What follows is an excellent case study in how voters need to be very skeptical consumers in an election year, particularly as it relates to Republican officeholders claiming to care about issues where their historical reputation is ... let's just say ... a bit compromised. (The list of those issues, for what it is worth, is a lengthy one.) This fall, when North Carolina's embattled GOP legislative majority begins their respective bids for re-election, Tar Heel State voters will undoubtedly be inundated with ads hailing the GOP legislature for fighting for "huge increases in teacher pay." And, indeed, the budget plan approved in committee by the state Senate does propose a salary increase of over 11 percent. As you would expect when dealing with a legislative body as right-wing as the North Carolina legislature, however, there is a catch.