richard moore

Help me out, BlueNC, font of information that you are.

I'm looking to expand my most recent blog post.

I know that Richard Moore "believe[s] that there is Biblical evil that lives among us, and for some crimes you give up the right to be here on Earth with the rest of us," (source) and that Beverly Perdue "support[s] capital punishment as an option, but...also favor[s] the current moratorium [then] in place while constitutional issues are being studied." (source)

How do your (least) favorite candidates feel about the death penalty?

With her campaign tottering on the brink of disaster a few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton set an increasingly desperate course in pursuit of her presidential aspirations. She participated in and condoned the smearing of her honorable opponent, by joining Republicans and their media whores in a full-scale war of trivial pursuit. She has sifted through Obama's every word in search of nuggets to exploit, painting a grossly distorted picture of a dedicated public servant, casting doubts about his integrity and patriotism, and demonstrating to my complete satisfaction that there is nothing she wouldn't do to win the nomination. Her campaign has been an ugly, vicious affair, a steady stream of lies about Obama and about her own meager accomplishments as First Lady.

I guess when you're a Democratic big cheese who is up against a big legal wall, you hire a big legal mouthpiece based on his experience, not on the fact that he's a Republican anti-planning property-rights lunatic.

Public Policy Polling has released its latest poll numbers and it looks like the frontrunners are those candidates tending to run more positive campaigns. The U.S. Senate results are a bit skewed because Jim Neal hasn't started his television advertising yet and the negative campaigning from the Neal camp has been limited to press releases that resulted in an article or two and a couple of blog posts that were seen by a limited market. There are three weeks left. Plenty of time for Moore and Neal to make up ground, but I think Hillary might be done. Full release found here.

U.S. Senate
Kay Hagan 28
Jim Neal 7
Howard Staley 3

I'm glad to see, as we're getting closer and closer to May 6, that posts pointing out the real differences between candidates are making it to the front page. As I write, there are a couple of what I'll call "clarifying" posts on the presidential candidates, and I've read the posts of the past week or so outlining careful analyses of the U.S. Senate race candidates. I hope this new comfort level with stating truths will extend to the governor's race too. In my opinion, there's plenty of room to state truths and to "clarify" in that race.

Last week, Bev Perdue announced that she wouldn't run any negative ads through the rest of the primary. I was one of those who applauded that decision, both for the good of the party and for her own good.

A bittersweet story today in the News and Observer is guaranteed to ratchet up debate in the gubernatorial race. Here's my take on where things stand.

McCrory: No moratorium.
In his continuing lurch toward the extremist right wing base of Jack Hawke's shrinking Republican Party in North Carolina, Myers Park Pat McCrory insists that there be no moratorium on the death penalty. Despite mountains of evidence that capital punishment is pretty much a stacked deck against poor people and blacks, McCrory stands with a straight face in front of his white Republican donors and says he will oppose ANY moratorium on the death penalty. It's all part of his plan for "safety and security," unless you happen to be a poor, black man like Glen Chapman.

Richard Moore: No moratorium.
His reasons may be different, but Richard Moore comes down in the same place as McCrory. Moore cites his time as a federal prosecutor, saying that he believes it is necessary for some crimes.

"I do believe in capital punishment," he said. "I do believe that there is biblical evil that lives among us and for some crimes you give up the right to be here on the Earth with the rest of us."

As you may know, one of our frequent visitors, Radiogirl is none other than Laura Leslie of WUNC-FM. She's a good sport, a great writer, and a tireless reporter ... and her take on our governors debate last night is well worth reading.

Still, it’s an important first– especially because it puts candidates face to face with informed voters who want to know a lot about a lot more things than the race is currently addressing. Both Moore and Perdue played it safe tonight, which was the politically smart thing to do. But I’d bet they both came away with an enhanced understanding of the difference between what grassroots Dems care about and what big party donors do.

Welcome State Treasurer Richard Moore and thank you for participating in the BlueNC Gubernatorial Debate.

Richard Moore and Bev Perdue will face off in the NC primary election on May 6, 2008. Tonight is your chance to ask Richard Moore the questions that will help you decide how you will vote in May. Please follow below the fold to view the debate, leave questions and respond to Richard Moore's answers to your questions.