The State Employees Association of North Carolina has launched a Web site and mail campaign to counter Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina's efforts on health care reform.
SEANC's campaign is a reaction to a mailer by Blue Cross that urged people to lobby Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to oppose the public option for health insurance included in Democratic bills. The flier followed a premium increase by the company, which didn't help their message.
SEANC says "Stop" with its Web site, stopbcbs.com.
"Blue Cross Blue Shield is afraid, quite frankly, of competition," said SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope. "They're trying to protect the millions of dollars they pay their senior management team."
Lew Borman, a spokesman for Blue Cross, said the insurer supports health care reform, just not the public option.
"We're fully engaged in putting facts out and giving a better understanding," Borman said. "I'm not sure how [Cope's] attacks on this company move that forward."
SEANC has also sent a mailer to its 55,000 members urging them to lobby Hagan to support the public option.
Fetzer traces scandal
State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer says the genesis for the current run of corruption in North Carolina government began in 1977, when North Carolina changed the state constitution to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms.
That prompted the legislature to end the practice of limiting its leaders to one term, leading to entrenched power in Raleigh.
"I trace the end of good government back to 1976, when Jim Hunt changed the constitution to succeed himself," Fetzer said during a meeting with editors and reporters at The News & Observer. "I would personally advocate that we pass a constitutional amendment to get the governor back to one term."
Fetzer said he was saddened to see the campaign finance investigations surrounding former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley, noting that he often chatted with Easley while hitting balls on a public driving range off Yonkers Road on Sunday afternoons.
"On a personal level, I like Mike Easley," Fetzer said. "I think he has made some horrible mistakes. I think he and the state of North Carolina are going to pay a price for those mistakes.
"I do think the culture of corruption will be an issue in the next election cycle," Fetzer said.
Fetzer also cast doubt on whether he would seek a second term as state party chairman when his two years are up.
Having recently married, Fetzer said he was looking forward to raising a family and doing something other than politics.
"I think one term as state chairman is gracious plenty," he said.
Health care backing dips
Support for Democratic health care reform proposals is slipping, according to a poll released by the Civitas Institute.
According to the poll, conducted Oct. 20 and 21, just over 49 percent of 600 likely voters said they disapproved of the current plan, while about 40 percent supported it.
About 10 percent had no opinion.
In Civitas' September poll, 47percent of voters opposed the plan while 47.6 percent supported it.
The poll asked: "Do youapprove or disapprove of the health care plan being proposed by Barack Obama and Congress?"
It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Charlotte bucks trend
Charlotte defied what there was of a national tide Tuesday night, electing a Democratic mayor and a Democratic majority on the city council.
Anthony Foxx became Charlotte's first Democratic mayor in 22 years, defeating Republican John Lassiter on a night when Republicans won the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races.
In seven campaigns over 14years, outgoing Mayor Pat McCrory never faced a strong Democratic opponent. He does, however, enjoy wide bipartisan support that a recent poll indicated was helping Lassiter.
