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Backfire! NC GOP-er Delivers Anti-Republican Survey Comments To Dem Gov

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State Sen. Phil Berger (R-NC) and Gov. Bev Purdue (D-NC)

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When North Carolina state senator Phil Berger (R) trucked a wheelbarrow stacked with Republican surveys into the governor's office, he thought he was delivering a neat blow to Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

According to The News & Observer, the 3,000 or so surveys, filled out by prospective Republican voters, included questions such as "Do you think death panels made up of government bureaucrats should decide if your loved ones live or die?"

But it seems Berger didn't actually read the surveys before wheeling them in during a press conference in which he attacked Perdue's tax policies, among other things. When Perdue's staff skimmed 1,000 or so of the surveys, they found comments that may have given Berger second thoughts.

"I am embarrassed to be associated with this organization. Your tactics are disgusting and you're going to lose a generation of voters," was one, Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson told the News.

"Stop wording questions so geared up to get the answers you want and start wording them to actually find out the people's opinion, not just confirm your own," read another.

Pearson also said she found a $50 check among the surveys, a campaign contribution made out to Berger. The governor's office will forward the check to him, she said.

Other questions on the survey included:

"Do you oppose Bev Perdue and the Democrats' plan to pass a job-killing $1.6 billion dollar [sic] tax increase in the middle of a recession?"

"Do you support sending the North Carolina National Guard to help secure our southern border?"

Comments (38) | Join the Conversation!

Recommend Recommend (2)

October 22, 2009 2:30 PM   

Pesky South Carolin-ians, always illegally immigrating to North Carolina!

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October 22, 2009 3:34 PM    in reply to Re: Your Brains

If I lived in NC, I'd want to keep out those pesky southerners...like Mark Sanford, Joe "YOU LIE!" Wilson, Kristin Maguire (aka "Bridget Keeney")...

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October 22, 2009 4:37 PM    in reply to Re: Your Brains

Hey, it's real a problem.

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October 22, 2009 4:45 PM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

That it is, SC is always giving us a bad name as well.

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October 22, 2009 8:56 PM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

I agree! They could start by blockading this place:

http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com/

Worst tourist trap on the entire east coast.

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October 23, 2009 2:53 PM    in reply to BalRog

No way. South of the Border is the happiest place on earth.

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October 22, 2009 2:30 PM   

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

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October 22, 2009 2:48 PM   

What's going on in the republican party did some put something in the water? OMG

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October 22, 2009 2:55 PM   

Even the crazees in in NC don't want to catch what the uber-crazees in SC have. That's a scary thought.

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October 22, 2009 2:56 PM   

Isn't that Ricky Gervais? I didn't know he was playing a NC state rep!

Brilliant.

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October 22, 2009 3:07 PM   

The GOP pols have become so accusomed to having their bobbleheads toe that party line they never even considered that some people would think for themselves.

Atrocious! Someone suggsting they consider what their party members ar ethinking? That Party tells their members what to think!!!

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LFC

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October 22, 2009 3:09 PM   

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

-- Dean Vernon Wormer, "Animal House", 1978

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October 22, 2009 3:30 PM   

As a lifelong North Carolinian, I fully support sending the NC National Guard to help secure our southern boarder. Living this close to South Carolina can be absolutely terrifying.

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October 22, 2009 11:09 PM    in reply to wilsunshines

Good one.

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October 22, 2009 3:30 PM   

You've got the incompetents, Pappy! [Apologies to the movie HUD)

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October 22, 2009 3:38 PM   

Time for a new survey. Something like;

Do you think blindly following along with the GOP smear campaign is good policy?
Do you oppose everything or just the President?
Are you more offended by South Carolina style politics in North Carolina or by other illegal immigrants.

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October 22, 2009 4:01 PM   

I know it's trite, but I've got to wonder if the modern-day "Know Nothing" party is using Breslin's "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" as a manual.

A great read, but somewhat lacking as the basis for a political strategy.

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October 22, 2009 4:07 PM   

With enemies like this, who needs friends?

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October 22, 2009 4:46 PM   

I think Bev just dined on a Philburger

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October 22, 2009 4:50 PM   

I think the good Senator now has more than tar on his heel and in fact he might be up to his eyeballs in the stuff or maybe he just was smoking something more than tobacco. Once again the truth helps to set people free from a pack of lies and the right wing is hoisted upon its own paper petard.

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October 22, 2009 4:59 PM   

"Do you promote the passing of a Constitutional Amendment to stop Al Franken from continuing to ravage your teenage daughter?"

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October 22, 2009 5:11 PM    in reply to Clavis

Al should stay away from teenagers but he's welcome to ravage me anytime he wants.

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October 22, 2009 6:10 PM   

Its definitely in the water friends.

Remember when McCain sent a letter to the Russian UN Envoy asking for a campaign donation? Oops! McCain asks Russia's U.N. envoy for money!

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October 22, 2009 7:38 PM   

Well, given how South Carolinians have been behaving of late, perhaps they do need to secure their southen border!

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October 22, 2009 9:04 PM    in reply to dougom

Of late? South Carolina's politicians have been a festering boil on the union's ass since the Second Continental Congress.

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October 23, 2009 9:59 AM    in reply to The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve

But they can definitely sing!

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October 22, 2009 9:07 PM   

I guess that's what you get for making anti-intellectualism a key part of your strategy for a decade or two.

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October 22, 2009 9:55 PM   

Let the "DEMOCRATS FOR PALIN!" chapters sprout everywhere -- with a Party fronted by Rush, Cheney, and Sarah, the only question is:

How small did you want to be?

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October 22, 2009 10:25 PM   

Hey NC! You can have our Sheriff Joe Arpaio if you want. He's kind of Arizona's answer to the confederate flag, and he's real concerned about ill eagles.

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November 22, 2009 7:03 PM    in reply to Aatos

Ol' Sherrif Joe would just love that South of the Border place! He'd have Pedro locked up in no time!

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October 22, 2009 10:30 PM   

Phil Berger is terrible, shame on him for doing something so immature and counterproductive. He and most of the Republicans in the state legislature did very little other than complain during the most recent legislative session and if they had their way lots of teachers would have been fired and there would have been extremely deep cuts in education.

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October 22, 2009 10:33 PM   

Phil Berger is terrible, shame on him for doing something so immature and counterproductive. He and most of the Republicans in the state legislature did very little other than complain during the most recent legislative session and if they had their way lots of teachers would have been fired and there would have been extremely deep cuts in education.

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October 22, 2009 11:30 PM   

how embarrasing.

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October 23, 2009 9:44 AM   

The GOP has been hijacked by far right-wingers who have adopted the creed that it doesn't matter what you do, so long as you harm the Obama administration. This cynical approach is driving many thinking Republicans and many centrists away from the party. It will be a while before the GOP finds itself back in steady hands - I predict after they get steam-rollered in the next elections there will be a lot of soul searching in the RNC.

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fpa

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October 23, 2009 11:53 AM   

They do know that 'South of the Border' is a tourist trap gimmick shopping center on I-95 and not an actual Mexican settlement, right?

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October 23, 2009 6:11 PM   

Actually I find this heartening! Sounds like there are a lot of Republicans and Independents in NC who are paying attention and not about to be duped by jerks like this idiot.

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October 25, 2009 3:22 AM   

The Guard must be needed to prevent another John Edwards migrating up.

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