Beverly Perdue used one of Pat McCrory's old debates against him.
During the WTVD debate tonight, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate referred to something McCrory said during an April 10 debate in the Republican primary.
"My opponent says that children's health care insurance sends the wrong signal," she said. "I don't understand that."
At the debate, McCrory said that government health care was encouraging teen-agers to get pregnant "in a way" because "they know they're going to get free medical care for their children."
"We're sending the wrong signals by our government programs right now," he said during the Republican debate.
During tonight's debate, McCrory said he did not what Perdue was talking about.
"I don't know where she got that quote from and I look forward to seeing it some day and I'm sure it's out of context like many of the negative ads ... from national Washington groups and labor unions," he said.
Reminded by a reporter afterward, McCrory said that he was talking about preventive measures for teen pregnancies in that quote, noting that he's heard from kids he's mentored that they see pregnancy as "a way out."
"I in no way meant that I would want to take away health insurance from children," he said.
