Machine gun socials return to the 8th

In 2010, Republican congressional candidate Tim D'Annunzio made national headlines when he hosted a pair of machine gun socials in the 8th District.

Now Republican Vernon Robinson is picking up where D'Annunzio left off.

Robinson, from Winston-Salem, plans to run in the 8th District in 2012. He's sponsoring a machine gun fundraiser on Sept. 26 at Eagle Guns in Concord. For $50 supporters can fire a magazine of a fully-automatic submachine gun. There will be a door prize: a new AR-15.

"By hosting this event, Vernon Robinson declares his solidarity with those who enjoy shooting and owning guns," Robinson campaign director Steve Arnold said.

Robinson, who has run for office before, has a way of making news.

As a Winston-Salem alderman in 2004, he bought a one-ton granite marker with the Ten Commandments on one side and the Bill of Rights on the other and planted it at City Hall. The city hauled it away.

He ran for Congress that year in a 5th District Republican primary. Before losing a runoff to Virginia Foxx, he raised almost $3 million from a network of supporters across the country.

In 2006 he ran against Democrat Brad Miller in the 13th District. Making immigration an issue in that race, he ran a TV ad with mariachi music in the background.

"If Miller had his way," it said. "America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals."

Convention kick-off rally set for Sept. 6

Organizers of the 2012 Democratic National Convention plan to hold a "year-out" rally at Time-Warner Cable Arena on Sept. 6, a year to the day before President Obama is expected to claim nomination for a second term.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will be on hand, according to a source close to the convention. The event will be open to the public.

Tickets are free. For information, call 704.330.2012 or email info@clt2012.com.

The convention is scheduled to open on Sept. 3, 2012.

Veep candidate? Amid buzz, Rubio to give foreign policy address at Helms Center

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, shortlisted as a running mate by at least one GOP presidential candidate, will deliver his first major foreign policy speech next month at Wingate University.

Rubio's speech, titled "The Role of America in the World," is part of the Jesse Helms lecture series sponsored by the Jesse Helms Center. It will come on the heels of his first speech off the Senate floor and outside Florida next week at California's Ronald Reagan Presidential.

Rubio, elected last November, was recently mentioned by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as a potential vice presidential candidate along with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Rubio appeals to Republicans on many levels. He's Hispanic, from Florida and embraced by tea party activists.

“He fits every box you’re looking for when you’re looking for a VP, and then some,” Republican strategist Chip Saltsman told Politico this week. “He’s young, he’s good-looking, he’s smart, he’s done a good job his first (year) in the Senate, he’s energetic, he’s got a great family. He’s the total package in a lot of different ways. Whoever the nominee is, Marco’s gonna be at the top of a very short list.”

Former Senate candidate deployed to Afghanistan

Cal Cunningham, a former state senator who lost a U.S. Senate primary last year, is heading to Afghanistan.

Four years ago, the Lexington Democrat, a lawyer in the Army Reserve, deployed to Iraq. A senior prosecutor, he worked out of one of Saddam Hussein's old palaces. Now he's on his way to Afghanistan.

He'll be one of two lawyers working with a special operations task force and even doing “Village Stability Operations.” He writes about the new deployment on his blog.

He'll leave his wife and two children in Lexington, including the daughter born after Sept. 11, 2001.

"We were pregnant with Caroline on that horrifying September day ten years ago," he wrote. "If I can play some small role in helping make a world safer for her and for Will – and their generation – the time will be worth it. Given the stakes for our country, I am compelled to try."

Last year Cunningham lost a Democratic Senate primary runoff to Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

Big Guy likely to pass on 8th District rematch

It's no surprise that a lot of Republicans are salivating over the new 8th Congressional District.

It's not the same district that has twice elected Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. It still runs from Charlotte east. But now there's fewer Democrat-heavy, Mecklenburg County precincts and new, mostly Republican voters in Randolph, Davidson and Davie counties.

In 2008 Barack Obama carried the current district with more than 52 percent of the vote. Republican John McCain would have carried the newly configured 8th with almost 58 percent of the vote.

So far GOP state Reps. Jerry Dockham of Davidson County and Justin Burr of Stanly County as well as former Iredell County commissioner Scott Keadle have expressed an interest. Not on the list? Harold Johnson, aka "The Big Guy" from his years as a WSOC TV sportscaster.

In 2010 Johnson won a GOP primary but lost to Kissell. Now, he says, he's "probably not" going to run. And Johnson, a longtime Statesville resident who moved to Cabarrus County to run two years ago, has moved back to Statesville.

Kissell, by the way, already has announced that he'll run again.

4:25: correction made. Johnson ran in 2010, not 2008.

N.C. Blue Dogs go for Cut, Cap & Balance

On the day they faced another hurdle to their re-election hopes, Democratic U.S. Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina voted with Republicans on a bill to cut federal spending and call for a balanced budget amendment.

Shuler and McIntyre are members of the "Blue Dog" coalition of conservative Democrats. They were the only Democrats from the Carolinas to vote Tuesday for a GOP-sponsored "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill that set out strict spending limits and calls for a balanced budget amendment in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

In separate news releases today, the group Americans for Limited Government called each man's vote "nothing short of heroic." Each, it said, is "one of the last true Blue Dogs, putting country ahead of party."

On Tuesday, Republican state lawmakers unveiled new congressional districts that put McIntyre, of the 7th District, in the 8th District with fellow Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. And Shuler saw his 11th district get slightly more Republican.

One Republican lawmaker, state Sen. David Rouzer, today announced his candidacy for the 7th District.

Doles host McCrory fundraiser

Republican Pat McCrory will tap into some Washington coffers Tuesday night with a fundraiser at the home of former U.S. Sens. Bob and Elizabeth Dole.

The Doles will host the former Charlotte mayor at their condo in the Watergate.

McCrory is an unannounced candidate for governor, hoping for a rematch of his 2008 race against Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

The cost of Tuesday's reception: $4,000 a couple or $2,500 per individual.

"A lot (of people) have been invited, I'm just looking forward to seeing a lot of good friends," said Elizabeth Dole. "Pat is ... a very articulate guy with a good message."

Bowles heading to Treasury?

Politico's Mike Allen had this item in today's Playbook:

"THE BEST SUCCESSOR, if Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner takes the exit ramp this fall (after a debt-ceiling deal and the release of his white paper on corporate tax reform, but not before non-stop politicking): Erskine Bowles, White House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton. The West Wing is a little scratchy about remarks Bowles made during Simpson-Bowles deficit commission, but he's credible and confirmable. You also have to list Roger Altman, investment banker and deputy Treasurey Secretary under Clinton, just because he always gets mentioned."

Bowles, a Charlottean, said in an email this morning that he's not interested.

"I am not interested in any full time job in the public or private sector. I am looking forward to being useful in part-time endeavors in the for profit, not for profit and public sectors of the economy."

Plus, he was leaving for the beach with his grandchildren. "Life is good," he aid, "And I'm very happy."

Late nights, short tempers

Tempers are fraying and patience is wearing at the General Assembly as lawmakers finish their third consecutive week of marathon sessions and late nights.

When House Speaker Thom Tillis tried to introduce a so-called supplemental calendar of bills at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, GOP Rep. Edgar Starnes of Hickory stood up and objected. Other Republicans quietly cheered as Tillis gave in and adjourned the session at midnight.

"Thom said this would not be the pace if we would have to go through if he became speaker, I reminded him of that," Starnes said this morning. "It's insanity when you start trying to go to the middle of the night trying to pass legislation. There was no way we could have finished that calendar before 5 a.m."

Late-night sessions started two weeks ago with the budget and override of Gov. Bev Perdue's veto. They continued last week with crossover. And they've continued this week. Bills fly from one chamber to the other with major or minor adjustments. Committee meetings are hastily called. Members never know how long that day's or night's session will last.

Republican Rep. Ric Killian of Charlotte said other members are concerned about the pace.

"We have maintained a very, very aggressive pace," he said, "and it's taking its toll on the members."

Another veteran Republican agreed. "You're tired, you can't focus, half the time members don't know what's going on," said the lawmaker, who didn't want to be identified.

Tillis has said he's trying to stick to a promise to adjourn early. Spokesman Jordan Shaw acknowledged "it's been a breakneck three weeks."

"We're trying to be efficient," he said. "We've got to remember we're human."

UPDATE: Tillis said he and other leaders had already decided to end Thursday night's session when Starnes stood up. He defended the push to get things done, and get out.

"The deadline is driven more by our judgment that most of these matters have been fully debated in committee," he said. "Every day we're here is a day people are away from their jobs at a cost (to the state) of $40,000 a day or $1 million a month."

Perdue, McCrory dig for dollars in Charlotte

The two likely opponents in next years gubernatorial race are raising money in Charlotte this week.

Democrat Bev Perdue held a Monday night fundraiser at the home of Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. Sponsors included investor Mark Erwin, former textile exec Crandall Bowles and Charlotte Chamber Chairman Pat Rodgers.

Republican Pat McCrory, meanwhile, will attend a Thursday night fundraiser at the home of Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant. Guests were to include House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate GOP Leader Phil Berger.

Given this week's rush to adjournment in Raleigh, neither is likely to attend.

Tillis & Berger stump for 'presumed' gubernatorial candidate

House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate GOP leader Phil Berger will take a break from the General Assembly this month to raise money for former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

The two are scheduled to appear at a June 16 fundraiser for McCrory in Charlotte. The two have lent their names to similar events in Raleigh and Winston-Salem and are scheduled at a McCrory event tonight in Wilmington.

McCrory, who lost the governor's race to Democrat Bev Perdue in 2008, has been itching for a rematch ever since. He and the legislative leaders are mutually supportive. This week he praised the Republican budget after weighing in on it in private.

The current Senate version, unlike the first, retains money for the Charlotte light rail that McCrory has long championed.

Jack Hawke, McCrory's general consultant, said the Charlotte event could raise $200,000 for the still unannounced campaign. And so far, the former Charlotte mayor is the only Republican seriously mentioned as a candidate.

"Everywhere he goes he is kind of a presumed candidate," Hawke said.

ISO female, must love politics, long meetings

When Charlotte City Council member Edwin Peacock tried to find a woman council candidate, recently he did what a lot of men do: go to an Internet dating site.

Peacock, a Republican, filed a profile on eHarmony.

Peacock said he did it as a joke to make a point before a speech to a Republican women's group. Women, whether Democrat or Republican, tend to do well at the polls in Mecklenburg County.

"I was looking for a female, and what do people do in today's world?" he says. "They go to eHarmony or an Internet dating site."

Peacock is the only Republican at-large council member. He believes that a strong ticket would not only help him but his party.

He's not sure whether anybody responded to his eHarmony post. He filled out his profile under the name Grand O. Party and gave the county GOP web site as his own.

"It was a good joke, it got their attention," he says.

Myrick's son following her footsteps?

Twenty-four years ago, Dan Forest was a student at UNC Charlotte when his mother, Sue Myrick, was elected mayor of Charlotte.

Now he's running for office himself.

The Raleigh Republican is campaigning to be North Carolina's lieutenant governor. Though the race has stayed far below the radar, he's been speaking to GOP groups around the state.

Forest, 43, is the son of Myrick and her first husband, the late Jim Forest. He attended East Mecklenburg High School before transferring to a school in Columbia. He practiced architecture for 23 years before stepping down in late 2009 to start a political advocacy group. He left in March to start his campaign.

Filing for the office won't start until February. One other Republican, Wake County commissioner Tony Gurley, also is running.

Forest said his mother, a member of Congress since 1995, may campaign with him before its over.

"I think she will be very willing to once the time comes," he said. "She'll be in campaign mode too."

Foxx to mark his 40th with fundraiser

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will celebrate his 40th birthday a day early tonight with a high-dollar fundraiser for his re-election campaign.

Democratic U.S. Rep Heath Shuler is scheduled to be on hand for the fundraiser at the southeast Charlotte home of Cameron and DeeDee Harris.

The couple is among 30 'Platinum" sponsors of the event each donating $4,000 to the Foxx campaign. Among the others are NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick and former county commissioner Dan Murrey, whom Foxx just named executive director of Charlotte's host committee for the 2012 Democratic convention.

Another 24 individuals or couples are "Gold" or "Silver" sponsors paying up to $2,000 each.

It's the second major fundraiser for Foxx, who has yet to formally announce a campaign for a second term. In his 2009 race against Republican John Lassiter, Foxx raised more than $640,000.

His likely Republican opponent this year, businessman Scott Stone, says he's shooting for $500,000 by Election Day. He said he's already gotten support from traditional GOP donors and members of the business community.

"They not only believe I can win, they believe with their help I will win," Stone said.

Stone plans to hold a fundraiser on his own birthday June 2. He'll be 43.

Billboard bill not popular in sponsor's hometown

N.C. Sen. Harry Brown of Jacksonville is the main sponsor of a bill sought by the outdoor advertising industry that would ease restrictions on billboards and make state law trump any local ordinances that govern them. That's not a very popular idea with at least one official in his hometown. "I don't like any proposal that removes from local government the right to regulate land use standards within their jurisdiction," says Jacksonville City Manager Richard Woodruff. The N.C. League of Municipalities, Association of County Commissioners and many other local officials oppose Brown's bill, in large part because it would override local regulations such as Jacksonville's sign ordinance, Durham's billboard ban and Charlotte's tree ordinance.

Jacksonville's ordinance, for example, says "because of their sheer size, proximity to buildings and potential to storm damage, these signs can be aesthetically undesirable, create traffic hazards and present dangers to adjoining properties."

The bill, now in the Senate Transportation Committee, also would allow advertisers to replace existing signs with digital ones and increase the area from which trees and other shrubs could be cleared around the signs.

Woodruff, a former planner, says the measure also "would create a system of regulatory ripples that could substantially affect the look and feel of your community."

Republicans pounce on Duke's convention loan guarantee

Republicans have jumped all over our report Saturday about Duke Energy Corp.'s decision to guarantee a $10 million line of credit to organizers of Charlotte's Democratic National Convention.

The GOP and other critics call it a form of corporate contribution that flies in the face of the Democrats' plan for a "people's convention." New rules for the first time ban corporate cash contributions and limit the size of individual donations.

"The DNC Reneges on its Convention Funding Promises Barely a Month after Announcing Them," a GOP press release said.

A blog on the conservative Weekly Standard was headlined: "DNC Strikes a $10 Million Deal with Cap and Trade Lobbyist." Duke supported so-called cap-and-trade legislation.

And Politico ran its version of the story, echoing a Republican spokeswoman saying the Democratic ban on corporate money was "nothing more than a PR move."

Politico quoted Democratic spokesman Brad Woodhouse. "If they think our ban on corporate contributions and our cap on individual contributions is so feckless," he said, "then they should be able to abide by the same restrictions."

National Enquirer's Edwards' tipster outs herself

As John Edwards' legal saga builds to an apparent climax at a Raleigh courthouse, the woman who tipped the National Enquirer to his affair has spilled the details in a story for the Huffington Post.

Pigeon O'Brien, who has been living in Asheville, describes how she'd been a friend of the woman then named Lisa Druck since the 1980s. After Druck changed her name to Rielle Hunter, and got involved with a man named John from North Carolina, O'Brien found herself keeping an increasingly uncomfortable secret.

Leaks spouted from various sources. Her phone rang with queries. That's when she says she decided to spill what she knew.

"I made one phone call simply to take the pressure off myself because I couldn't live with it anymore," O'Brien told me this morning.

The Enquirer contracted O'Brien to silence -- she said she doesn't recall how much she was paid -- and went on to expose the affair in 2007. The next year it disclosed that he had fathered Hunter's daughter.

A grand jury in Raleigh is reportedly near the end of a two-year investigation into whether Edwards violated campaign finance laws in covering up the affair. This week the former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate added former White House counsel Greg Craig to his legal team.

Hunter has been living in Charlotte with her daughter. Edwards is holed up at home in Chapel Hill. O'Brien is watching the story unfold from the sidelines.

"I just think it's important to realize the truth comes out in a million different ways," she said.

NBC reports charges may be near for Edwards

NBC News is reporting this morning that charges may be near in the marathon federal investigation of former Democratic U.S. Sen. John Edwards.

Prosecutors are believed to have been looking into whether Edwards, a former vice presidential candidate, violated campaign laws in covering up his affair with Rielle Hunter, a former campaign videographer who now lives in Charlotte.

The federal grand jury in Raleigh that's heard evidence in the case isn't scheduled to meet again until March. But NBC reported the 2-year-old investigation is at "a decisive point."


"Sources close to the investigation say Justice Department attorneys are now conducting a final review of evidence, and an indictment could come within days or weeks," the network said. "In what could be an ominous development for Edwards, prosecutors already are making arrangements to record the sworn
testimony of a key witness for possible use in a future trial, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"'It would be surprising now if he wasn't indicted,' said Stephen Saltsburg, a former federal prosecutor and George Washington University law professor. 'If John Edwards was aware that the money was being paid to hide his mistress .... and it was done to help his campaign, then he's in trouble'."


Edwards attorney, Wade Smith of Raleigh, told NBC that he doesn't believe "there is evidence that John violated any election laws."

Prosecutors reportedly plan to record the testimony of 100-year-old Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. Former Edwards aide Andrew Young -- who once claimed paternity of Edwards' child with Hunter -- has written that the wealthy Mellon gave $700,000 that was used for Hunter's living expenses. He called it "Bunny money."

Bowles: Obama budget "nowhere near" what's needed

President Obama's proposed budget, out today, calls for about $1.1 trillion in spending cuts and tax hikes over the next decade to reduce the deficit and ultimately the federal debt. But for Charlotte's Erskine Bowles, the cuts go "nowhere near where they will have to go to resolve our fiscal nightmare."

That's what Bowles told the Washington Post this weekend. He co-chaired the president's deficit reduction commission that called for deep cuts in areas such as defense and entitlements, including Social Security.

Social Security, Medicare and other so-called mandatory spending make up most of the federal budget.

GOP businessman considering mayoral run

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx has been basking in a flattering spotlight since last week's announcement that the 2012 Democratic National Convention is coming to town. But before he settles in as the official host, he's got a little matter to deal with -- getting re-elected.

Foxx, a Democrat, plans to kick off his re-election bid March 10. He sent out a fund-raising letter last week, the same day the convention was announced.

So far the only Republican talking about a challenge is businessman Scott Stone, former chair of the city's Business Advisory Committee. He's also founder of the North Carolina Heroes Fund, a non-profit dedicated to supporting military families suffering financial hardships.

"Officially, I'm considering it," Stone said of a possible run. "But understanding it's going to take a lot of time energy and money to win the race. So If I'm going to run, I'm going to have to make a decision soon."

The cost of mayoral races has climbed. In 2009, Foxx raised $642,000 in his race against Republican John Lassiter. That was second only to former Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who raised more than $800,000, most of which he transferred to his gubernatorial campaign the next year.

Stone is a relative unknown who would need money to change that. Higher profile Republicans are reluctant to take on an incumbent riding the wave of a national convention.

“I’m always keeping my options open," says city council member Edwin Peacock . "(But) you see the writing on the wall. Basically what I see now is the mayor's firmly in the lead."

Stone acknowledges that the convention "changes the dynamics."

"I don’t think it dissuades me from running," he says. "I'm concerned with the Democratic National Convention coming here there are a lot of potential costs, and someone with a business background should make sure it doesn’t bankrupt the city. Having the (convention) here is a great opportunity for the city as long as we manage the cost."