Bring on the Discussion!

Republished form 1/25/12

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger has a good idea. He proposes a debate between himself and Governor Perdue over whether to restore he ѕ cent sales tax. He says Perdue is using her bully pulpit to mount a re-election campaign and wants an equal opportunity to make his case for why the tax should not be imposed.  House Speaker Thom Tillis says he wants in on the debate, too. But a two-against-one matchup wouldn’t be fair or productive.

It isn’t likely to happen. Governor Perdue quickly ruled out the idea. With all her experience in state government she doesn’t perform well in a debate setting. But it would be refreshing to hear some honest dialogue instead of the recent finger pointing and partisan rhetoric North Carolina has heard.

NC SPIN would like to offer an alternative. We would gladly host a discussion between Berger and Perdue over the issue on our next statewide television show. We would even be willing to expand the forum to include Tillis and perhaps Representative Bill Faison, who has been a vocal advocate for this tax. NC SPIN pledges to keep the discussion civil, on topic and give each side equal opportunity and time to advocate the issue.

The people of our state would benefit from such a discussion and we encourage the governor and the pro tem to take us up on our offer. We deserve an honest presentation of this important issue.