North Carolina
Related: About this forumChristensen: McCrory wanted to rebrand NC; the legislature is doing it for him
By Rob Christenson
A man walks alongside the the big state seal that is at the entrance to the Legislative Building in Raleigh, NC on Jan. 23, 2013. Although it was quiet on this day, soon downtown Raleigh will be busy with Legislators, staff, lobbyists, protestors, media crews and others when the new legislative session starts on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013.
North Carolinas national brand may be changing but not the way Gov. Pat McCrory intended when he talked during his campaign about the Tar Heel state undergoing an image makeover.
North Carolinas economic development brand is currently being diminished by high taxes, excessive regulation and broken state government, was McCrorys standard campaign line.
There was the suggestion of perhaps a new advertising slogan. The new brand that McCrory seems to want is that North Carolina is more business-friendly.
But since he took office in January, the state has been undergoing a brand change of a very different kind.
The sharp rightward turn of the legislature and the Moral Monday protests have turned North Carolina into one of the nations top political spectacles.
CBS News, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, MSNBC and The New York Times have all beaten a path to Raleigh to gawk.
The national coverage is worth millions of dollars of publicity. Unfortunately for North Carolina, it may also be the wrong kind of publicity.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/06/3013805/mccrory-wanted-to-rebrand-nc-the.html#storylink=cpy
patricia92243
(12,590 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,319 posts)The Editorial page went after McCrory & Co. today, too.
Longtime observers of state government whove watched the muddled, comical and sometimes mean-spirited goings-on in the General Assembly say this session is different than any theyve seen. Its not a comment they make with admiration, though there is an element of awe over the sheer scope of the recklessness and political tone-deafness demonstrated this session.
The latest example, of course, was the state Senates abrupt move last week to use a bill on foreign law in family court as a vehicle for proposing sweeping new restrictions on abortion. The proposed changes are part of a national effort by pro-life forces to undermine a womans Constitutional right to an abortion. This time, theyre avoiding a challenge to the right itself and instead pushing to restrict the process with legal encumbrances ostensibly added for safety.
The Senates action appears to have caught House Speaker Thom Tillis and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by surprise. This session has become so unpredictable that even the GOPs top leaders are in the dark about whats happening.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/06/3013785/questions-loom-as-gop-nears-end.html#storylink=cpy