Puppet video revisits questions on tax returns, how often McCrory and Tillis talk

The latest "Puppet Pat" web video revives a question of how often the Republican's candidate for governor talks with the GOP speaker of the House.

Posted 8:49 p.m. Aug 20, 2012 — Updated 8:49 p.m. Aug 20, 2012

Mark Binker

RALEIGH, N.C. — The state Democratic party has gone back to the felt-covered well for another "Puppet Pat" commercial targeting GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory.

The web-only videos — none have aired as television commercials yet — feature a puppet representation of the former Charlotte mayor, who is running against Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, a Democrat.

The ad heckles McCrory for not releasing his tax returns, something that Dalton has done. To drive home the point, it features a puppet/robot version of presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney, who has been criticized by national Democrats for not releasing more of his own tax returns.

It also returns to the theme that McCrory and legislative Republicans are close allies.

"He talks to the speaker of the House every day. They're like a couple of teenage girls," one of the human actors says of McCrory.

This line references an interview House Speaker Thom Tillis did on WPTF this past June. When asked if Republican legislative leaders were coordinating their message with McCrory, Tillis replied there would be more time with that once the legislative session ended. He added, "I speak with Pat (McCrory) almost every day."

McCrory has since said that was not the case.

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