we’ve been polling this race, Mayor McCrory has now taken a lead in the race for Governor,” said Francis De Luca, Executive Director of the Civitas Institute. “Throughout this race Lt. Gov. Perdue’s numbers have been flat, this is the first indication we have seen of movement, albeit downward, in her numbers.”

McCrory continues to be buoyed by a strong showing in his home region of Charlotte where he leads 52-31 and has opened up an 18 point lead in the Triad region (53-35). Perdue continues to hold strong support in the Triangle (46-38) and the Northeastern part of the state (49-37).

“A telling sign in this race is the way the undecided voters are leaning when they are asked to pick a candidate. These voters are choosing McCrory by a nearly 3:1 margin,” added De Luca. “As we get closer to the election and more voters make up their minds, if the undecided voters continue to break for McCrory, this could be the race to watch on election night for an upset.”

Wall Street Problems An Opportunity for GOP by Kent Misegades

As someone who had planned to enjoy an early retirement from the corporate world and build a new business on the profits from my investments made the past 30 years, I am angry over recent revelations that the financial crisis we're now in has been caused largely by elected officials and the special interests they serve.

As elected officials and candidates for office this fall, I hope that you will use every opportunity to educate voters on the history of excesses at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who within our federal government is to blame for this, and why it affects every citizen of the United States.

Nearly as scandalous as the Democrat leadership that is largely to blame for the mess is that fact that GOP leaders did little to inform voters as to the extent of the corruption and liability we all now bear. To make matters worse, our administration continues to appoint former banking leaders to positions of authority in the government, many of whom are Democrats and bear much of the blame.

To average citizens, the notion that obtaining a mortgage without a significant down payment and the income to pay one's debt is a foreign concept. As it becomes clear to these same responsible citizens that they will now have to bail out fellow citizens who live beyond their means, I believe that there will be an outcry and very little support for assistance. I am sure that Milton Friedman would agree with me that it is far better that we now cut our losses, tighten our belts and live within our means in the future.  If this means that many homeowners default on their loans and greedy or sloppy banks close as a result, so be it. Otherwise we are faced with the prospect of a decade or more of economic limbo as Japan experienced when it propped up its banks during the real estate melt down of the 1980s. There are winners and losers in free markets, but all lose when governments meddle in what is a natural economic process.

Most voters are looking for courageous, straight-talking politicians this fall and can deal with the truth, even when it is unpleasant.  I hope that you continue to belong to this minority of elected officials.

Editor's Note:

Kent Misegades is Chairman, Board of Trustees at Thales Academy in Apex, and President at AeroSouth.

Reader Mail: Non-American Loves Our Nation -- Too bad Liberals Don't

Dear Katy,

Although I am not an American, I loved America very much ever since I was young. Recently, I was really alarmed to see how aggressively the liberals have multiplied through America and they seemed to have more influencing power then I realized.

They are exerting their ideas in the schools, mass media, arts and politics. I am most worried that these irresponsible forces will weaken America and create the conditions for Islamist extremists, armed with their ideology of hatred to attack America.

For this, I want to thank you as well as encourage people like you to continue the work you are doing in order to protect America.

I have written a simple short essay about the beauty of American Democracy. It is at : http://www.cfamily.net/wordpress/?p=190

Thanks!
Philip Chan

Obama and his "Bitter Gun Owners" Quote (Video)

NRA: Defend Freedoms -- Defeat Obama (video)

Your blogger is a proud member of the National Rifle Association and urges everyone to Vote for John McCain for President. There is too much at state in this election.

Iraq is NOT a Mistake - Don't Disrespect Our Military (Video)

  If you are pro-military and pro-human being, watch the moving video below.  If you haven't already, share it with your friends and embed it in your websites.  Going into Iraq was NOT a mistake.  By saying it was, Obama disrepects the members of our military.

Perdue Caught in Another Fundraising Scandal

  The McCrory for Governor Campaign today called on Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue to return contributions tied to Louis and Billy Sewell and their family after The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Louis Sewell was a fundraiser for Perdue and used his position on the Department of Transportation Board to benefit himself and his business partners.
(http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1226696.html)

"Lt. Gov. Perdue has a long history of fundraising impropriety," said McCrory Campaign Manager Richard Hudson.  "Whether it is funds from the nursing home industry she had to return, funds from a disgraced DOT board member she had to return, the series of SBI investigations into her fundraising practices, two of her fundraisers involved in a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) bribery case, or the recent allegations about the Sewells, she has an ethical cloud hanging over her head.

  "Louis and Billy Sewell are key fundraisers for the lieutenant governor in Eastern North Carolina.  She needs to immediately refund any contributions she has received from the Sewell family, as well as any checks they have 'bundled' for her," Hudson said.

Based on reports with the State Board of Elections, Perdue's campaigns have received $37,500 directly from the Sewell family during the past eight years.  Since she rolled her lieutenant governor campaign funds into her current committee, there is no way to separate the contributions.

For complete details on the contributions, please visit here.

Editor's Note:

Your blogger is Wake County Chairman of Women for McCrory, and is a member of Bloggers for McCrory and proudly endorses him for Governor.

Perdue’s Political Stunt Can’t Hide Her Record on Corruption

After being exposed for latest fundraising scandal, Perdue throws up smokescreen

The following is a statement from McCrory for Governor Campaig manager Richard Hudson in response to Beverly Perdue’s despirate attempt to tie Pat McCrory to her good friend, Jim Black:

“Beverly Perdue is part of the culture of corruption in Raleigh. She was Chairman of the Appropriations Committee that met behind closed doors and snuck secret provisions into the budget to benefit contributors such as the nursing home industry. Jim Black learned how to play the game by watching how Beverly Perdue operated.

“It is a sure sign of desperation that Beverly Perdue would attack Mayor McCrory and try to tie him to her ally Jim Black (left). McCrory along with other city council members may have occasionally played golf with members of the Mecklenburg legislative delegation, but it was Perdue who worked along side Jim Black as he accepted bribes, secretly inserted items in the budget and was paid off by his contributors.

“Now Lt. Gov. Perdue has the audacity to attack the Mayor because of his association with a federal trustee who had no role in Jim Black's corruption, but whose job it was to ensure that the legal defense fund was properly and legally administered.

“It’s the typical arrogance of state government insiders like Beverly Perdue to be a part of the problem and then try to blame it on someone else.

“This is a non-story and a smokescreen put up by a desperate candidate who is sinking in the polls and who is trying to cover up her record of corruption, scandal and payoffs.”

No Bailout for Foreign-Based Banks by James Andrew Dunn

  As many of you have already heard, a last-minute revision to the Treasury Dept's buyout plan includes foreign-based banks with U.S. operations. This buyout plan is being presented to Congress and is under intense pressure from the White House for passage.

As President Bush said today, "the world is watching."

They certainly are: they're watching to see how generous we'll be to the so-called "world economy" with our tax dollars. I wonder if the taxpayers of Dubai, the European Union and Communist China will also be expected to pitch in?

The American people have no legal or moral responsibility to bailout foreign-based banks! We are citizens of the United States, not "citizens of the world."

Please contact your congressmen and urge them to oppose any provision that includes a taxpayer-funded buyout for foreign-based banks. For your convenience, I'm including the Washington phone numbers for all of NC members of Congress'.

G.K. Butterfield (1st Dist.)
202-225-3101

Bob Ethridge (2nd Dist.)
202-225-4531

Walter Jones (3rd Dist.)
202-225-3415

David Price (4th Dist.)
202-225-1784

Virginia Foxx (5th Dist.)
202-225-2071

Howard Coble (6th Dist.)
202-225-3065

Mike McIntyre (7th Dist.)
202-225-2731

Robin Hayes (8th Dist.)
202-225-3715

Sue Myrick (9th Dist.)
202-225-1976

Patrick McHenry (10th Dist.)
202-225-2576

Heath Shuler (11th Dist.)
202-225-6401

Melvin Watt (12th Dist.)
202-225-1510

Brad Miller (13th Dist.)
202-225-3032

Andrew Dunn
State President, Eagle Forum North Carolina
www.eagleforumnc.org

Big Government is Killing Our Economy by Carl Mumpower

You may have heard of the ancient Chinese method of torture - death by a thousand cuts.  We are witnesses to a modern day version of the same technique applied to our national economy.  The bleeding has just begun.

Big government tends to break things as it attempts to fix them.  We have watched for decades as convoluted regulations, special interest indulgences, and ballooning government bureaucracies have kidnapped America's free market economy. 

Now, the same federal government that helped create the mess through manipulated tax codes, regulatory meddling, and short-sighted monetary policy is pretending to rescue us.  By throwing the door open to an empty treasury with unlimited printing and borrowing capacities, they are, in fact, assuring further calamity.

A true free market economy will self-correct unless the liability that goes with greed, deception and mismanagement is sidestepped.   You can bet the white collared crooks in business and politics are working hard to do that very thing.  Social predators can hide behind a tie as surely as a mask.   

Dark clouds on the horizon tell us that America's beacon is at risk.  We can remain optimistic, but there is comfort in knowing that light has been dimmed, but never extinguished.  Even in the face of the harshest storm, beneath the rubble will rest an enduring foundation of liberty, opportunity, and responsibility - quietly waiting for us to remember and rebuild.

Editor's Note:

Dr. Carl Mumpower is running to unseat Heath Shuler in the 11th Congressional District.  Learn more about him at his website. 

We need Dr. Mumpower in Congress and he needs your support.  His opponent claims to be a "conservative" but consistently votes with Liberal Nancy Pelosi and does have North Carolina values.   

Katy's Conservative Corner has previously endorsed Mumpower and urges you to visit his website and donate whatever you can to his campaign!

(Updated) NC Loses a Friend in Jack Boston by Mike Blackmon

Note: A reader wrote in to add:

I spoke with him a few times off air. I remember one time he announced that the former manager of the Beatles was in town speaking at a church. I could tell he was using the music tie in to encourage people to come to the church to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He had my respect from then on.

The Curtis Media Group has lost one of its most talented and beloved radio family members.

Jack Boston (left) passed away last night after a valiant battle with cancer. Boston recently received a bone marrow transplant but was readmitted to the hospital after contracting an infection.

Jack always had a smile and a wonderful way of making employees laugh. He was a kind, talented, optimistic and caring person and full of life.

Jack had a tremendous love of radio and Curti (sic) Media will miss his boundless enthusiasm and creativity.

Jack is well known across North Carolina. At WDLX in Washington, N.C., Jack was the guy who got the day going with down-to-earth
humor and kept listeners laughing and smiling all day.

He joined the Curtis Media Group and quickly gained a tremendous following on
Y-102.9.

When an opening developed on WPTF's North Carolina's Morning News in 2006, Jack beat out more than 100 applicants and was a natural choice. (Your blogger was among his biggest fans.)

His loss is felt very deeply by all of the Curtis Media Group family and particularly those of us who worked along side of him at the Highwoods Complex in Raleigh.
 
Editor's Note:

Story by:

Mike Blackman - WPTF News
Copyright: Curtis Media Group
Mon Sep 22, 10:41:45 AM EST

On a side note, finally, listeners from other markets can enjoy WPTF radio's broadcasts via the World Wide Web.   Go to the WPTF website and click on Listen Live.  Be sure to check out their 3-6 show, featuring Bill LuMaye, who is nothing short of excellent.

Vietnamese Commies Question, Beat, and Jail American AP Reporter (Video)

Recently, your blogger was speaking with a friend who stated "Vietnam isn't communist anymore." 

Read the story below and see for yourself.  It tells of an American reporter, the AP bureau chief in Hanoi, photographing a Christian demonstration against the Communists.  He was lead away by police, had his camera taken away, and beaten, requiring stitches.  The story appears in the section below.

Personal Disclosure:  Your blogger married into a south Vietnamese-American family, many of whom were forced to escape (at great peril)  after our once great nation, abandoned South Vietnam's efforts at staving off Communist invasion.  Your blogger has in-laws still stuck behind the bamboo curtain, who are not allowed to leave that nation, as their government fears they will not return.

(The photo above is of another demonstration, stateside, with the demonstrators carrying the flag of the Republic of South Vietnam, which was defeated in 1975 after our government abandoned them. )   

Katy is scheduled to make her first visit to the former Saigon in the Spring.  She is told the government welcomes American tourists, if not reporters!

Your blogger grew up fearing Communism, mostly in its Marxist form, and was terrified of the evil empire, the Soviet Union.  She urges all readers to continue to take note of the harsh developments in Russia and in China.

The video in the story below was taken by a very brave Vietnamese citizen who was able to upload it to You Tube, which is monitored by their country's censors.  It shows the reporter being led off before being questioned, jailed, and beaten by Hanoi police. 

Click below to read the story: