Rove pins GOP hopes to Burr, others like him

Karl Rove thinks U.S. Sen. Richard Burr could help save the GOP.

In a proposed road map out of the political wilderness published last week in Newsweek, the former political strategist for President Bush said that Burr could be a fresh face for the Republican Party.

He contended that the "party's face" is now its congressional leadership.

"Senate and House Republicans will be seen more than any party chair or 2012 aspirant," Rove wrote. "Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner must put on center stage their most persuasive, compelling members: Richard Burr and Jon Kyl in the Senate, and Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris, Peter Roskam and Kevin McCarthy in the House, for example."

Burr is no stranger to TV interviews, having spent a fair amount of time boosting Sen. John McCain's presidential bid this year.

Facing a potentially tough re-election fight in 2010, he probably wouldn't object to spending more time getting his name out there either.

It's also worth noting that Rove recruited Burr to run for Senate.

Hackney touts stimulus

House Speaker Joe Hackney says a federal stimulus would boost the North Carolina economy.

Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, said at a news conference in Washington on Monday that billions in spending on infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and renewable energy projects would keep the economic situation from getting worse.

"We are doing the best we can to cope with our fiscal situation," he said. "Now it's time for Congress and our next administration to support our state efforts."

As current president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Hackney also was scheduled to speak with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by phone Monday afternoon. He sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama last month requesting more funding for states.

The National Governors Association has identified $136 billion in specific transportation projects it says could be ready to begin if funding is approved by Congress.

Hackney would not identify specific projects in North Carolina, though he said that replacing the Yadkin River Bridge on Interstate 85, extending urban highway loops and improving mass transit systems likely would be included.

Mail-order taxes

Should Harry & David pay taxes in North Carolina?

Right now, if you order a gourmet gift basket as a holiday present over the Internet or through a catalog from the Oregon-based retailer or other out-of-state companies, you don't pay North Carolina sales tax.

Hackney would like to change that.

Since the late 1990s, North Carolina and other states have worked to streamline their sales taxes -- often a hodgepodge of different rules and confusing legal language -- into a more uniform system.

More uniform rules would make it easier for states to collect sales taxes from transactions handled in other states. But because the tax collection would go across state lines, it needs congressional approval.

Hackney said he would talk to Pelosi about granting states the rights to interstate sales tax collection. He said it would bring in an additional $400 million to $500 million a year for North Carolina's state budget, especially helpful given the current budget crunch.

"It's a tax that is already on the books, so it is not a new tax," he said. "It's just collecting the one that's there."

Perdue paying for trip

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is not using state money to meet with President-elect Barack Obama.

A spokesman for the governor-elect said she will be traveling to Philadelphia today on a chartered plane paid for by her campaign account.

Perdue will join a meeting of the nation's governors with the president-elect and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to talk about the economic crisis.

Perdue and other newly elected or incumbent governors will argue for a federal-state partnership to boost the economy.