Ed Rollins says Sen. Elizabeth Dole should be "ashamed" of a new ad.

Speaking on CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," the noted Republican strategist said that a recent ad criticizing Kay Hagan for a fundraiser hosted by an atheist is "desperate." 

"There has been a long history of despicable ads run by Republicans, led by Jesse Helms and his old Congressional Club, which I'm sure is now running Elizabeth Dole's campaign," he told Dobbs.

That's not entirely accurate. Two Helms alumni, Mark Stephens and Tom Fetzer, played a role earlier in the Dole campaign but are now in more minor positions. 

Rollins then speculated that the ad was the handiwork of Charlie Black, a North Carolina native who was also part of the Helms campaign and is now heavily involved in John McCain's presidential campaign.

"My sense is she got desperate, they came down and they did something desperate, which is so despicable and so unlike Elizabeth Dole that she should be ashamed of herself," he said.

There is no evidence that Black was involved in the Godless ad.

One of Raleigh's best known political consulting teams is bailing out of politics.

Former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer and fellow Republican strategist Mark Stephens plan to seek new ventures after the November election, Fetzer said Tuesday.

"We don't want to do campaigns anymore," said Fetzer. "We're old men and this is a young man's game."

Both men are 53 years old. Fetzer and Stephens are both veterans of a host of Republican campaigns in North Carolina and are currently consultants to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole re-election effort. Fetzer served three terms as Raleigh's mayor in the 1990s.

Stephens was executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which helps orchestrate Republican senate races across the country, during the 2005-2006 election cycle, when Dole was the committee's chair. Republicans lost their majority in the Senate in 2006.

Fetzer and Stephens were consultants to Bill Graham's campaign for governor during the Republican primary, but Graham and the consultants parted ways four months before Graham finished a distant third in the primary.

The two men have not decided whether they will work as a team or go their own ways on future endeavors, Fetzer said.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has had a rough summer.

One of the best-known women in American politics, Dole is facing an unexpectedly competitive race with Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan.

She skipped the Republican National Convention last week to campaign and began counterattacks with TV ads and mailers. She is trying to change the tenor of the race.

"It's been a lot of cutesy stuff up to now," said former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer, a Dole strategist. "But on Labor Day, the bell rings."

Dole has been hurt recently by a series of ads from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a concurrent sinking in the polls. 

The race is much different than the 2002 campaign in which Dole was elected. Then, she was running on a gold-plated political resume with the backing of a popular president. (N&O) 

Dick Cheney stopped by Tom Fetzer's place Monday.

The vice president came for a fundraiser for the North Carolina Republican Party's political victory fund at the Raleigh political consultant's apartment on Hillsborough Street.

About 70 people came to the event, said Fetzer, a well-known consultant and former mayor of Raleigh. He said it was the first time he's hosted a major fundraiser.

"The White House and the Secret Service come in and they turn you upside down for about two or three days," he said. 

Cheney spoke for about an hour and a half about the war in Iraq, the state of the nation and his hopes to leave the presidency and the vice presidency "in good hands" next year.

Fetzer said Cheney was much different from his public image.

"He's different than most politicians," he said. "He's very reserved, very soft-spoken, but very knowledgeable, not bombastic in any way. I think that people here really enjoyed his remarks." 

he talked about the war in Iraq, a little bit of the state of the nation and he and the president were not coasting to the finish line but wanted to finish strong, but would hopefully leave the presidency and the vice presidency in good hands which I took to mean Republican hands.

The street outside Fetzer's apartment, above the offices for Fetzer Stephens, was closed during the visit, which was from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Previously: Cheney coming to North Carolina.

Overdue taxes have been paid on the Fetzer Stephens headquarters.

Prompted by an earlier Dome item, WUNC reporter Laura Leslie noted on her blog Monday that 2007 property taxes had not been paid on the two-story brick building in downtown Raleigh.

The loan on the building was signed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham, and his name appears along with political consultant Tom Fetzer's on property records. Both men, however, say that Fetzer is the building's owner and Graham was just giving him financial backing.

Until January, Fetzer advised Graham's campaign.

After the item ran on Leslie's blog, Graham spokesman Aaron Lay contacted Fetzer, who paid the taxes plus $200 in interest with two cashier's checks on Tuesday.

"My understanding is that Tom just honestly didn't know they were due," Lay said.

Fetzer had no comment on the taxes.

"It's an entirely private matter," he said.

Hat Tip: Sam Wineka

Tom Fetzer may not work for Bill Graham anymore, but they're still in real estate together.

The Republican political consultant and his former client, who is running for the GOP nomination for governor, co-own a building in downtown Raleigh.

Fetzer and Graham bought the two-story brick building at 709 Hillsborough St. on March 31, 2006, for $1.2 million, according to Wake County property records. At the time, Fetzer was advising Graham's campaign to cap the state gas tax.

The Fetzer-Stephens consulting firm is now located in the building, which was built in 1875.

The building was bought with two loans: $1 million to Fetzer and Graham from SunTrust in Cary and $250,000 to Fetzer by the Community Bank of Rowan, where Graham serves on the board of directors.

Graham spokesman Aaron Lay said that Graham does not own the building, however. He said Graham co-signed the loan in the same way that parents of a teen-ager might co-sign for a car loan.

Other than that, he declined to add details.

"I won't get into a business or personal matter," he said. "That's aside from the campaign."

Bill Graham has parted ways with a campaign consultant.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate's new campaign manager, Marty Ryall, issued a statement today saying he would no longer be working with a firm run by former Raleigh mayor Tom Fetzer and Mark Stephens.

"Through a cordial and mutual agreement we are no longer working with Fetzer Stephens," he said in a statement. "We appreciate the work Tom and Mark have done for the campaign and we wish them all the best in the future."

Fetzer Stephens has worked with Graham since 2005, including managing his campaign to cap the state gas tax. Graham paid the firm more than $2.3 million to buy air time, produce ads and give consulting services on that issue before starting his gubernatorial bid.

The firm managed his campaign until mid-December, when he officially hired Ryall, a former adviser to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Tom Ellis will be honored next week in Raleigh.

Ellis, a Raleigh attorney who was chief architect of the Republican Party's rise in North Carolina, will receive the Freedom Leadership Award for at a dinner sponsored by Hillsdale College at the N.C. Museum of Art on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

As the chief strategist for former Sen. Jesse Helms and his political organization, the National Congressional Club, Ellis helped rescue the career of Ronald Reagan as well as elevate John East and Lauch Faircloth to the Senate, Rob Christensen reports.

Among the sponsors of the event are former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer; John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation; businessman Bob Luddy and philanthropist Assad Meymandi.

Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, will speak.

Bill Graham's campaign says it was misquoted by a Dunn paper.

In a column today, Dunn Daily Record publisher Hoover Adams claimed that a Graham spokesman said the Salisbury attorney was ahead in polls of his Republican and Democratic competition for governor. He quoted campaign consultant Tom Fetzer on who well Graham is doing:

"It's too early to tell," said Tom, giving an honest answer.

"But," he was quick to add, "I am happy to add that all polls show Bill is leading both Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, with Moore a few points ahead of Perdue."

Aaron Lay, a spokesman for Graham, said that's not true. In August, the campaign released results of its own poll showing him leading the GOP field, but Lay said that was the extent of it.

"We haven't done head to head (polling) with Democrats," he said.

Bill Graham gave a total of $2.3 million to his political advocacy group.

According to Internal Revenue Service forms made available this week, the Salisbury attorney gave a total of $2,302,028 between December of 2005 and February of 2007 to N.C. Conservatives United, an advocacy group he started to fight the gas tax and illegal immigration.

The next largest donor was Larry T. Cloninger Jr., president of Cloninger Ford-Toyota in Salisbury, who gave a total of $100,000 in November and December of last year.

The only other donors to the group were William Frank Lee of Smithfield, who gave $6,000; Herchel Rogers Sr. of Good Neighbors New Hanover County, which gave $193; and Catherine M. Earle of Fayetteville, who gave $15.

The bulk of the money — a total of $2,292,563 — went to Fetzer Stephens, a Raleigh consulting firm, to produce ads, buy air time and give consulting services. Another $6,442 went directly to consultant Tom Fetzer, who was last paid in May, shortly before Graham announced his campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

According to the 2007 mid-year report, the group has $5,413 left.