Are voters anti-tax conservatives who just don't know it?

More evidence that the NC GOP doesn't let voting results get in the way of their story.

The Republican gubernatorial candidates got together to debate last night. It's clear that the gameplan of the back of the pack group is to tear in to frontrunner Charlotte Mayor as a tax-raiser. You see, McCrory along with the Charlotte City Council decided that in order to bring things like light-rail and major pro sports (to the extent my beloved Bobcats count as "major") to Charlotte, he needed to actually raise money to do. So bonds were passed, hotel patrons were taxed.

By far, McCrory is the most electable Republican in the general election, and therefore, SebMan wishes the very honorable former Justice Robert Orr and the assumedly non-beagle hating State Senator Fred Smith well in their endeavor to demonstrate McCrory is really a McGovern in successful moderate mayor of the richest city in the state's clothing. But it seems the very logical contours of his opponent's arguments should lead them to seriously reconsider the effectiveness of their arguments. Smith thinks that McCrory overruled the "will of the people" in supporting the landing of the Bobcats:

"It's hypocritical to say [you] follow the will of the people when 57 percent
voted against the [Bobcats] arena and the city built it anyway," Smith shot
back.

And that would seem very powerful, but for the fact that the Bobcat deal came down in 2003 (after that 57% of voters denied an earlier referendum in 2001). Since then, McCrory has been re-elected not once, but 3 times, by no less than 56% of the vote. To get to the general he's had to win the Republican primary, and he's done so by 2 to 1 margins every time.

So, Mr. Tax has not only been elected in an fairly Democratic city (in 2005 and 2007, seven of 11 City Council seats went Democratic) but also overwhelmingly surported in Republican primaries. This reminds me of a slogan I saw on a Libertarian website awhile back that claimed "Most people are libertarians, they just don't know it yet." An element of the right is so sure that voters hate ALL taxes they seem oblivious to voters actual choices.

Sadly, I think this year, Republican primary voters will remain unfamiliar with their inner Grover Norquist and vote for the moderate. Hopefully the Democrat, Moore or Perdue, will be ready to handle a tough contest.