Carolina Politics Online

Pat McCrory and Michael Munger debated last night on live television.  Bev Perdue did not attend the debate due to other committments.  While there were predictably some agreements between the two there were a few differences as well.

McCrory said that he would push to allow drilling off the coast of North Carolina once a federal moratorium is lifted, arguing it would eventually help increase the supply of oil and bring down gas prices.

Munger said the emphasis on offshore drilling is a gimmick in the short term.

“Both on employment and on the price of oil in the state, because it’s a drop in an ocean of oil,” he said. “On the other hand, it’s clearly the right thing to do.”

I guess we’ll see what the result is come October once the Federal ban on offshore drilling expires.  The expiration itself should help in the short term at least since the prospect of larger supplies of oil down the road should cause speculators to bid the price down.

“High prices are not something we should try to solve by using tax money,” he said.

The price spike drives a reduction in usage, shifts to more fuel efficient cars and pushes the addition of energy efficiencies such as more insulation in homes. High prices also will make alternative energies profitable, he argued.

Munger makes a good point here.  The natural market forces will drive us to persue more fuel efficient vehicles and larger investment in alternative fuels.  We’re already seeing that happen, however that doesn’t mean that more drilling should be off the table, which Munger acknowledged.

On the death penalty, Munger said he did not believe it was being administered equally.

“Your punishment shouldn’t depend on the color of your skin or how much money you have to pay a lawyer,” he said.

He added that he philosophically opposes capital punishment. “I don’t think we have any business with the government killing our citizens,” he said.

McCrory said he would work to reinstate the death penalty in North Carolina, which hasn’t executed an inmate since 2006. But he said as governor he would consider commuting the sentences of people who did not have a fair trial or had inadequate defense.

I support McCrory’s view on reinstating the death penalty.  I certainly understand Munger’s view point on this subject as it is a very delicate matter, but I don’t feel it’s justified that if it’s undoubtedly proven that someone takes another life in cold blood that we, the taxpayers, should be forced to financially support this individual for the next 40 or 50 years while they live out the rest of their life, which they denied the person they murdered, in jail.

After the debate, the two said they disagree on a number of social issues that didn’t come up.

Munger said that, unlike McCrory, he would allow illegal immigrants to study at state community colleges, allow gay marriage and support a much stronger school voucher program.

I do not support illegal immigrants studying at community colleges because I think it only goes to justify their presence here.  On gay marriage I really have no opinion.  If two men or two women want to marry it doesn’t effect my life.  On the voucher program, I am opposed to vouchers, but I do support open enrollment across the board.

From Public Policy Polling:

Beverly Perdue: 44
Pat McCrory: 43
Michael Munger: 6

PPP surveyed 1,060 likely voters from Sept. 17-19. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Michael “Mike” Munger visited Motley’s Barbecue in Piney Creek last Friday as part of his effort to visit all 100 counties in the state prior to Election Day.

The Alleghany News

I really wish that voters were more open minded to candidates outside the two party duopoly.  Michael Munger really is the best candidate to be governor of North Carolina.

He said his party was providing a choice other than the standard two-party system.

Sadly, it’s a choice that 95% of the voters will ignore on Election Day because the Republican/Democrat brainwashing is too ingrained in the minds of Americans.

The Libertarian Party of Buncombe County plans to have its annual convention today at El Chapala Mexican Restaurant.

The party’s candidate for governor, Michael Munger, and its state chairwoman, Barbara Howe, will speak and answer questions.

The convention starts at 7 p.m. at the restaurant, 868 Merrimon Ave.

Asheville Citizen-Times

According to a recent survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee had 46 percent support, Republican McCrory had 37 percent, and Libertarian Mike Munger had 6 percent. Eleven percent were undecided.

Perdue’s support was higher than in previous polls, which pollsters said could be due to former rival Richard Moore’s recent endorsement.

The survey of 823 likely voters was taken July 23 through 27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The N&O

RALEIGH (AP) — The Libertarian candidate for governor has been invited to join Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Beverly Perdue in a televised debate.

Mike Munger said he was asked to participate in the Oct. 15 gubernatorial debate in Charlotte.

Munger still wants to participate in the three remaining debates. McCrory and Perdue already met last month in Atlantic Beach.

The News and Record

This is typical of the media to shut out third party candidates from public debates.  It goes on frequently.  Part of the reason why we can’t break the two party system is because the media perpetutates it by not allowing additional candidates to have equal coverage.

President:

NORTH CAROLINA (SurveyUSA): McCain - 50%, Obama - 45%, Others - 2%.

SOUTH CAROLINA (PPP-D): McCain - 45%, Obama - 39%, Barr - 5%.

U.S. Senate:

SOUTH CAROLINA (PPP-D):

Lindsey Graham (R) - 52%, Bob Conley (D) - 21%, Mayor Mark McBride (Ind.) - 10%.

Governor:

NORTH CAROLINA (SurveyUSA):

Bev Perdue (D) - 47%, Pat McCrory (R) - 46%, Mike Munger (Libertarian) - 3%.

Politics1.com

Under the Dome wrote an article today with the claim that the Libertarian candidates on the North Carolina ballot are spoilers for the Republicans. I patently disagree. Bob Barr and Michael Munger give disaffected voters a real choice in November, Munger more so than Barr, but I’ll get into that later. According to Under the Dome, Barr is polling six percent cutting down McCain’s lead over Obama and Munger is polling at four, contributing to McCrory’s fall from a dead heat with Bev Perdue to a four point loss. While I do not disagree that the majority of those supporters who have defected from the two major parties are mainly Republicans, Libertarians are certainly not guilty of “ruining” the elections for the GOP. The Republicans have dug their own graves.

The Republican Party had its chance to show America what it could do and it bombed. They went back on their word and behaved in the exact same manner they criticized the Democrats on. Unlike Democrats who tend to be more party loyal, it has been my experience that conservatives aren’t. They will withhold their vote and walk away if their candidate does not espouse the principles they expect.

There are plenty of conservatives disenchanted with their choices in November. John McCain is not a hot commodity to your average conservative Republican and McCrory has long been criticized by right wingers for his lack of laissez-faire governance in Charlotte. The Libertarian Party gives these people a choice they can be proud to vote for, a small government, pro liberty choice.

I am actually really disappointed that the percentage Munger is getting is only four. Generally, third party candidates don’t do well as a rule, but with Congress having such historical low approval ratings you’d think people would start looking outside the duopoly for legitimate change. Personally, I think Pat McCrory would be a good governor for North Carolina, but if you really want to cut out the waste and intrusion of Raleigh then Michael Munger is your only option. As far as Barr goes, I am not real enamored with him. I was disappointed with his nomination, so I don’t know what I’m going to do come November. I am definitely not voting for Comrade Obama, but neither McCain nor Barr appeal to me much either.

North Carolina has some of the toughest standards for third-party members seeking a place on the ballot, attorneys argued.

The law requires the parties to collect signatures equal to 2 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial race. That’s more than 69,000 signatures that party members have been struggling to collect, which so far has cost more than $100,000, candidates said.

“All of my efforts to raise funds have been crowded out by the need to get those signatures,” said Michael Munger, chairman of the Duke University political science department and aspiring gubernatorial candidate. “This makes it effectively impossible for any grass-roots political organization to compete.”

For the past four years, Libertarians have been collecting signatures, according to testimony. They are almost near their goal. To help ensure that enough valid signatures are collected, the party aims to get about 100,000 signatures.

The state Green Party has not come close to collecting enough signatures to get a candidate on the ballot. But it continues to try.

The Times-News

A lot of states have these rules rigged like this to keep out third party candidates thus preserving the two party monopoly.  There was a challenge in Pennsylvania in 2006 against a similar requirement there and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled it Constitutional.  Unbelievable.  I believe in that suit the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but they wouldn’t hear the case.  Hopefully, the judges here in North Carolina will make their ruling outside the influence of political party.

Mike Munger is running for governor as a Libertarian, and he says he’s confident in a victory.

It’s all a matter of defining victory in the right terms.

“I’m going to win,” Munger, a political scientist at Duke University, said last week. “All it takes to win is to get 2 percent.”

Two percent of the popular vote in a general election might not sound impressive. But for North Carolina’s Libertarian Party - long hampered by some of the most restrictive ballot-access laws in the nation - it would be a turning point.

If the party gets 2 percent of the vote in the 2008 governor’s race, it will be guaranteed a spot on the 2012 ballot without having to petition for it. This year, and in the past, the party has had to collect tens of thousands of signatures to get on the ballot - a long, expensive endeavor that Munger said makes it impossible for Libertarians to compete with the two major parties.

Winston-Salem Journal

Third parties are not given a fair shake in most elections around the country.  The states have their rules set up to specifically keep third parties out of the equation and protect the two party monopoly.  I have been flabbergasted time and time again by how the courts will rule these regulations legal and constitutional.  It is an inherently unfair system.  There are no two ways about it.

More power to Mr. Munger.  I would love to see a third party candidate break through the political glass ceiling, especially a Libertarian, but we’re going to be in for a long wait.