Pay to Play, the Sequel

Within just a few days last week, the Perdue campaign-fund serial wrapped up, Sweepstakesgate ramped up and Governor McCrory cleaned house at the Board of Elections.
 
Grab a big bag of popcorn and settle in. This will take a while.
 
Especially since a majority of the previous board called for an investigation. And especially since AP reported that most of the $235,000 in contributions from Chase Burns “were delivered to candidates by Moore & Van Allen, a Charlotte law and lobbying firm where Gov. Pat McCrory worked until just days before he was sworn into office in January.”
 
Democrats will pursue this like bloodhounds. They’ll pressure the board, its staff, the media, the DA and watchdog groups to chase it just as hard as they did the Perdue matter.
 
Republicans will doubtless squawk that it’s overkill. But there is karma (and payback) in politics. And the new elections board can’t look like it’s applying a double standard.
 
Republicans will be in the campaign-finance crosshairs. Like Senator Berger on Page 1A of the N&O Sunday.
 
He said indignantly that he “would have walked out of the room” if anyone had tied a campaign contribution to a big corporate tax break. No need to walk, Senator. Nobody in the room needed to say anything. They all understood.
 
As someone said recently, the problem is that what looks slimy to the public passes as savvy in Raleigh.
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Gary Pearce

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Pay to Play, the Sequel

Within just a few days last week, the Perdue campaign-fund serial wrapped up, Sweepstakesgate ramped up and Governor McCrory cleaned house at the Board of Elections.
 
Grab a big bag of popcorn and settle in. This will take a while.
 
Especially since a majority of the previous board called for an investigation. And especially since AP reported that most of the $235,000 in contributions from Chase Burns “were delivered to candidates by Moore & Van Allen, a Charlotte law and lobbying firm where Gov. Pat McCrory worked until just days before he was sworn into office in January.”
 
Democrats will pursue this like bloodhounds. They’ll pressure the board, its staff, the media, the DA and watchdog groups to chase it just as hard as they did the Perdue matter.
 
Republicans will doubtless squawk that it’s overkill. But there is karma (and payback) in politics. And the new elections board can’t look like it’s applying a double standard.
 
Republicans will be in the campaign-finance crosshairs. Like Senator Berger on Page 1A of the N&O Sunday.
 
He said indignantly that he “would have walked out of the room” if anyone had tied a campaign contribution to a big corporate tax break. No need to walk, Senator. Nobody in the room needed to say anything. They all understood.
 
As someone said recently, the problem is that what looks slimy to the public passes as savvy in Raleigh.
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Gary Pearce

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