Pat McCrory is in serious trouble because he is no longer taken seriously. After a year of breaking campaign promises, making stuff up, blaming other people and shirking responsibilities, the media no longer believes what he says or takes him at his word. His reset button is not resetting.
Earlier this week at a retreat for legislators, McCrory praised former governor Jim Hunt by calling him a “mentor” and “adviser.” Today, the N&O responded by mocking him. Yesterday, Gary Pearce, Hunt’s long-time political adviser and friend, in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek blog post called on the former governor to reject “this slander,” saying, “You don’t want people thinking McCrory has been taking your advice.”
Poor Pat. He can’t even give somebody a compliment without getting slammed. It’s because nobody believes what McCrory says anymore. An insincere compliment is no compliment at all. It’s just a bunch of words.
McCrory has developed a reputation for saying anything, true or not, if he thinks it sounds good. To regain respect and trust, McCrory needs to show some action. If Jim Hunt is really a mentor and trusted adviser, McCrory needs to take his advice. As Pearce pointed out, he should sign the petition backing Hunt’s plan to raise teacher pay to the national average in five years. And then he should make that his top legislative priority. That would be a start to regaining his credibility.
Anything less from the governor will just prove what everybody already thinks. McCrory didn’t really mean anything he said. He just thought it sounded nice. And, in McCrory world, it’s what you say, not what you do. Unfortunately for him, most of us still believe the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words.”
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 >
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Sheila C Seymour
January 16, 2014 at 9:59 am
We need all state employees to receive a payraise. McCrory may decide to give teachers a raise, but it will be short lived. We need Democrats to take back our state!
HEAR HEAR!! RIGHT ON SHEILA:
AN ADD ON TO YOUR COMMENT: WHEN A GOVERNOR HIRES A ROOKIE SUPPORT STAFF RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE AND PAY’S HIM $80K PLUS, FIRES EXPERIENCED STAFF WHO’VE BEEN RUNNING THE OFFICE’S OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM FOR YEARS AND WHO HIRES HITLER’S FORMER SECRETARY MAKING HER HEAD OF DHHS…YOU GOTTA KNOW WE GOT PROBLEMS COMING AND MANY POOR UNDESIRABLES IN OUR COMMUNITY WILL SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF SUCH A DECEPTIVE, TALK IS CHEAP, POWER HUNGRY, BIGOT FUELED POLITICIAN AND GOVERNOR OF OUR MOST LOVELY AND BEAUTIFUL STATE.I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY ASK MCCRORY ONE QUESTION – HOW DOES A GOVERNOR LET POOR PEOPLE GO WITHOUT FOOD STAMPS FOR FOOD? MANY WENT HUNGRY FOR MONTHS ON END. HOW DOES A GOVERNOR REMOVE HEALTHCARE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT?…EARLY IN HIS TERM THIS WAS ALLOWED TO HAPPEN IN OUR STATE..SHAME ON YOU GOVERNOR….SO IN PAYING AN INTERN THIS KINDA MONEY B/F YOU RESPECTFULLY CARE FOR OUR TEACHERS, FIREFIGHTER AND LE…HOW DARE YOU MAKE PROMISES YOU KNOW BEFOREHAND YOU NEVER INTENDED TO KEEP..”REMEMBER THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN “UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL”…THIS SONG SHOULD BE OUR STATE ANTHEM!!
We need all state employees to receive a payraise. McCrory may decide to give teachers a raise, but it will be short lived. We need Democrats to take back our state!
If the Governor wants to regain his credibility, he’s got to lead on something. Maybe teacher pay is a good place to start.