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Veteran North Carolina Republican political strategist Marc Rotterman, a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation, is one of 38 prominent conservatives who have signed a petition making demands about the fiscal cliff negotiations.

The 2012 talking points are flying fast and furious early this campaign season as each side jockey's to frame the picture and crystalize the debate with data.

Raleigh Republican consultant Marc Rotterman recently sent this political memo outlining his take on what it all means in North Carolina. Click below to read.

The long-time political consultants to Congressman Walter Jones are parting ways.

Rotterman and Associates has "severed their day-to-day relations" with the Jones Committee, according to Marc Rotterman.

Rotterman and Associates have helped Jones since he was first elected to Congress during the Gingrich Revolution of 1994, making his TV ads, setting strategy and raising money, Rob Christensen reports.

"At this stage in our career, our focus be primarily doing television ads," Rotterman said.

The Rottermans helped raise $8 million for Jones, the Farmville Republican. Jones won by an average of 64 percent of the vote.

"We wish him well," Rotterman said. "We think he needs someone to help him focus full-time on raising money."

Glen Downs, Jones' chief of staff, said the split was mutual decision. He said the Rottermans may still help Jones make some TV ads, but will no longer be involved in fund raising.

"It was a mutually arrived at decision not to have a general consultant," Downs said. "We still have a relationship."

Two prominent North Carolina conservatives oppose two of President Obama's appointments.

Bob Luddy, a major Republican donor and founder of CaptiveAire, and GOP political consultant Marc Rotterman are among the 14 conservatives who signed a recent letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The letter states that they oppose the confirmations of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Attorney General Eric Holder and "ethical and philosophical grounds."

It notes that Geithner failed to pay income tax in previous years. It does not state any specific objections to Holder, though some conservatives have complained about his role in Bill Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.

"This is a seminal moment for the GOP," the letter reads. "Will it continue as the party of George Bush, or will it return to its populist roots of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater?"

Oddly, the letter ends by asking McConnell to oppose the confirmation of "these three men," but it does not mention a third appointee.

Other signatories include the editor of RedState.com, the director of the American Conservative Union, the publisher of the American Spectator magazine and direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie.

Update: Dome was inadvertently sent a previous version. The final version reads "these two men."

Two North Carolina political ads from the past year are finalists for national awards.

One commercial is for Congressman Walter Jones and it features the endorsement by former Marine Ilario Pantano, who was initially accused of killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents. The charges were later dropped when a military tribunal found there was no credible evidence, Rob Christensen reports.

"When this Marine was in a jam and there was a rush to judgement to take away my liberty," Pantano said, "Walter Jones came to my defense."

The ad was created by Rotterman & Associates, the Raleigh-based political consulting firm headed by the husband-wife team of Marc and Karen Rotterman. The ad is one of three finalists for Republican congressional candidates.

Another finalist is the rocking chair ad run by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee against Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

That ad featured two elderly men at Bynum General Store in Chatham County speculating on whether Dole was 92 or 93. The men were actually speculating on effectiveness ratings and the percentage of time she voted with President Bush — not her age.

The ad was produced by Squier Knapp Dunn Communications of Washington, D.C. It is a finalist in the category of state candidate races.

The winner of the Reed Awards, sponsored by Campaigns & Elections, will be announced at a dinner in Washington on Jan. 22.

The leading candidates for governor agree on one thing.

Democrat Beverly Perdue and Pat McCrory both want to crack down on illegal immigration. Perdue wants to lock illegal immigrants out of community colleges, while McCrory is seeking a new federal detention center to house deportees.

Perdue charges McCrory with allowing illegal immigrants to work on city projects, while Republican mailers bash Perdue for "rollling out the red carpet."

The phenomenon has continued even as immigration has lost prominence among voters. A recent poll showed it was a major issue for only 2 percent of voters, compared to 15 percent a year ago.

But political strategies say that it's still a solid bet in a state with a growing Spanish-speaking population but only a small number of Hispanic voters.

"Citizens of this country want the rule of law respected, and they want the borders secure," said Republican consultant Marc Rotterman. "People don't want to have to pay for health care or welfare or emergency room care for people who come here illegally. ... The overwhelming majority believe this is an English-speaking country." (N&O)

Is the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee bluffing?

Republican strategist Marc Rotterman said he was not sure whether the national group really intends to spend $5 to $6 million in North Carolina to back Senate candidate Kay Hagan.

"It's not clear yet whether it's a bluff or it's for real," he told Dome.

He argued that reserving that much ad time could be a way of tying up the DSCC's counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to keep it from spending more heavily in races with strong Republican challengers.

But another Republican consultant, Carter Wrenn, said that would be a pretty bad bluff.

If the DSCC didn't end up spending the money, it would send a strong signal that they had reconsidered Hagan's chances and found her lacking.

"That would be a real blow to the credibility of Hagan's campaign," he said.

Both agreed that the ad buy would spur fundraising for both Hagan and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Hagan will cite the spending to argue that she is a viable candidate, while Dole will say it's a reason she needs more from her donors.