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Morning Memo: Pray-in targets lawmakers, Foxx to join Obama administration

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT LEGISLATURE: Clergy and students will participate in an act of civil disobedience Monday at the Legislative Building "in response to the collective acts of the legislature," said the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP. The action, from 5 p.m.- 6 p.m., will be a "form of a pray-in," Barber said. The House convenes at 4 p.m., the Senate at 7 p.m. The NAACP has opposed the legislative actions reducing unemployment benefits, state House approval of photo voter ID, and other legislative measures.

FOXX TO TAKE OBAMA POST: President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Mayor Anthony Foxx to be secretary of transportation, a White House official said Sunday on the condition of anonymity. The nomination of Foxx, whose city hosted last year’s Democratic National Convention, would make him the only African-American selected for a Cabinet opening in Obama’s second term. (More below.)

***Good morning. Welcome to the Dome Morning Memo -- a full roundup of North Carolina political news and analysis below. ***

Tillis says expired licenses and college IDs may be included in voter bill

House Speaker Thom Tillis said that the new voter photo ID bill may include provisions that would allow seniors to use expired driver's licenses, allow college ID's to be used, and also allow other forms of government-issued photo Ids.

Although no voter ID bill has yet been introduced yet, the House Elections Committee has begun holding hearings on the concept.

In an interview with Craig Melton with MSNBC over the weekend, Tillis suggested that a voter photo ID law would not be an impediment for most people to vote. He also said that people could could continue to vote by mail using an absentee ballot which does not require a photo ID.

When asked about reports showing little voter fraud, Tillis said, “there is some evidence of voter fraud, that is that not the primary reason for doing this.''

“We call this restoring confidence in elections,” Tillis said. “There are a lot of people people are just concerned with the potential risk of fraud. This is a measure that makes three-quarters of the public more confident when they go the polls.''

He said this would benefit provide free Ids to citizens of North Carolina, which would benefit many people.

McCrory worried about sequestration cuts on North Carolina

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Gov. Pat McCrory started his trip to Washington with an interview on MSNBC's "Daily Rundown" with Chuck Todd, saying he is concerned about the affect of the federal budget sequestration on the state's military bases.

"We don't know what the real impact is going to be right now," he said.

Fake Gov. Perdue tweets show up on TV

MSNBC fell for the fake Gov. Bev Perdue on Twitter, more than once, a tweet-curating website reports.

The TV news program is trailing political tweets across the bottom of the screen during some of its coverage of the Democratic National Convention, as it did with the Republican convention last week.

During host Chris Matthews’ show one trailer attributed to “@GOVBEVPERDUE” remarked: “Welcome to North Carolina, Democrats! Can’t wait to tell everyone about NC’s great economy, low unemployment and my high approval.”

On MSNBC, Perdue says she opposes amendment -- and gay marriage?

On the day voters go to the polls to cast ballots on the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions, Gov. Bev Perdue acknowledged she opposes gay marriage.

Pressed by MSNBC's Chuck Todd, Perdue danced around the issue but eventually said he supported the state law banning gay marriage. At the same time, she said she voted against the amendment. Todd suggested her position is walking a thin line, much like President Barack Obama, who faced a day of questions Monday about his position on the issue after Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he supports gay marriage.

MSNBC: North Carolina will help decide the next president

One year before the presidential election, MSNBC's First Read has North Carolina as one of 11 “toss up states” that will decide the election.

MSNBC predicts it will come down to five Mid-West/Rust Belt states – Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin; three "New South" States – Florida, North Carolina and Virginia; and three western states – Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

MSNBC will release presidential polling later this evening.

Burr takes heat on liberal show

A liberal talk show host took aim at Sen. Richard Burr last night.

The Winston-Salem Republican was once again harshly criticized by MSNBC liberal talk host Rachel Maddow — a sign of his increased visibility as he runs for re-election.

Maddow, who previously criticized the senator for holding up President Obama's veterans appointee, called him "bank-run Burr" for having told his wife to take money out of an ATM during the banking crisis last fall.

Her guest, N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young, said Burr "helped frame our case" for the 2010 Senate race, which has no announced Democratic candidate yet.

"I was shocked ... at the selfishness of somebody who would use insider information ... that he got in Washington ... to enrich himself," he told the host.

If Burr wasn't on notice before yesterday, he is now.

HuffPo goes after Burr's words

The 2010 Senate race is heating up.

Drawing on recent remarks made by Sen. Richard Burr, the left-leaning Web site Huffington Post has posted a banner headline on its home page: "The senator who wants a run on banks."

It also features a less-than-complimentary photo of Burr, though it does not mention his name, party affiliation or state.

Update: N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young will appear on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a liberal talk show on MSNBC, to talk about the flap.

Producers had also tried to book former Gov. Mike Easley.

Ad targets Hagan on budget

A liberal group is running TV ads urging Sen. Kay Hagan to support President Obama's budget.

Americans United for Change, a liberal advocacy group that receives backing from labor unions, will spend at least $700,000 on ads in nine states, including North Carolina.

The states "just happen to be represented by some of the more conservative Democratic senators," MSNBC's First Read reports

The ad is one of at least three TV and radio ads in North Carolina. The other two target U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge and Mike McIntyre, two conservative Democrats.

Hagan recently joined a group of moderate Democrats and has written a letter to the Senate Budget Committee protesting Obama's proposed cuts in farm funding.

After the jump, the script. 

Hat Tip: Mark Binker

Ross, Silver take the gold in punditry

Two liberal bloggers came the closest to predicting North Carolina's presidential race.

Nate Silver, a statistics nut who runs the Web site FiveThirtyEight.com, and Kirk Ross, who writes the Exile on Jones Street blog about the legislature, both predicted Barack Obama would win the state. Silver said by 0.6 percentage points; Ross by 0.5 to 1.5 points.

The actual margin, according to uncertified results from the State Board of Elections, was 0.3 points.

The two were among 16 bloggers, pundits, professors and consultants who predicted an Obama win in the Tar Heel state, according to an informal tally by Dome the week before the election.

Because of the narrow margin, the 13 who predicted a McCain win (including the Eight Ball) shouldn't be too ashamed, except maybe the four conservatives who predicted a win by three or more points — Sen. Richard Burr, Red State editor Erick Erickson, blogger Ed Morrissey and editor Fred Barnes.

And no points go to the five mainstream sources who refused to make a prediction (Rothenberg Political Report, Congressional Quarterly, Cook Political Report, New York Times and MSNBC.)

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