Pat McCrory and the Republican legislators think that it’s a good idea to politicize state government jobs. It’s all part of their plan to run government like a business. Get rid of all those civil service protections and you can fire the dead weight to make government more efficient. So, they gave McCrory power to convert 1500 jobs reserved for civil servants into political appointees.
Last week, McCrory informed almost 1,000 current state workers that they are now at-will employees which means that they can be fired for any reason. Once he gets rid of those folks who have qualifications and experience to do those jobs, he can hire people who really know what they’re doing. You know, a bunch of Republicans who don’t believe in government.
It’s worked so well already. The two 24 year olds he hired to run policy and communications over at the Department of Health and Human Services have landed their employer in hot water because of their lack of skills and experience. Fortunately, they’ve got a defender in the governor because he knows they are the best qualified for the job, like all those other political hires he’ll make.
However, in a weird twist, they’ve hung the governor out to dry. In fact, his whole cabinet and communications team is AWOL while he repeatedly takes questions he’s unprepared to answer. When a government scandal breaks, somebody is supposed to fall on a sword, usually an employee close to the mess.
This time, though, it’s the governor who is taking the heat. Early on, his spokesperson, Kim Genardo, referred reporters to Secretary Aldona Wos. But Wos isn’t taking questions. And neither are those two Wunderkinds who oversee policy and communications. Nor is anybody else in the administration coming to his defense.
It’s all about running government like a business. To hell with the governor. This is every man or woman for himself or herself. You know, the free market way.
Just wait until we get all those new political appointees.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Good enough for his sorry self! I doubt that even his wife would back him up!