newsobserver.com projects - Smith's RV office - Comments

Re: Smith's RV office

Wuptdo — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:31:13 -0400

Fiscal conservative de-evolved into tax & spend liberals.

Re: Smith's RV office

greenlamp — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:21:04 -0400

i love the political posturing on the dome blog.

Re: Smith's RV office

kimkim — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:10:20 -0400

But what about his jet? From the Fred Smith website...

Wealth Smooths Path To Office

- Article appeared in today's News & Observer (5/15/07). Full article is HERE -

By Rob Christensen, N&O Staff Writer

When Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham began thinking about running for governor, he spent $2.2 million of his own money for a television advertising campaign to talk about his opposition to a state gasoline tax increase.

When state Sen. Fred Smith, a Clayton homebuilder, began his campaign for governor, he purchased a Citation jet -- which retails at about $2.5 million.
-end-

So, let me get this straight. This guy is running as a fiscal conservative who:

a)voted FOR the senate budget that increased spending by 7%; increased non-voter approved debt by well over $700 million; and increased fees

b)spent over $2 million on a personal jet while his primary opponent (Graham)spent his money lowering the tax burden on the people of NC

c)spent a lot of money on a RV to travel the state

d)has voted for business incentives in the past. The kicker is that apparantly he only votes for incentives if there are campaign contributions involved.

Is THIS a fiscal conservative?

Smith's RV office

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:54:46 -0400

Fred Smith has taken the "recreation" out of "recreational vehicle."

The state senator, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, has hit the road in an RV to visit all 100 counties. But it's all work and no play.

The interior of the 34-foot RV from 1992 has been turned into an office for as many as six campaign staffers. A desk has replaced the bed in the back, with more office space in the kitchenette.

Staffers use laptops with cell phone cards to check e-mail, work out schedules and plan the visits.

Smith bought the RV himself and put his logo on it, though the campaign hired its driver. A spokesman would not say how much it cost, though a used RV of that size typically sells for $15,000 to $20,000.

"If you're going to travel across the state, it just makes sense," said Smith's chief of staff, Jonathan Hill, who notes that former Sen. Jesse Helms used one as well.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the value of the RV.