Pat McCrory is keeping alive the story of his taking almost $185,000 from a private company while a sitting governor. He’s calling the AP a “leftwing” news organization out to discredit politicians from the private sector. To bolster his claim, he had Phil Kirk, a well respected business leader who has worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations, write a letter standing up for his integrity.
The issue is not about integrity or working in the private sector. It’s about transparency and cronyism. McCrory ran on a platform pledging to clean up Raleigh. He had an opportunity to disclose his windfall and he didn’t do it. He was either trying to hide something or so politically tone deaf that he didn’t think the public would care.
Jim Hunt was our last governor from the private sector. He left his law firm before taking office to make sure there were no conflicts of interests. Just yesterday, Jeb Bush announced that he’s leaving his position as an advisor to the bank Barclay’s. And in Pennsylvania, Gov.-elect Tom Wolf resigned from the board of directors of the Wolf Organization. McCrory should have taken similar action.
Attacking the press for reporting about money he refused to disclose is silly and stupid. He’ll lose that battle. The Associated Press has been around a lot longer than him and will be in Raleigh long after he’s gone. The reporters covering the story are known and respected. Neither has a history of attacking the private sector.
McCrory, on the other hand, has a long history of saying things that just aren’t true. He said he went to Moral Monday protests when he didn’t. He said that IBM and Duke Energy dropped benefits because of Obamacare when they didn’t. He blamed Bev Perdue for cutting teacher salaries when the budget in question was passed with a veto override. He said he would not restrict abortions and then signed a bill that would. And the list goes on.
McCrory has the credibility problem, not the capitol press corps. He was warned about retaining his position and maintaining control of his stock portfolio before he took office. He ignored those warnings and now is paying the price. If he needs to blame someone, he should look at himself.
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 >
I cannot believe the garbage McCrory dishes out. I also can’t believe that HE himself believes it. It’s all a smoke-screen and for those who believe it…..please search for the real truth. It’s out there.
theres a lot of dirt on mccroy, that has not even been presented yet
Gov. Pat McCrory spend up to $230,000 in taxpayer funds remodeling bathrooms in his private living quarters at North Carolina’s Executive Mansion so he could take a giant dump on north Carolina citizens in style ….
McCrory is the most inept governor this state has ever had and that is a powerful statement considering some of his predecessors and their lies.
It boils down to integrity. If you believe the republican party is here to protect you from foreigners, minorities, women, gays and liberals coming for your guns, then put aside integrity. Replace honest debate with name calling and denial. Frankly, there is no doubt Obama is a highly intelligent person. How he has been able to function with a congress made up of folks who prefer to deny reality is truly amazing. There is no way you can honestly say accepting money from an entity you have a statutory duty to regulate is ethical. This would be true, irregardless of what party the politician claims to be affiliated. Any news agency which makes that person famous is doing the public a favor.
By November you will watch his campaign ads and you will swear he is a Democrat. He will support expanding Medicaid, etc to get stupid people to vote for him. Then it will never happen.
Dail:
You stole the line from your oil change guy and used it here. Just terrific….
Your words were crude. This comment forum warrants more decorum than that.
And thanks for letting us know your source of political information.Should you post in the future, I’ll weigh your contributions accordingly.
Facts are facts, Greg Dail, but partisan deniers like you insist they are just “BS.” As Thomas recapped it perfectly in an earlier blog: “The governor took $185,000 in compensation from a company the executive branch regulates while he was in office. He didn’t disclose it when he had the opportunity to do so, despite pledging to run a transparent administration. Now, he’s having hissy fit because somebody called him on it.”
When further investigating and a SEC review is done, what McCrory did will be determined to have been either illegal, unethical, incredibly stupid and greedy, or all of the aforementioned.
And talk about who knows no shame? How about yourself, someone who seems to think that McCrory should be given a pass because previous Dem leaders did wrong (and they paid for it via the legal system, BTW), and one who also addresses our POTUS as a “mofo-ing POTUS”???
Fine, if it’s not BS have Roy Cooper investigate and take it before a grand jury or indict. He’s a Democrat, shouldn’t be a problem.
Oh I apologize for referring to our President as “…the smartest mofo-ing POTUS ever.” I should have attributed that quote to the guy who changes my oil, I stole the line from him.
I cannot understand how the Governor can reasonably believe that the AP is “leftist”. The reporters work on stories that they either are investigating and/or present themselves as this story did.
Personally I think that politicians/leaders create and contribute to such issues when they a) demonize their opponents and personally claim to be without sin; b) pass ethics laws and supporting legislation that have loopholes, exemptions, unnecessary complexity and are thus open for interpretation; and c) avoid reasonable measures of transparency.
The Governor, the GOP and their affiliated allies presented a case to the citizens of North Carolina that they were going to be different than the Democrats, operate openly, transparently and ethically.
Naturally, it is very difficult to operate any organization without hiccups or challenges; however, a reasonable case can be made and supported that neither the Governor nor the new leadership of the NCGA have lived up to their campaign slogans and promises.
They have a clear and unimpeded opportunity in 2015 to take responsibility for their errors, re-calibrate their policies and chart a different course for the citizens of North Carolina.
Will they do this?
We shall see, but I advise Tar Heels to fasten their seat belts for another wild ride on Jones Street in 2015.
McCrory can’t win this fight because it’s all BS. Just getting the smear out there is good enough for you guys, mission accomplished.
But to hear you people complain about “cronyism” after years of “Bev” and Mike Easley and Jim Black (not to mention the smartest mofo-ing POTUS ever) is truly astounding. Do you people have no shame?
Cynical Reader:
Right. Just “carelessness,” is all. McCrory’s a pillar of ethical behavior and wouldn’t dream of adjusting the timing of his investments/divestments/compensation, nor underhandedly completing and filing his ethics disclosure forms for personal gain. Neither in this instance nor in the Duke-E stock divestment instance. He’s just a little sloppy and inattentive. Un-huh.
BTW, I’m with Main Street in spirit. I’ve just stopped lamenting the state of NC politics and its electorate out loud and in public. It serves no purpose — other than getting under the skin of those, like you, who think this state is exceptional and headed in the right(eous) direction.
Watch Roy Cooper take advantage of this and all his other cya moments. I can’t wait.
McCrory can’t even deliver GOP bromides effectively. At every step, he seems not ready for prime time. He has an R beside his name and that is all that matters to a lot of people in NC these days. Apparently, being mayor of Charlotte doesn’t require much in the brains department.
Correct. See also Cannon, Patrick and Myrick, Sue.
*Leaps before he looks…
My guess is it’s just carelessness. By this point it’s clear he always, always, always looks before he leaps.
“Somewhere in Main Street”–your “my-oh-my I can’t believe what’s happening in this evil state!” shtick got old months ago. Enough already. We know you’re smarter and more virtuous than us.
Bashing the “liberal” media is a reliable way of firing up the GOP voting base. That’s all, and that’s the only sector of the electorate he feels he needs to respond to.
agreed. We should be concerned about the outrageous lack of transparency
Poor judgment and tone-deafness demonstrated all around and at every step by McCrory. In the long run, the biggest lapse may turn out to be his attacking the AP, calling it leftist, and giving it much more news “grist” to run with (via his long, detailed and contentious response and his seeking campaign contributions to fight back against the story). Being called out that way, the AP will cover every aspect of this matter—large and small, and with great care for accuracy and in checking sources—in the future.
His friend, Phil Kirk, thinks there’s nothing wrong with accepting a six-figure payment from a company McCrory’s regulators are to regulate. That’s ridiculous. But then again, this is a state that has sent Thom Tillis, another one who likes to stretch the truth, to the Senate. NC voters are reaping what they’ve sowed.
noone voted these asswipes in
Someone: You said exactly how I feel. Wake up NC! These guys do not represent the best interests of the general population.
You really thought he ever had any “desire to represent the best interests of the folks who elected him”? Yikes
“I don’t know enough…I’m sorry, I haven’t seen that part of the bill.” – McCrory’s response to whether he was aware of portions of the voter restriction bill he had signed. Perhaps a true statement on his part. He did not read the bill before signing it. This sort of business casts doubt on Pat’s desire to represent the best interests of the folks who elected him. If he is not going read a bill before signing it, why do we need a governor? A machine programed to sign anything put before it would be cheaper.