Paul Krugman is taking Blue Cross to task.

The liberal New York Times columnist harshly criticized Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina over reports it plans to run a series of ads attacking health care reform.

According to reports in the Washington Post and the N&O, the ads show Americans being prevented from choosing their doctor and forced to wait months by government bureaucrats, though Krugman says many HMO's already do that.

"“We can do a lot better than a government-run health care system,” says a voice-over in one of the ads. To which the obvious response is, if that’s true, why don’t you? Why deny Americans the chance to reject government insurance if it’s really that bad?

Krugman argues that none of the plans currently being discussed would force people into a government-run health care plan.

The ads were prepared by Capstrat, a Raleigh public relations firm.

Courtney Crowder has already done his homework.

As Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's legislative director, Crowder will take a lead role in implementing her public policy decisions and keeping her campaign promises.

Luckily for him, he just co-authored a report on that very subject.

Crowder is one of five analysts and lobbyists on the government relations team at Capstrat, a Raleigh public relations firm, who recently went over Perdue's platform for a report called "Now What?"

The report says that Perdue will focus on early childhood education, free tuition for community colleges, mental health reform, increased health insurance coverage, reforming the N.C. Department of Transportation, championing "green collar jobs" and reducing small business taxes, among other things.

It also notes that Perdue said she will work with other governors to reduce corporate incentives, but says she will likely continue expanding them in the short term. It notes the "budget constraints" and the "shrinking financial pie" but leaves open how they will be resolved.

One prediction from the report may turn out to be a bit optimistic.

"Announcements of who will be filling (Cabinet) posts are expected by the end of the year," it says.

Beverly Perdue named her legislative lobbyist and director today.

As expected since earlier this month, the governor-elect announced that she would appoint Andy Willis as her senior advisor for governmental affairs. She also named Courtney Crowder as legislative director.

Willis is currently vice president for government relations for the University of North Carolina system and a former fiscal analyst for the state Senate. He has a master's degree in public administration from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor's in political science from N.C. State.

Crowder currently works as a lobbyist for Capstrat and previously worked at the N.C. Department of Insurance and for U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge. He has a master's degree from Duke University and a bachelor's degrees in English literature and French from N.C. Central University.

"Andy and Courtney will bring to our team a wealth of experience and proven ability to get things done," Perdue said in a statement. "They'll play key roles in making our vision to get North Carolina back on track a reality."

Business interests will have slightly less representation in the state legislature as a result of the recent election.

A recent analysis of the results of the election by Capstrat found that legislators who are business men or women will decline from 51 in the past session to 45 in the coming session.

Capstrat said that retirees still make up the largest group in the legislature, with 47 of the 170 members in the House and Senate.

Capstrat also said in its report that the economy, not promises made on the campaign trail, will determine what happens in Raleigh next year.

Rather than enacting sweeping changes, our government will be digging for change under the proverbial cushions of the living room sofa. It will be hard to focus on progress when the nagging responsibility of filling budget holes takes grip in the new year.

Walter Dalton received $1.5 million in contributions by the end of June.

The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor received $255,305 in contributions during the second quarter of the year, according to his most recent campaign finance report.

Major donors included Crandall Bowles, Greensboro executive Joseph Bryan Jr., Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Franklin Street Partners executive Robert Eubanks, Capstrat CEO Ken Eudy and developer Mack Pearsall. 

He also received contributions from political action committees such as the Bank of America PAC, the Baxter Healthcare PAC, the N.C. Home Builders Association, DominionPAC, the N.C. Restaurant Association, the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Wal-Mart's PAC and the N.C. Trucking Association.

He also spent $637,602 in the second quarter, leaving him with $177,357 in cash on hand.

Ken Eudy is one of Barack Obama's key supporters in North Carolina.

According to a 2005 profile by Rob Christensen, the Raleigh public affairs consultant is the "full-service, behind-the-scenes political Mr. Fixit" in state politics.

A former political reporter for The Charlotte Observer, Eudy first worked as a lobbyist for the N.C. Press Association, gradually shifting to more general lobbying work. 

In 1994, he and public relations consultant Steve Meehan started Capital Strategies, a strategic communications firm in Raleigh. They renamed the firm Capstrat in 2004.

The company has helped promote state bond issues, a Raleigh convention center, a constitutional amendment that legalized tax-increment financing, a campaign to reduce teen smoking, among other things.

In recent months, he's given informal advice to the Obama campaign in North Carolina. 

The full profile after the jump.

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David Plouffe was in town today.

The campaign manager for Barack Obama said he was helping organize and raise money for the upcoming May 6 primary, Rob Christensen reports.

"North Carolina could end up being very important in the nomination fight," he told Dome.

Interviewed at a fundraiser in the law offices of David Kirby in Raleigh, Plouffe said that the primary is only nine weeks away and Obama campaign needs to begin organizing in the state as soon as possible.

He said the trip today was not about courting John Edwards, although he acknowledged the campaign is interested in the former North Carolina senator's endorsement.

Plouffe said that there is a very good chance that North Carolina could be in play in the general election as well, if Obama is the nominee. No Democratic presidential candidate has won North Carolina since 1976.

He also had an organizational meeting at the headquarters of Raleigh public relations firm Capstrat, which is headed by Ken Eudy, an Obama supporter.

Steve Lerner, an investor and friend of Eudy's, was escorting Plouffe today.

The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research has added three new board members.

Ken Eudy, chief executive officer of Raleigh public relations firm Capstrat; Natalie English, senior vice president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce; and Betty Craven, president of the Warner Foundation, were elected to the center's board of directors.

The 23-member board also includes N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Wanda Bryant and state Sen. Jean Preston, among others.

Board members serve three-year terms.