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Fact, falsehood -- or somewhere in between?: Among the two gubernatorial campaigns and three outside groups, more than a dozen ads have aired in the...
(News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 6--SPONSORED BY BEVERLY PERDUE
'Difference on vouchers'
McCrory's support for school vouchers is contrasted with Perdue's opposition.
'Pat McCrory supports private school vouchers, taking 900 million taxpayer dollars away from public schools to pay for kids in private schools.'
FACTS: About 20 voucher programs are used across 14 states, according to Jeff Reed, director of the education task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan association for conservative lawmakers.
Vouchers, which let parents take tax credits for private schooling, are often limited to disabled or disadvantaged students in failing schools, Reed said. No state has universal vouchers.
McCrory has consistently supported vouchers, but he has recently said he would limit them. During the Republican primary campaign, he pitched vouchers as a way to increase competition among schools and offer parents more choices.
"The more competition we have, the more choice you have in education, the better our education is going to be for our kids," he told a Hendersonville crowd in March. "And parents must have these choices, both with charter schools, school vouchers, and also more choice at the local school."
In a candidate questionnaire distributed by the N.C. Family Policy Council, McCrory answered yes to this question: "Should parents who choose to educate their children in private, religious, or home schools receive a voucher or tax credit from the state?"
The $900 million figure in the ad assumes every student home-schooled or enrolled in private school in North Carolina would get a voucher, which would make a much more extensive program than available elsewhere.
SPONSORED BY BEVERLY PERDUE
'When I hear'
A WOMAN PARALYZED BY PRIMARY LATERAL SCLEROSIS SAYS THROUGH A VOICE BOX THAT PAT McCRORY OPPOSES EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH.
'So when I hear politicians like Pat McCrory say he wants to ban
embryonic stem cell research, I ask myself, how can he be against hope?'
FACTS: The state of North Carolina does not subsidize embryonic stem cell research or ban it.
During the Republican gubernatorial primary, the N.C. Family Policy Council, a nonpartisan group that promotes Judeo-Christian values, sent candidates a questionnaire.
One query asked: "Should the stem cells of a human embryo be used for research purposes when the act of obtaining the stem cells results in the destruction of the human embryo?"
McCrory answered no. He later said he supports research using adult cells or amniotic cells, neither of which involve embryos. Scientists say those forms of research have not yielded as much progress.
Perdue's campaign could not produce evidence that McCrory ever said he would ban embryonic stem cell research. McCrory strategist Jack Hawke confirmed, only after the ad ran, that McCrory, as governor, would support legislation that prohibited stem cell research in which the embryo was destroyed. Perdue's campaign gambled on that being the answer but had no proof when it produced the ad.
SPONSORED BY PAT McCRORY
'Offshore Drilling'
McCRORY CONTRASTS HIS SUPPORT FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING IN NORTH CAROLINA WITH PERDUE'S OPPOSITION.
'I support conservation, deep-sea exploration for natural gas and oil. Beverly Perdue is 100 percent opposed and says it won't happen on her watch.'
FACTS: In mid-June, national Republicans began calling for a reconsideration of a federal moratorium on offshore drilling.
On June 18, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue issued a news release saying she was "100 percent opposed to oil drilling off the coast of North Carolina." Appearing before the N.C. Press Association that day, Perdue said drilling would never occur during her administration.
"On my watch, we'll never solve the gas problem by drilling off the coast of North Carolina," she said. "That's politically popular. If you want somebody who looks at a poll and gets solutions, that's not me."
On Aug. 13 -- the day McCrory introduced his ad -- Perdue announced she had shifted positions in a letter previously sent to U.S. Rep. David Price but not made public until then.
She now says she would appoint an independent panel of scientists and engineers to study the issue before deciding whether to allow offshore drilling in North Carolina.
SPONSORED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR N.C.
'Move'
McCRORY IS ATTACKED FOR ACCEPTING A TRIP TO PARIS IN 2000, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
'Pat McCrory supports more perks for politicians. He even accepted free travel to Paris for himself and his wife.'
FACTS: Seeking to boost its trans-Atlantic business, U.S. Airways added nonstop flights from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Paris in 2000.
Then-Gov. Jim Hunt used the occasion to lead an 11-day trade mission to France and Germany with 31 other state officials, including Charlotte Mayor McCrory and his wife, Ann.
The airline paid for Hunt, a state trooper and the McCrorys to fly first-class to Paris. The mayor and his wife then paid their own way to Italy for a vacation, and the airline flew them back from Rome to Charlotte for free.
At the time, McCrory noted that the return flight from Rome cost the same as the trip over to Paris, so his vacation did not add any additional cost.
SPONSORED BY THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
'Status Quo Beverly Perdue'
PERDUE'S RECORD ON TAXES IS CRITICIZED.
'Perdue presided over $6 billion in new taxes.'
FACTS: Perdue represented the New Bern area in the state legislature from 1987 until 2001. She has since served as lieutenant governor, a position in which she presides over the N.C. Senate. She can vote only in the case of a tie, so her role in tax changes since 2001 has been only procedural.
The Republican Governors Association says the "$6 billion in new taxes" figure is the amount raised by new taxes imposed from 2001 through 2006. Almost half of that came from two temporary taxes that lawmakers and Gov. Mike Easley imposed because of a 2001 budget crisis: an additional half-cent sales tax and a new upper-income tax bracket.
The rest came from more than 60 other tax changes. Easley and lawmakers have also cut taxes since 2001.
Perdue "presided" over tax increases in the sense that she held the gavel and helped record senators' votes, but she did not propose the increases or vote on them.
'Status Quo'
AN ACTRESS POSING AS PERDUE IS SHOWN PUSHING THE 'STATUS QUO' BUTTON AFTER BEING LOBBIED BY TWO INSIDERS.
'The largest-growing tax burden in the country.'
FACTS: The Republican Governors Association says the claim about the "largest-growing tax burden in the country" is based on an April 12, 2007, article from The Tax Foundation in Washington, which says "North Carolina's tax burden rank has seen the largest increase of any state since 2000," jumping from the 36th-highest state-local tax burden in 2000 to the 19th-highest.
The article, though, is based on outmoded methodology. The foundation's revised figures put North Carolina's rank at 20th -- not 36th -- in 2000. It has since fluctuated between 17th and 22nd. In 2008, it is again 20th.
Contacted after the ad ran, a foundation spokesman apologized for the confusion, and an economist there said the newer methodology is more accurate.
SPONSORED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR N.C.
'Raise'
CHARLOTTE IS PORTRAYED AS A DANGEROUS CITY WITH A HIGH CRIME RATE.
'Charlotte, North Carolina. A higher crime rate than New York and L.A.'
FACTS: Every year, police agencies across the nation submit statistics on reported crime to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Based on numbers for murder, rape, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft, CQ Press publishes crime rankings for cities of more than 75,000 people.
In 2007, CQ Press ranked Charlotte the 50th least safe out of 378 cities -- the worst score for a North Carolina city. Los Angeles was 135th least safe; New York City, 237th.
However, the FBI Web site calls such rankings "simplistic" and "incomplete," since they do not factor in other variables, such as demographics and geography, that could affect crime in a given area.
Overall, the FBI statistics show that the crime rate has gone down in Charlotte since McCrory took office in 1995, although there was an increase from 2005 to 2006.
SPONSORED BY BEVERLY PERDUE
'Copier'
McCRORY IS CRITICIZED FOR TIES TO PRESIDENT BUSH.
'McCrory backs Bush's economic plan all the way.'
FACTS: In 2000, McCrory was elected president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, a Washington-based advocacy group.
In May of 2003, the group issued a news release quoting McCrory praising a Bush-backed proposal to cut dividends and capital gains taxes.
"What the President's tax cuts will do is enable entrepreneurs and local people to make the best decisions about creating jobs and making needed investments," McCrory said in the release.
The bill was signed into law later that month.
The Perdue campaign could not provide any other evidence that McCrory or the Republican Mayors group backed the rest of Bush's economic proposals, aside from the tax cuts.
To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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