Easley takes Washington to task in column

Gov. Mike Easley seems to be trying to raise his public profile, recently submitting a guest column to three of the country's largest newspapers: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

In a column titled, "Washington Should Be Ashamed," Easley blasts recent budget cuts made by the U.S. House in health care for the poor, college loan programs and home heating for the poor.

"Some observers believe that these heartless and wrong-headed actions in Washington have finally tipped the balance against the party in power," Easley writes in a column not yet published. "That prediction may or may not come true.

"But regardless of political outcomes, I know for sure that a number of policy makers in Washington should be ashamed of themselves."

The language by Easley, a moderate Democrat, is more partisan and liberal than usual. As a result, it has started tongues wagging.

Is Easley eyeing a challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008? Is he positioning himself to be on the national ticket with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton? Or, as the most veteran Southern Democratic governor, does he just want more of a voice in national politics?

Mac McCorkle, an Easley political adviser, says it's nothing like that.

The governor felt the National Governors Association had not been as a vocal as he would have liked.

"I think he felt like it was time to speak plainly and in his own voice, rather than through gubernatorial organizations, about what is going on in Washington," McCorkle said.

And at the state level ...

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican, is sounding more and more like a gubernatorial candidate these days, sounding off recently on the 2.8-cent increase in the state gas tax that went into effect Jan. 1 -- automatically triggered by a formula based on wholesale gas prices.

Myrick criticized legislative leaders for taking $534 million from the Highway Trust Fund during the past five years to finance other government projects. She said the lawmakers had not kept faith with former Republican Gov. Jim Martin, who had proposed the trust fund.

"If you had not spent this money, as Governor Martin intended, you would not have felt you needed to raise gas taxes on the people of North Carolina," Myrick writes.

The exchange began when House Speaker Jim Black and Senate leader Marc Basnight, both Democrats, wrote to the Tar Heel congressional delegation asking for help funding a heating assistance program and lowering gas prices.

Black said Monday that since the fund was created in 1989, it was always designed for part of the proceeds to go to the state's general fund.

"I was quite surprised by Sue Myrick's negative response to our request for congressional help to bring down gas prices since we've been able to work together in the past," Black said, "but apparently she was having a bad day when she wrote this letter."

Opportunity beckons

Nathan Tabor, a Kernersville businessman who has a high profile in Christian conservative circles, plans to run for the state Senate seat held by veteran Hamilton Horton.

Tabor, 32, unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for the 5th District congressional seat in 2004 that was eventually won by Virginia Foxx.

But Tabor has remained politically visible, doing a 60-second commentary that runs on 270 radio stations that are part of the American Family Association, writing a weekly column and founding and running a Web site called TheConservativeVoice.com. He is also writing a book on the evils of the United Nations.

Tabor said he wasn't looking to run for office again. But when Horton, a Republican, announced he would not seek re-election, Tabor said he decided to jump in.

Tabor said he is interested in such issues as taxes, gay marriage, forced annexation and the availability of driver's licenses to immigrants.

He is vice president of Revival Soy, a family-run company that provides health products.