Linda Daves

McCain's general election surrogates

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:33:47 -0400

Here's a mostly complete list of John McCain's surrogates in North Carolina for the general election:

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, former Sen. Bob Dole, former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, former Arkansas Rep. Asa Hutchinson, Republican Party chairwoman Linda Daves, former N.C. Republican Party chairman Ferrell Blount, state Sen. Neal Hunt, House Minority Leader Paul Stam, state Reps. Ric Killian and Nelson Dollar, Dr. Jeanne and David Smoot and former prisoner of war Col. J. Quincy Collins Jr.

Perdue says N.C. banks are stable

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:59:59 -0400

Beverly Perdue said Friday that North Carolina banks are stable.

In a visit to the Greenville Daily Reflector, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said she's heard from voters who are frustrated by the problems with the country's financial institutions:

"There is this sense of, 'I'm being wronged by the government,' but then there’s this sense of really understanding that something has to be fixed to salvage the financial backbone of America," she said.
North Carolinians can take comfort in knowing the major banks that make North Carolina their base of operations are stable, she said. However, they too are seeing drops in their stock prices.
"I think it proves everything can be rattled by an economic crisis," she said.

With Citigroup buying Charlotte-based Wachovia today, the state Republican Party sent out links to the article arguing that Perdue was out of touch.

"When it comes to the struggles of ordinary people, Beverly Perdue just doesn't get it," said party chairwoman Linda Daves.

Perdue: Mental health not separate

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:08:25 -0400

Beverly Perdue says mental health is not separate from physical health.

In response to a post earlier this morning, spokesman David Kochman said that she was not saying that mental health and physical health are different things during a debate at WRAL last night.

"To clarify, Bev was talking about her responsibilities as chair of the Health and Wellness Trust Fund not extending to mental health," he wrote Dome. "In most of North Carolina's policy discussions, mental health has been cordoned off in its own separate category. But she's the one candidate who has repeatedly said that the only way to fix the system is to stop treating mental and physical healthcare as two separate systems."

He pointed to a section of Perdue's campaign Web site that echoes this thought.

"My background in health care tells me that it makes no sense to separate mental from physical health care," Perdue says on the site.

Later in the day, Republicans also pointed to the same section to criticize Perdue.

"Which is it, Bev?" said N.C. GOP chairwoman Linda Daves in a statement. "Is there a difference between mental health care and physical health care or not?"

N.C.'s black Republicans tackle race

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:50:34 -0400

MINNEAPOLIS — Just 36 African-American delegates are at the Republican National Convention this week. Four are from North Carolina.

So it was no surprise that the delegation tackled race at this morning's breakfast, especially in a year with an African American on the presidential ballot — albeit for the other side, Barb Barrett reports.

State GOP chairwoman Linda Daves told delegates the party should do more to reach out to African Americans, but she praised the black attendees in the delegation. Among them are Tim Johnson, chairman of the Buncombe County GOP party, and Ada Fisher, who has just been elected to the Republican national committee for the state.

Also attending as a guest is William Owens, Jr., of Fuquay-Varina, who stumped at this morning’s breakfast for his new, $17 book, "Obama: Why Black America Should Have Doubts."

"I want to say to my white Republican brothers and sisters, if you ever want to understand why African Americans are supporting Obama, you should read this book," he told the group. Owens said that once America deals with racism, then blacks can get past a "victim mentality."

Former Sen. Bob Dole also was at the breakfast, and he reminded reporters that he was the Senate majority leader when the Martin Luther King bill passed declaring a national holiday.

"That wasn't Ted Kennedy; it was Bob Dole," Dole said. But he, too, said the Republican party needs to do more to recruit people of color.

"We can't be one color, one ethnicity," Dole said. "This party, we've got to be a party of diversity."

N.C. GOP: Palin a 'visionary leader'

DavidIngram — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:05:57 -0400

Linda Daves has high praise for the presumptive Republican nominee for vice president.

Daves, the N.C. GOP chairwoman, released a statement saying that Sarah Palin will help "shake up the status quo in Washington."

Sarah Palin not only brings executive experience to the ticket, she brings true credentials of reform. In her impressive tenure as Governor, Palin has shown leadership in her stands against ethics violations and against wasteful spending. She has shown vision for promoting alternative and domestic energy sources in Alaska. In addition, as the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin bring a unique perspective to leading our nation and supporting our troops.

Daves also called Palin "a perfect co-author for a new American story" and said McCain and Palin are "two visionary leaders."

UPDATE: In an interview, Daves rebutted criticism about Palin's relative inexperience. Palin was elected Alaska governor in 2006.

"What is significant and very, very positive about that is her accomplishment in those two years — her accomplishment in slashing taxes, in getting rid of perks, in saying 'no' to Congress when they wanted to build a bridge to nowhere," Daves said.

GOP blasts legislative session

bkrueger — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:22:36 -0400

North Carolina Republicans don't think much of today's special session of the legislature.

The legislature is returning today to vote to override Gov. Mike Easley's veto of a bill to relax width restrictions for boats being towed on North Carolina highways.

State Republican Party Chairwoman Linda Daves issued a statement this morning questioning why the Democrats who control the legislature feel such a session is necessary. But she has a guess:

"Democrats are only coming back to Raleigh so they can collect more checks from the boating industry on the campaign trail," Daves said.

Two Democrats know their homes

DavidIngram — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:04:14 -0400

State Rep. Dan Blue and U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield know how many homes they own.

The two Democrats held a news conference Thursday at Barack Obama's Raleigh office to criticize John McCain. The presumptive Republican nominee for president had expressed confusion about how many homes he and his wife Cindy own.

"Senator McCain is not in touch with the American people," Butterfield said.

"If you own so many that you can't keep up with them," Blue said, "then you ought to make an effort to see what regular people are going through."

So how many do Blue and Butterfield, both of whom are lawyers, own?

For Blue: one, in Raleigh. For Butterfield: two, a one-bedroom in Washington and a house in Wilson.

And, Butterfield added, the Washington home cost him more.

UPDATE: Linda Daves, chair of the N.C. Republican Party, released a statement in response to Blue and Butterfield. She accused Obama of being out of touch with average North Carolinians, citing his recent vacation to Hawaii and the millions he has made from writing two books.

"No, when it comes to being an out of touch celebrity, Barack Obama has no equal," Daves said. "The only thing Obama and his friends proved today is that they are more interested in raising taxes than in raising the level of debate."

B. Dole to speak in N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:02:43 -0400

Bob Dole will speak in High Point and Raleigh today.

The former Senate majority leader and husband of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole will appear with Sen. Richard Burr and N.C. Republican Party chairwoman Linda Daves.

The occasion is the opening of two headquarters for the John McCain presidential campaign.

The High Point event will be held at 12:30 p.m. at 3800 Tinsley Road. The Raleigh event will be held at 3 p.m. at 1506 Hillsborough St. in the state Republican Party headquarters.

The McCain campaign is also opening an office in Winston-Salem today. Democratic rival Barack Obama, meantime, has 14 offices open already.

Dole, who ran for president himself in 1996, is increasingly visible in North Carolina lately, appearing at a Raleigh anti-tax rally in late June.

Easley, Daves react to Helms' death

bniolet — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:33:16 -0400

Gov. Mike Easley said that Jesse Helms was always a gentleman to him.

"Whether you liked his politics or not, he was a national force able to deliver for his constituents," Easley said in a statement. "We last appeared together when the Navy named a submarine after North Carolina at his request. He certainly didn’t shy from controversy and you always knew what his positions were. Whether we were working together to stop international drug trafficking or opposing each other on the campaign trail, he was always a gentleman to me."

Linda Daves, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, said it was fitting that Helms, who she described as a "great patriot" died on Independence Day.

"Jesse Helms was larger than life and it is entirely fitting that he would join Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams as making his last day the Fourth of July," Daves said in a statement. "Senator Helms will be a man who is remembered for loving his country, the state of North Carolina and for doing whatever was in his power to work for the people with their best interests in his heart....No great man, no matter his era, is short of controversy. I know Jesse would have expected as much. Those who knew him personally knew him to be a man with a kind, gentle soul who exuded warmth and lifted up those around him."

Daves attacks Easley over Italy trip

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:19:52 -0400

Linda Daves is attacking Mike Easley's trip to Italy.

In a statement to the press, the chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party says that the governor should not have spent $170,000 to go to Italy.

"Rising gas prices have caused many North Carolina families to cancel their vacations this summer," she said in the statement. "At a time when North Carolina families are struggling to make ends meet, they should not have to foot the bill for the Governor’s exploits abroad."

Daves says that Easley should either return the money or show the results of his trip.