GOP may limit primaries to party members

The N.C. Republican Party's executive committee will consider banning unaffiliated voters from voting in Republican primaries.

The party has until Dec. 1 to decide whether to allow Republicans and unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries. The committee is scheduled to meet this weekend and discuss the possibility of a ban.

According to the proposed resolution, the participation of unaffiliated voters in Republican primaries results in more moderate nominees.

"Primary turnout is generally low. Registered unaffiliated voters are affecting the outcome of the Republican nominee for the November general election resulting in a more moderate candidate being elected in some areas of the state," according to the resolution.

The idea likely has little support among prominent state Republicans. Next year could be a big Republican year, in part because unaffiliated voters may be swinging away from Democrats. Telling those voters they're not wanted isn't a great way to get things started.

Edwards' double play for VP

Ahead of the South Carolina presidential primary last year, a high-level aide to then-candidate John Edwards made offers to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

He would quit the race and back whoever agreed to add him to the ticket, Obama's campaign manager writes in a new book. But at the end of the conversation, the Edwards rep added a wrinkle: "Just to be clear, we're going to talk to the Clinton people, too. That's not where John's heart is, but he is at a point of maximum leverage now. We want to see what each of you is thinking."

"My initial reaction was that this was a nonstarter," David Plouffe writes in his book, "The Audacity to Win." "Of course we wanted Edwards's support, and his message was certainly closer in spirit to ours than it was to Hillary's. But political deals like this rarely work: People see right through them.

"Plus I couldn't imagine Obama agreeing this far out to lock in his running mate without going through any process or even being certain that we would be the ones making a selection."

Edwards eventually endorsed Obama.

NAACP pushes health reform

State NAACP President William J. Barber led a delegation Tuesday to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's office in Washington to lobby for health care reform.

"This cause is one of the most important moral and civil rights issues of our day," Barber said in a statement.

Today, the Health Care Action Now Coalition will hold a news conference outside Hagan's Greensboro office to highlight the need for a public option in the health care legislation.

The Senate is expected to take up a health care bill soon, and Hagan has been the subject of a major lobbying effort. In general, she supports Democratic proposals for health care, but she has given herself wiggle room on some of the details.

Obama wants Brill for FTC

President Barack Obama has nominated North Carolina's top consumer advocate for a position on the Federal Trade Commission.

Julie Brill became the senior deputy attorney general and chief of consumer protection and antitrust for the N.C. Department of Justice in February. Before that, she spent 20 years in a similar role in Vermont.

If confirmed, Brill would become a commissioner on the FTC, responsible for enforcing antitrust legislation and protecting consumers from anti-competitive practices.

By staff writers Benjamin Niolet, Rob Christensen and Barbara Barrett

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