Why Bev Perdue won't debate

Did anyone catch the gubernatorial debate last night between Pat McCrory and Mike Munger (Libertarian) on UNC-TV? I think this is the first time I've ever witnessed a "debate" between a Republican and a Libertarian candidate with no Democratic candidate.

I say "debate" because McCrory and Munger tended to agree on many of the issues, with the major exception being the death penalty (and Munger seemed extremely excited to have found an issue on which they disagreed so strongly).

One of the major issues on which the two candidates agreed? Democrat Bev Perdue should have been there. She was invited, and she declined to attend. Why?

I personally think there are two answers to that. One is, of course, the obvious -- she's just not a good debater. I'm not being mean, I'm not attacking her -- but that woman can't debate. According to political consultant Gary Pearce, "letting Bev Perdue debate five times amounts to political malfeasance."

The other reason? Perdue is better off with the majority of North Carolina not knowing her views.

The national Democratic Party would like for most Americans believe that North Carolina is an all-around red state that is only recently turning blue with the advent of Obama and Hagan, but we here in North Carolina know that Democrats have had a hold on this state for over a hundred years, and Republicans are only recently beginning to take over many state offices. The driving force behind this monopoly are the numerous "Southern Democrats" that still vote Democrat, not yet realizing that today's Republicans are much more like the Southern Democrats they used to vote for than today's Democrats. As North Carolinians slowly but surely realize that they should be voting Republican in state elections as well as national, the Democrats are losing ground.

Beverly Perdue, like the rest of today's Democratic Party, thinks the government knows how to spend your money better than you do. There will undoubtedly be many people voting on November 4 that don't know that about her -- and she will be better off for everyone of those people that doesn't see her debate.

The last thing Bev Perdue wants -- and the rest of the North Carolina Democratic Party, for that matter -- is for the citizens of North Carolina to know what she really stands for. She says that she's for transparent government, but she's already hiding from the people of North Carolina, and she hasn't even been elected yet.

Pat McCrory Dominates Bev Perdue In Another Debate

Pat McCrory debated Bev Perdue last night, and it wasn't even close. Perdue has a very annoying habit of bringing false issues and trying to frame them on her opponent, but it falls flat when she is pressed and called out for her answers - she doesn't really answer them. I commend the anchors from WRAL on this.

In much the same way the McCain camp uses humor to mock Obama, McCrory seems amused at Perdue's anwers and strongly states his positions. This was true on every topic: offshore drilling, education, third-party ads, and so forth.

The Easley trick of 2000 with vochers is really frustrating to watch. She deliberately mis-states what McCrory's position is and then tries to tell him what he thinks. That's a really, really bad debate tactic.

Two recent polls showed the race moving towards McCrory. Survey USA showed him up 49% to 41%, although that poll seems to have been a little skewed. In a new PPP poll, Perdue was at 41 % and McCrory at 40%. Considering there has been anywhere from a 3% to 8% gap from them, an insignificant 1% shows clear movement in the direction of McCrory.

I'm looking forward to seeing this race in the final two months. The trend if going towards McCrory, but it's not over yet.

Here is the video of the debate, it's worth watching if you haven't seen it yet.

WRAL debate

Don't forget, Mayor Pat McCrory and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue go head to head tomorrow night (September 9) on WRAL at 7:00PM!

You can go to WRAL.com and submit questions before and during the debate (keyword: DEBATE).

You can watch the debate LIVE Tuesday night in the following venues:

RALEIGH
WRAL-TV
WRAL Newschannel
WRAL.com
WUNC-FM radio

CHARLOTTE
WMYT-TV
wsoctv.com

GREENSBORO/HIGH POINT
WFMY-TV
myfoxwghp.com


I'll be blogging live from the Wake County Debate Watch tomorrow night, so fire up that laptop and keep checking Bloggers for McCrory and The Political Nerd for updates!