Today, Pat McCrory is participating in an Americans for Prosperity event in which he’ll tout having “signed a pledge to support spending restraint and the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which would limit the growth of revenue and spending to the sum of inflation plus population growth.” [News and Observer, 6/23/08] But a look at McCrory’s record in Charlotte reveals a different story – one of high taxes and high spending.

“Pat McCroy is trying to have it both ways,” said NCDP Chairman Jerry Meek. “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.”

Did You Know…

Republican Dan Mansell ran a congressional campaign two years ago touting "fair taxes".

By "fair", he meant contributing nearly $50,000 to well-heeled Republican political campaigns and committees while ignoring his responsibility to employees.

Mansell failed to pay more than $220,000 in payroll taxes to the federal government, according to tax liens filed at the Johnston County Clerk of Court office.

Now Mansell has filed to run again.

Dan Mansell owed more than $220,000 in back taxes.

"Congressional candidate Danny E. Mansell owes the federal government more than $220,000 in unpaid taxes, according to tax liens filed at the Johnston County Clerk of Court office.” [Fayetteville Observer, 10/17/2006]

Republican State Auditor Les Merritt’s partisan bandwagon has hit the road – literally.

Mr. Merritt’s flawed review of the state transportation department ignores the reality of increased construction costs and population growth.

Meanwhile Mr. Merritt’s fee to state agencies has ballooned from $55 to $85 an hour while the budget approved by his department continues to grow.

“We know why it costs more to build roads,” said NCDP Chair Jerry Meek. “Why does it cost more for Les Merritt to run his office?”

According to the Federal Highway Administration, states across the country are experiencing “unprecedented construction cost increases”.

With rising energy prices and an economy careening toward recession, it simply costs more to build a road than it used to.

Construction material prices rose much faster in 2005 and 2006 than consumer and producer price indices. The availability of key construction materials such as Portland cement, copper, gypsum and PVC pipe became an issue in many parts of the country.

State government watchdogs sniff around for fraud, waste and abuse of public resources.

But not State Auditor Les Merritt.

He would rather use state resources for political purposes.

The State Auditor's Office has visited the North Carolina Democratic Party website 217 times in the past six months. In the past two weeks alone, Merritt's office has clicked on our website five times.

Like most watchdogs, Merritt is loyal. His state computers have logged on to our website more than the Democratic National Committee, the Obama campaign and the Clinton campaign combined.

More traffic comes from the State Auditor's office, a public agency funded by public tax dollars, than from the entire city of Fayetteville or state of Kentucky.

Merritt's tenacity in using state resources for political purposes knows no bounds.

Wal-Mart has saved millions of dollars over the past few years by essentially paying rent to itself and then writing off the taxes. Fortunately for North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Judge Clarence Horton, Jr. aren’t going to let that slide.

The judge dismissed Wal-Mart’s bid for a refund. Had the tax shelter not been deemed illegal, the corporate write-off would have effectively cost North Carolina taxpayers $33.5 million. The company is using the rent strategy in dozens of states - several have already moved to close the loophole after Wal-Mart’s actions were exposed in a February article from the Wall Street Journal. The judge’s decision on Friday could set a precedent for communities across the country. Wal-Mart Watch applauds Judge Clarence Horton, Jr. and Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper for fighting Wal-Mart and defending North Carolina taxpayers.

Jackie Calmes, Wall Street Journal
Click Here to read the original article

As smooth-talking Mitt Romney dashes into North Carolina today for a fundraiser, he has a new ad in Iowa and New Hampshire that stumbles on the perfect metaphor for his campaign: Romney running.

His latest dash is away from embattled U.S. Senator Larry E. Craig.

While other Republicans, including GOP presidential rival John McCain, are calling for Craig to resign, Romney has yet to give the same advice to the man who served as his campaign’s co-chairman in the Senate.

But that’s not the only thing Romney is running from.

Nearly A Half-Trillion Dollars Spent On An Unwinnable Civil War Could Have Improved Our Community

Each and every day, it is becoming more evident that the Bush Administration is wasting billions of taxpayers' dollars on an endless, religious civil war that cannot be won. On average, $275 million is spent every day on the war in Iraq—that is an average of $4,100 for every household in the United States over the course of the war. And those costs are continuing to rise with no end in sight.

Last month, Congress voted for an additional $100 billion in spending. That makes the total funding appropriated for the war in Iraq so far $456 billion. The cost to North Carolina taxpayers alone is $12.34 billion.

The money being spent in Iraq could be used to improve the lives of Americans instead of putting them at risk.

With the costs of the war expected to ultimately double, taxpayers in North Carolina cannot afford another $1.04 billion to keep our troops stuck in an unwinnable civil war in Iraq—especially when our communities are paying such a heavy price.

The cost to North Carolina taxpayers alone is $12.34 billion.

House Energy Package Promotes Renewables, Efficiency, & Protects National Security

North Carolina Democrats in are making America energy independent, curbing global warming, and developing America's economy through renewable energy. North Carolina Democrats joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives Saturday evening to pass two landmark energy bills.

The bills making up the House Energy Independence Initiative - H.R. 3221, New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act and H.R. 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 - will make historic investments in biofuels and new energy technologies, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and strengthen research and diplomatic efforts on climate change to protect the planet.

"America must lead the world in the use, development, and production of renewable energies to reduce global warming and end our reliance on foreign oil. Our Nation's energy policy must be focused on securing our long-term energy future and being good stewards of God's creation, not protecting the profits of Big Oil companies," said Rep. Heath Shuler. "These energy bills will strengthen our national security, create jobs, and protect consumers."

Wondering how you’ll pay for the mounting school supplies, band uniforms, and shoes your kids seem to need each year?

Thanks to North Carolina Democrats, shoppers will get a weekend pass on state and local sales taxes on clothing, computers, and other school supplies. The state’s sixth annual sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 3 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 5.

Here’s where you’ll save:

• Clothes and footwear costing less than $100 each
• School supplies such as pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, textbooks, book bags, lunch bags, encyclopedias, dictionaries and calculators costing less than $100 each
• Sports and recreation equipment costing $50 or less per item
• Athletic and non-athletic uniforms costing $100 or less per item
• Cycling items such as shoes, shirts and gloves costing $100 or less
• Computers including the central processing unit, monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers totaling less than $3,500
• Computer supplies of $250 or less.