Perdue's veto iron not as hot as Montana governor's

When it comes to vetoes, Gov. Bev Perdue is no firebrand.

Perdue recently boasted that she had "a quart jar of red ink" in her office that she was prepared to use to veto bills passed by the Republican legislature.

But even though she vetoed two bills this week, she has a way to go to keep pace with fellow Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. On Wednesday, Schweitzer fired up a branding iron with the letters V-E-T-O to reject several bills at a rally on the Capitol steps in Helena.

In all, Schweitzer vetoed 17 bills passed by the Republican-controlled Montana legislature on Wednesday, and he told the Great Falls Tribune he might veto 100 bills this session.

So far, Perdue's veto count this session is four.

Nothing wrong, Wood says

The invitation to an event intended to retire the 2008 campaign debt for State Auditor Beth Wood features the names of a fundraiser and a donor key to the criminal investigation into unreported campaign flights by Perdue's campaign.

The Wood event, scheduled for Thursday evening, is to be held at the home of Michael Hayden, a former fundraiser for Perdue and former Gov. Mike Easley.

Listed as a "special host" on the invitation is New Bern attorney Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr.

Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby is overseeing a probe of Perdue's campaign by the State Bureau of Investigation. Federal authorities have also issued subpoenas compelling potential witnesses with ties to the governor's campaign to appear before a federal grand jury.

Wood said last week that she was aware Hayden and Stubbs had been questioned by investigators, but she did not believe either was at risk of being charged as part of the criminal probe. Wood, who is also from New Bern, said she has known Stubbs for many years.

"Everything I do is above board," said Wood, a Democrat. "Everything is on the up-and-up and legal. I know that Michael was questioned, but I assumed it was over as far as he was concerned. Same with Buzzy."

At issue is the campaign's failure to report 42 flights valued at $56,000 during Perdue's 2008 run for governor, despite having a detailed system in place to track air travel. In some cases, the unreported air travel was provided by donors who had already given Perdue the $4,000 maximum allowed by law.

Stubbs, a longtime friend of the governor and law partner of her deceased first husband, was one of those maxed-out donors. He provided $26,000 in flights that went unreported, according to a State Board of Elections investigation that led to a $30,000 fine against Perdue.

Hayden was a witness in the Board of Elections investigation of Perdue. He was also subpoenaed as part of the board's investigation of Easley.

Hayden testified under oath in 2009 that he had no recollection of authoring an internal memo outlining the Easley campaign's strategy of secretly funneling donations through an account at the N.C. Democratic Party to skirt finance limits.

Easley was convicted in November on a felony charge of knowingly filing a false campaign report.

Willoughby said Friday that his investigation of possible violations involving the Perdue campaign is still active, though he declined to comment further. He has already filed charges against two Perdue donors related to a flight.

Wood said she knew of no legal issue that would preclude her campaign from accepting help from either Hayden or Stubbs. As a host of the event, Stubbs is donating $1,000 to help settle the auditor's remaining $53,000 campaign debt. Other hosts for the "Burn the Note" fundraiser include U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and former Gov. Jim Hunt.

"I report everything I get," Wood said. "I can't help what other people do or don't do."

Ellmers on Medicare

During last fall's campaign, Republican congressional candidate Rene Ellmers hammered Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge for voting to cut Medicare.

One of her TV ads attacked Etheridge for backing the Democrats' health care plan, which makes some future cuts in Medicare.

"Should Congress have cut Medicare a half trillion dollars - to pay for Obamacare?" the ad asked. "Renee Ellmers says no. She says cutting Medicare hurts senior citizens. Bob Etheridge voted yes. He voted with President Obama and cut Medicare half a trillion dollars. As long as Obama's in the White House, we can't let a Democrat represent us in Congress."

Last week, Ellmers voted for a Republican plan that will end Medicare for people under 55, converting it to a "premium support" system in which participants would choose among private plans and the government would pay the first $15,000 in premiums.

Ellmers sees major distinctions between what she was supporting and what Etheridge voted for.

"President Obama and Washington Democrats took a half a trillion dollars from Medicare and used it to fund Obamacare," Ellmers said in a statement.

"The Path to Prosperity (The Republican Plan) takes it back and uses it to strengthen Medicare," Ellmers said. "This budget does not cut Medicare funding. It makes no changes to Medicare for anyone 55 or older. For those 54 or younger it offers options to plans like those that are currently available to those in Congress and other federal employees, resulting in savings to turn a currently unsustainable program into one that will be there for future generations."