McCrory: Leave Your ‘Stupid Hat’ At Home

by | Jul 3, 2014 | Carolina Strategic Analysis, Features, NCGov | 2 comments

So we’ve got a hurricane coming our way. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be too bad, and the effects of it will probably be isolated to a few areas on the coast, but McCrory and co. had best be prepared anyway. If they’re not, they could pay a huge political price. Sure, McCrory isn’t up for reelection for over two years, but when it comes to bungled storm responses, voters have long memories.

The most notorious example of this is the George W. Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Following that debacle, Bush lost his reputation as a strong and decisive leader. It also raised questions of competence. His approval rating dropped to the 30s and never recovered for the rest of his term.

The governor of Louisiana at the time, Kathleen Blanco, also got blamed for the state’s weak response to the storm. Mostly because of lingering memories over Katrina, Blanco decided to call it quits after one term. Had she sought reelection, she would have lost in a landslide. Competence matters. In contrast, neighboring Mississippi’s Haley Barbour received plaudits for how he handled the storm. Had Barbour decided to seek the presidency, his administration’s response to Katrina would have been a factor in his favor.

Of course, even a competent response to a storm won’t guarantee political rewards. Bev Perdue received similar accolades for her response to Hurricane Irene, and afterward PPP trumpeted how her approval rating was on the rise and her chances for a second term looked much brighter. Three months later, Perdue was no longer a candidate, Irene being completely forgotten.

And just recently, Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia received a firestorm of criticism after his administration’s response to a snowstorm. Before the storm, a second term for Deal looked like a sure thing. Afterward, his approval numbers slid, and now he’s caught up in a tighter than expected race against Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson. If he loses in November, most political observers will point to his administration’s response to the Atlanta snowstorm as a major factor in his defeat.

The lessons here are obvious: just because you successfully navigate your state through a bad storm isn’t going to send your approval through the roof. After all, both liberals and conservatives see national defense as a basic responsibility of government. A politician who expects praise on this issue is like a mother who wants praise because she feeds her children. A competent response isn’t the cherry on top. It’s expected.

On the other hand, bungling the response to any storm has definite consequences. It makes one not only appear incompetent, but out of touch. What was the administration doing? Didn’t they know that this was going to happen? Didn’t they know people’s lives were in danger? When it comes to hurricanes, it’s best to err on the side of caution – especially if you’re a politician.

To that end, Governor McCrory held a news conference yesterday and advised: “Don’t put on your stupid hat.” In the future, he would be well-advised to drop such language. When there’s a storm a’comin’, it’s the governor’s chance to shine and look like a leader. Instead, the story became something about “stupid hats”. To those who understand the phrase, it appears condescending. To those who don’t, he appears out-of-touch and maybe even crazy. People might be wondering why he’s bashing hats when there’s a storm about to hit us.

But that’s all nit-pickery. The most important thing is that the administration gives a competent response to the storm. If Arthur has worse effects than we thought, McCrory’s team should be prepared. Are they?

2 Comments

  1. Randolph Voller

    The bottom line is that when you are the top elected official in a town, city, state or government you are expected to lead in these situations. The people need to feel and know that government is addressing the potential problem calmly, transparently and with competence.

  2. Mick

    Yes, some interpreted the “stupid hat” advise as condescending, and yes, others may have wondered about his being out-of-touch. But most people I interacted with quickly responded with jokes about McCrory and the comedic irony of his using those very words, as in “And our Gov would know something about being stupid,” or “McCrory never takes his stupid hat off,” or “He needs to listen to his own advice.”

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