Corruption gives Republicans an opening

Ten days before 2010 begins and 11 months before the off-year elections, which choose members of Congress and members of the state legislature, North Carolina Republicans would seem to be in their most enviable situation since Reconstruction. First-term Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue is struggling with her popularity ratings, voters are troubled by the actions of a dominantly Democratic Congress, and state Democratic leaders keep getting mired in the muck of corruption.

State and federal investigators are looking into allegations of abuse of power by former Gov. Mike Easley, other former Democratic leaders are in prison or have recently completed prison terms, and allegations are being widely reported against long-term Democratic leaders and the bureaucracy they have installed. The allegations against Easley have become too numerous to tally from memory, but his personal use of vehicles on loan from political supporters, the pressuring of supporters and aides to bend the rules to his advantage, his discounted purchase of coastal property, the hiring of his wife at a high salary by N.C. State University, and his use of private aircraft during his gubernatorial terms all stick in the craw of voters struggling in a down economy. The latest installment in this drama has his former legal counsel pleading the Fifth Amendment and then being "no longer employed" by his law firm.

State Sen. Tony Rand has been accused of insider trading involving a law enforcement equipment firm where he is a member of the board. Even if the accusations are false, as Rand insists they are, the state's large purchases from the obscure firm are enough to raise eyebrows.

A News & Observer story today revealed the not-rational pay scales for county ABC executives, which follows on previous stories about the inefficiency of the state system of individual ABC authorities, each acting independently but buying through the state ABC system. Has the Democrat-controlled legislature addressed this issue and brought liquor sales into the 21st century? No. Neither have Democratic legislators addressed the inefficiency in the 70-year-old state sales tax system.

This series of events, especially if Easley gets indicted before voters go to the polls, provides a perfect opportunity for Republicans in North Carolina. Their slogan should be: "Fight corruption; vote Republican." The message can be hammered home as the litany of allegations against Easley and others plays in the background or as the names of jailed Democratic leaders scroll across the screen: Jim Black, Frank Ballance, Meg Scott Phipps.

"Fight corruption; vote Republican" provides a simple, straightforward message that should resonate with voters. It doesn't matter that Republicans may be just as corrupt as Democrats (just not caught yet). What voters have seen is Democratic politicians obfuscating and dissembling at public hearings or going to jail. Their vote is their only way to strike back.

North Carolina Republicans have a golden opportunity in 2010, but the party's track record of internecine warfare in the name of ideological purity offers little assurance that they will take advantage of the gift they are being given. Unless the GOP gets its act together, it will miss out on the opportunity of a political lifetime.