N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler wants Republicans to use the recent tobacco regulation votes to unseat Democrats.

Troxler, a Republican, told his state party's convention that Democrats, who control both the state legislature and Congress, were to blame for recent votes in Raleigh in favor of raising cigarette taxes and banning smoking in restaurants and bars, as well as a congressional vote to let the Food and Drug Administration regulate the golden leaf, Rob Christensen reports.

"These things don't happen," Troxler told the crowd, "if you elect consevative people to office."

For more than an hour, delegates at the state Republican Party convention debated the way they should send and receive information, as well as the finer points of parliamentary procedure.

The delegates were debating a proposal that would allow members to receive information via e-mail, instead of through the postal system, if they so desire, Kevin Kiley reports.

The delegation got bogged down in amendments to clarify the proposal's language (including the necessity of requiring first class mail), at times making amendments to amendments to the initial proposal, and amendments to a motion to send the proposal back to committee to reconsider.

By the end of debate, members were noticeably frustrated by the procedural rules, as well as the time it took to vote on the amendment. When it was over, they cheered.

The amendment eventually passed, and will allow members to receive notification by means other than post, but did not specify how, which one delegate pointed out would allow members to receive information by personal courier.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory opened the N.C. Republican Party Convention today with a discussion about how to get the state party back on track.

McCrory, who ran for governor against Beverly Perdue last year, urged convention's attendees to not stray from traditional Republican positions and said the party needs to focus on issues such as lower taxes, nuclear power and alternative energy, school choice and national defense, Kevin Kiley reports.

"We are not going to change the way we feel about the issues," he said.

He said these are areas where most citizens agree with the party.

McCrory also took shots at controvseries surrounding the state's Democratic Party, including former Governor Mike Easley and the controversy surrounding his wife's job at N.C. State University.

"One of the saddest things about losing the governor's race is that my wife can't get a job at N.C. State," he said.

Sponsor booths lining the hallways of the state Raleigh Convention Center are selling some goods that all Carolina Republicans probably need.

Some of the items are expected. T-shirts bearing the GOP's logo, conservative magazines and other periodicals, and books by conservative icons such as Ron Paul, are all being sold by different groups, Kevin Kiley reported.

And some of the items are not so conventional, including ties bearing presidents' faces and — seemingly unrelated to politics at all — pickles, which are being hawked by the Republican Party of Wayne County, home of the Mt. Olive pickle company.

For the record, the GOP and the Republican Party are the same.

Longtime Republican activist Claudia Rodgers reports that she was turned away from the Raleigh convention center today by security guards.

"Security and reception did not know that GOP and Republican are the same," she wrote in an e-mail. "They turned away attendees to the NCGOP Convention saying that there was no Republican convention today."

GOP, by the way, stands for Grand Old Party. 

N.C.'S STATE: Something was rotten at N.C. State. After a series of articles in the N&O revealed the involvement of former Gov. Mike Easley in the hiring of his wife, the provost and the chancellor resigned and Mary Easley was fired. (The chairman of the board of trustees had already left.) Though an interim chancellor has already been named, the university is not out of the woods yet. Expect further turmoil.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The N.C. Republican Party met in Raleigh to plan a comeback. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was scheduled to outline his path to victory this morning, while delegates debated whether candidates should pledge loyalty to the state platform, whether primaries should be closed and — in what's turned out to be the nastiest race in years — who should be the party's new chairman.

SENATE BUZZ: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr says he's not thinking about which Democrat might run against him next year. He's the only one, apparently. The chattering classes spent more time this week wondering whether Secretary of State Elaine Marshall or U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre might make another run for it, while Iraq veteran Cal Cunningham and Obama fundraiser Kenneth Lewis kept trying to build buzz.

IN OTHER NEWS: The fight over the state budget continued, with House Democratic budget writers calling for $784 million in new taxes. ... A House committee passed a bill to allow billboard companies to cut down more trees. ... Elon University police detective Dan Ingle was chosen by Alamance County Republicans to replace former Rep. Cary Allred.

Pat McCrory is staying in the political limelight.

Although the longtime Charlotte mayor is retiring from his current post at the end of this term, he will help kick off the state Republican convention this weekend.

McCrory, who lost a bid for governor in November, will deliver a speech entitled "The Road to Victory" at the beginning of the session Friday.

"As a highly effective mayor and visionary leader, Pat McCrory is just the right person to help North Carolina grassroots Republicans set a course for the future," said party chairwoman Linda Daves in a statement. "Pat is the kind of leader that makes fellow Republicans proud to be on his team."

McCrory recently criticized the House budget proposal.

* Washington columnist Stuart Rothenberg thinks U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell "could see a steep drop-off" in 2010 from certain "demographic groups."

* U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx wins "Defender of Liberty" award for 100 percent voting-record rating in 2008 from American Conservative Union.

* Hundreds of protesters gather at the legislative building to argue against higher taxes; speakers include Mary Katharine Ham and Joe the Plumber.

* Former Republican auditor Les Merritt and former Raleigh City Councilman John Odom endorse Chad Adams for N.C. Republican Party chairman.

Tom Fetzer's libel lawsuit has no merit, said Paul Knight, the general manager of a Wilmington radio station being sued by the former Raleigh mayor.

"We didn't slander or libel him," Knight said this afternoon, Sarah Ovaska reports.

Fetzer, who is campaigning to head the N.C. Republican Party, filed a libel lawsuit Monday in Wake County against Curtis Wright and Sea-Comm Inc., the company that runs 93.7 and 106, two Wilmington-area talk radio stations that Wright has a morning show on.

In the lawsuit, Fetzer claims that Wright sent an email to multiple county GOP chairs questioning the candidates for the selection next weekend of a new state party chair. The email included a copy of an anonymous letter insinuating that Fetzer is gay.

Though Fetzer doesn't mention specifically what the potentially libelous statements are in his lawsuit, he has denied he is gay.

Knight said he will have his lawyers file a motion to dismiss the suit either the end of this week or next.