Mayor McCrory missing in action

by | May 23, 2014 | Editor's Blog, NC Politics, NCGA, NCGov | 3 comments

As the legislature went back into session last week, Pat McCrory said that he was going to be more aggressive this year. He must have meant more aggressive in avoiding the press. So far, the governor has been missing in action.

The legislature got off to a bang. The Senate immediately moved to fast-track fracking by ending the moratorium before all he rules were in place. So what does McCrory think about that? Not much. He has reservations but knows that he can’t do much about it. If the house passes it, he can either sign it or have his veto overridden. 

And the Senate has rolled out a big regulatory reform bill, a big tax overhaul bill and a big tort reform bill. The governor has yet to weigh in on much. Most days, his staff doesn’t release a calendar and when it does, he’s cutting ribbons or attending some ceremony. He’s acting like the mayor of North Carolina instead of the governor. 

The take away is that McCrory hasn’t learned much in his year in the Executive Mansion. He looked weak and confused during last year’s legislative session and he hasn’t done much to rehabilitate his image. Instead, he keeps telling the press how much he’s accomplished and how well last session went. Unfortunately for him, they were all there watching the show and saw him essentially sidelined. They know that he’s either blowing smoke or delusional. 

The legislature seems to see the governor as an inconvenience instead of a partner. And there’s a risk in that. In 2016, the legislature is going to run with the governor at the top of the state ticket. Voters will be looking at him and his record more closely than they will at individual legislators. In a high turnout election, he could easily get blamed for all of the legislature’s missteps and become a drag on a ticket that will likely be tough for Republicans anyway. 

McCrory would be smart to take some stands, even if he loses, to make himself relevant. The Republicans in the legislature would be smart to help him rehabilitate his image. In two years, voters might not be able to tell them apart. 

3 Comments

  1. Paul Shannon

    McCrory is a good example of the Peter Principle in practice.

  2. James Protzman

    He didn’t say he was going to be more aggressive. He said he would “probably be more aggressive.”

    Classic.

  3. Mick

    An article that tells it like it is! Thanks, Thomas.

    This governor either looks wholly uncomfortable (e,g., Dan River spill news coverage), wholly unprepared (e.g., when challenged about how his playing catch with a staffer was the important “conflict” causing him to miss interacting with protesters, or when asked for the details of his being among those at a Moral Monday gathering), or wholly overpowered or outflanked (e.g., legislative overrides of his vetoes, and Berger’s absence at the governor’s teacher salary program announcement).

    Even I, who wants the guy to be exposed daily as a do-nothing and to be a one-termer, am amazed at the ridicule he gets from all quarters, regardless of the political striping. And there is a clear sense that the only reason he is supported in some quarters is because he can be a yes-man for the regressive ideologs leading the charge in the NCGA, and, as such, vetoes will not have to be overridden.

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