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TILLIS SAYS LOBBYIST GIFT BAN WILL REMAIN INTACT: House Speaker Thom Tillis took to Twitter this week to declare Republican Robert Brawley's bill to lift the ban on lobbyists giving lawmakers gifts is dead. "Benny, does the fact that the bill is dead give you any idea?" @thomtillis wrote. The speaker's office confirmed the 10:10 p.m. Tuesday tweet was legit. Tillis addressed the response to Benjamin Ray, an operative at the N.C. Democratic Party pushing Tillis on the issue and tying it to his office's controversial past with lobbyists and the fact the bill came from one of his committee chairman.

MOTIVE FOR JAMIE HAHN'S STABBING TURNS TO CAMPAIGN MONEY: As the Triangle mourned slain political strategist Jamie Hahn on Wednesday, attention turned to whether the man who police say stabbed her had made questionable campaign finance reports while working for Hahn’s firm. More on the story below.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- click below for much, much more from a busy day in N.C. politics. Send news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com. ***

The political year included its share of odd stories and not-so-flattering headlines. Here's a look at the top 5:

1. @GovBevPerdue makes a splash: A Twitter parody account for Gov. Bev Perdue (real handle: @ncgovoffice) caught a number of national media outlets looking silly. MSNBC and Huffington Post were among those fooled by the account that has steadily mocked all things Perdue. The account is labeled as the “first female governor of North Carolina, and probably the last.” The background image, and often point of discussion, is Bojangles’ Bo-Berry Biscuits. Nonetheless, HuffPo in May quoted the faux Perdue as apologizing to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for a quip the real governor made after the state approved an amendment banning marriage between same-sex couples. During the Democratic National Convention, MSNBC was caught sleeping when they aired some of the fake Tweets on live TV.

Republican Cherie Berry is embracing her moniker as the Elevator Queen.

A new TV ad posted to her campaign website this week shows her talking from her picture inside the elevator. The 15-second spot starts with the sound of an elevator and touts workplace safety.

For millions, the liveliest chatter about Tuesday night’s presidential debate will arrive 140 characters at a time – free of pundits in pancake makeup. With smartphones, tablets and laptops, debate-watchers will log onto Twitter.com and form a nationwide peanut gallery, adding instant context, fact-checking and gags to passive TV-watching.

Read more about social media's role in the debates and a preview here.

More political headlines:

--As Mike Causey pitched his take on homeowner’s insurance rates at a recent campaign appearance, he received little more than nods and smiles from the crowd. Then he invoked a line that’s been popular for Republicans: “People ask me my position on Obamacare; I’m opposed to Obamacare,” he said. Thunderous applause. The next insurance commissioner will play an important role. Read a profile of the race here.

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.”

UPDATED: So news broke this afternoon that Gov. Bev Perdue issued an apology to Mississippi's governor for a comment she made last week that drew rebuke. Perdue told a TV reporter that the passage of the constitutional amendment on marriage makes North Carolina "look like Mississippi."

Huffington Post broke a story Monday about the apology citing Twitter -- the account of @GovBevPerdue. The problem? The account is a parody, a spoof, one of the many that ridicule politicians on the social media network.

Fake Perdue wrote this: "Called the Mississippi governor today and apologized for my remarks. Offered to send him some Bojangles Bo-Berry biscuits to make amends."

A spokesman for the real Perdue (@ncgovoffice on Twitter) said Perdue did speak with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant Monday but she didn't apologize. The spokesman didn't elaborate but said "they had a very good discussion."

The Huffington Post later owned the mistake, admitting they fell for the fake, saying its "story embarrassingly took Bev Perdue's spoof Twitter account at face value." And it turns out that CNN also fell for the spoof. More on the debacle here.

UPDATED: Pat McCrory is (apparently) breaking new ground: the presumed GOP candidate for governor in 2012 used Twitter to share his experience at the DMV and promised better service if he gets elected.

It started about 11:15 a.m. when McCrory, according to his tweets, jumped in line to renew his drivers license. After standing in line for 15 minutes, he remarked: "Our state in action. Nothing has changed since I was 16." Later he sent this update: "30 minutes and counting ... Sitting on curb. Thank goodness nice weather."

McCrory's spokesman later clarified that the former Charlotte mayor was emailing updates to his staff -- who posted them to Twitter and Facebook. He didn't tweet himself.

A number of political observers amusingly followed his 140-character observations -- such as "Nice pic of Governor Perdue on the wall" -- including dozens of McCrory fans who commented about them on his Facebook page. (Democrats mocked that McCrory's Republican Party cohorts are responsible for budget cuts that prompted the long lines.)

In the end -- after waiting an hour and passing the test -- McCrory wrote this: "My new drivers license will expire in 5 yrs. Will DMV service be the same then as it was today &when I was 16? Not if we have new Gov!!"

Was it a policy announcement? A declaration of his long-expected candidacy? The disclosure of his first priority if elected? Who knows.

The state's Republican legislators lead Democrats in their use of Facebook and Twitter, according to the Raleigh public relations and lobbying firm Capstrat.

In a study of legislators' tweeting and posting habits, Capstrat found Republicans more connected than Democrats, and women more than men.

Sen. Andrew Brock, a Republican from Mocksville, leads his chamber in Facebook friends, and Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger of Eden has the most Twitter followers.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, has the most Facebook friends in the House, and Minority Leader Paul "Skip" Stam of Apex has the most Twitter followers.

Dome took its own look at party Twitter habits, and it appears state Republicans have more to tweet about.

The state GOP Twitter page had at more than a half dozen tweets today. State Democrats have not added a new message since August 3.

If having a must-read Twitter feed is a sign of influence, then North Carolina is lacking.

Al Eisele, editor-at-large of The Hill, compiled a list for The Huffington Post of 25 political Twitter feeds you have to follow. Not a one was from North Carolina.

Sure, there's Republican House whip Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. And there's Sen. Russ Feingold, the Wisconsin Democrat who helpfully notifies readers of which Tweets he personally wrote versus those that were by staff members. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gets the nod, as does Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican.

There's no mention of feeds by our own Republican U.S. Reps. Walter Jones, Patrick McHenry, Sue Myrick or Virginia Foxx. Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan is left out as well. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican of Winston-Salem, has a feed for his campaign.

So it sounds like our good elected representatives need to start burning up the Tweet-verse.

Hat Tip: Bill Krueger

GOVERNOR ONLINE: According to depositions taken in a public records lawsuit, Gov. Mike Easley kept a secret e-mail account for state business and his press secretary said he wanted public information officers to delete e-mails to the governor's office to avoid having them become public. Given the federal investigation still swirling around the Democrat, whether his administration followed the public records law may be a small concern for the former governor.

BIG BUCKS BURR: In one night, Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr raised more money than any of the Democrats who want to win his seat have been able to raise in months. Burr is by far the overwhelming money leader as the Senate race begins this year.

SHE LIKES HIM/NOT: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx wailed on President Barack Obama in a post to her Twitter account. She concluded her criticism by reporting that she also got the president's autograph.

IN OTHER NEWS: Democrats, by a slim margin, tend to be rooting for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday's Super Bowl. The state Democratic Party has picked up a lot of travel expenses for Gov. Bev Perdue and her husband.