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Two clash on health insurance
Perdue wants more coverage; rival McCrory would try to cut costs
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Published: August 20, 2008
DURHAM
In their first live televised debate last night, the two major candidates to be North Carolina's next governor clashed over health care and offshore drilling. And Republican Pat McCrory repeatedly tried to link Democrat Bev Perdue to shortcomings of Gov. Mike Easley's administration.
On such issues as mental-health care and transparency in government, McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte, tried to associate Perdue, the lieutenant governor, with Easley's eight years in office. Easley, a Democrat, has been sued over the withholding of public documents and has been widely criticized for a failed effort to reform the mental-health system.
Perdue responded by presenting herself as an independent worker within the channels of state government, and she said she was not closely tied to Easley. The governor and lieutenant governor run in separate elections and share little authority.
"I was not in the last eight years part of anybody's elite circle," Perdue told reporters after last night's debate, which was held by WTVD-TV in Durham and televised in the central part of the state. A recording of the debate is available at www.abc11.com.
Perdue and McCrory were in broad agreement about the need to improve the state's public-education system and diversify the state's economy. But they disagreed on a number of specific proposals.
The clearest difference was over health insurance.
Perdue has promised to expand state-financed health programs for adults and children. McCrory focused instead on measures to bring down the overall cost of health care.He said he would reduce coverage mandates on insurance plans and work to reduce medical-malpractice lawsuits. And he said that the state needs more tax breaks for businesses to encourage them to provide insurance benefits to workers.
Perdue sharply criticized McCrory for saying earlier this year that government-financed health care for teenage parents is "sending the wrong signals." McCrory said at the time that guaranteeing such coverage would not encourage teenagers to be abstinent.
Perdue also disagreed with McCrory's plan to reduce insurance mandates.
"With school starting next week, I would hope that your kids' shots should be covered. I believe in certain guarantees from your health-care policy," Perdue said, adding that she supports mandates for procedures such as mammograms and prostate exams in addition to vaccinations for schoolchildren.
The candidates also clashed over whether North Carolina should allow drilling for oil and natural gas off its coastline. McCrory strongly supports it, saying that it will help the state's economy and help reduce gas prices in the long term.
"I'm a huge advocate of offshore drilling right off the coast of North Carolina, because I think that can revitalize and bring new jobs, especially to the eastern part of the state," he said.
He also criticized Perdue for changing her position on offshore drilling. Until recently, Perdue has been a consistent opponent of the idea, clearly stating that she would not allow offshore drilling because of environmental concerns.
Lately, however, she has expressed some openness to the idea. Perdue said that as governor, she would convene a group of scientists and engineers to study whether offshore drilling would be technologically feasible and environmentally safe.
"If they tell me it is safe, it is secure, then that's certainly another whole issue that I will be willing to do," she said.
Both candidates said they would work hard to improve the state's high- school graduation rate, but McCrory criticized one of Perdue's signature plans: to provide state-financed tuition to community college for any North Carolina student who meets certain requirements. McCrory said that the plan would cost too much.
McCrory and Perdue both promised to take a tough stance against criminal gangs and illegal immigration.
McCrory said he would lobby the federal government to build an immigration court and an immigration-detention center in North Carolina.
Perdue mentioned a motion that she made last week at a meeting of the State Board of Community Colleges that maintained the state's policy of barring illegal immigrants from attending community college.
McCrory and Perdue are competing to succeed Easley, who cannot run for re-election because of consecutive term limits.
A third candidate, Libertarian Mike Munger, was not invited to last night's debate.
Several other debates are planned before the general election.
■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.
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