questionable ethics

Steve Harrison wrote about it earlier this week.

The ad in question (below) appears to be the first in a series of hard-hitting videos on McCrory's employment history and lobbying practices. As Mark Binker said in his fact-check report, "it is no worse (or better) than the ad the Republican Governor's Association aired against McCrory's main opponent, Dalton, and is likely to be joined by others this year that twist fact to fit a particular political point of view."

The McCrory campaign has no chanceof winning this lawsuit, but there's early evidence that the strategy is already backfiring. Titan Cement got a black eye from trying to silence its critics in Wilmington. McCrory will too. This lawsuit will do nothing but increase questions about his special interests. Duke Energy, for example, paid Pat McCrory to run for governor for most of his adult life. In 2010, Moore and Van Allen picked up the tab when McCrory was hired to be their director of strategic initiatives.

Makes sense to me. Nothing says "strategic initiative" like getting your boy installed in the governor's mansion.

It's hard to know all the ways McCrory may have benefited from his cozy business relationships But it's a safe bet those firms have benefited from their relationships with him.

When voters get all the facts, they'll conclude that Walter Dalton is a saint compared to Pat McCrory. That's exactly what Pat McCrory is afraid of.