Apr 21 2008
Observer Takes Apart Rucho Ad on Dulin
Anybody who lives in the Charlotte Metro area, like myself, and listens to WBT 1110AM (99.3FM) has undoubtedly heard Bob Rucho’s radio ad going after his primary opponent Andy Dulin. Rucho and Dulin are vying for the Republican nomination to run in the general election for the District 39 seat in the North Carolina Senate. The incumbent, Robert Pittenger, is not seeking reelection to the Senate as he is running for Lieutenant Governor.
Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer has taken the ad apart piece by piece and thoroughly examined its validity. It was interesting reading and very informative because based simply on Rucho’s ad the first impression I got was that Andy Dulin is a scumbag. I’m sure others have gotten the same impression. Here is the analysis of the ad. The results are mixed.
The ad:
“Charlotte City Councilman Andy Dulin says he supports Pat McCrory. Let’s take a closer look at the facts to find out the whole truth.
“FACT — Andy Dulin didn’t support Pat McCrory … when Pat McCrory needed … Dulin’s vote to support his veto of a Democrat Property Tax increase — Andy Dulin didn’t even bother to show up.
The Reality:
The tax veto: Dulin was on a scheduled vacation when the Democratic-controlled council voted 7-3 to override McCrory’s veto of the 2007 tax hike. With seven Democrats voting to override, his vote wouldn’t have made a difference.
So, this is one of those twisted truths kind of deal. True, Dulin didn’t show up for the vote, but he had a legit reason for not doing so and as pointed out, his vote wouldn’t have made any difference.
“FACT — Higher taxes … Andy Dulin has voted to raise Rental Car Taxes …
The rental car tax: Dulin voted with the majority to ask legislators to approve the tax, which supports nearly half of the more than $150 million in cultural projects being built around Wachovia’s new tower on South Tryon Street. Dulin spokesman Mike Ellison said Rucho’s attack is “an attack on the arts community, an attack on the banks, an attack on uptown Charlotte.”
This one is a valid criticism of Dulin’s record. He did vote to raise taxes. Granted, it’s a rental car tax, not that big of a deal in my book. It’s not like he voted to raise property taxes or something that effects most of the residents, but a tax increase nonetheless. This is definitely more fair than the first.
“FACT — lavish spending … Andy Dulin ate a lavish dinner with Washington lobbyists at a swanky Capitol Hill restaurant paid for with $3,200 of your tax dollars.
Lavish dinner: Dulin was among several council members who ate at Washington’s Primi Piatti restaurant last year. The city picked up the $3,264 tab, which covered meals for the council members and four city staffers, four lobbyists and 10 congressional staffers.
Again, factually true, but when you find out all the details, it’s not as bad as the ad makes it sound. Should the city be paying the tab for these kinds of dinners? More often, probably not, but we don’t know the context of this particular evening.
“FACT — even more lavish spending … Andy Dulin voted to spend $15,000 of your tax dollars to send he [sic] and his fellow Councilmen on a first-class private retreat to an exclusive Pinehurst Resort.”
Retreat spending: Dulin and a majority of other council members voted in January 2006 to hold their retreat at the Holly Inn in Pinehurst, a resort community about 80 miles east of Charlotte. The council ended up spending about $21,000 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro instead.
Now this is a good one to hammer Dulin on. The City Council got a lot of criticism for this on the local talk radio. There was really no need for them to leave town and spend this kind of money for this retreat. They didn’t accomplish anything there they couldn’t have done here at home.
So there you have it, the facts behind “the facts.” Props to Mr. Morrill for sorting all of that out. This is an excellent example of how effective these ads can be. Without really looking into the details behind them they can paint a much uglier picture and how often does the average Joe Blow that hears one of these on the radio or sees one on TV really take the time to find out the whole story?
