Pat's *big* response to the NYT...

[WorseBeforeBetter]

North Carolina’s Path: The Governor’s View

Re “The Decline of North Carolina” (editorial, July 10):

The North Carolina I’m leading today is on a powerful comeback. After just six months of problem-solving leadership and making the tough decisions that we were elected to do, there is significant movement on vital reforms to tax policy, energy, education, economic development and transportation.

While it may not be apparent to the very liberal worldview of The Times, North Carolina’s new focus on reform is paying off. Already companies have announced plans to create more than 9,300 jobs in the state and invest more than $1.1 billion in facilities. The jet engine manufacturer GE Aviation is bringing its advanced materials production to a new facility near Asheville.

My reforms have stepped on the toes of the political right and the left who are vested in the old ways of doing business. But in my 14 years as mayor of Charlotte, I learned that it didn’t matter whether a good idea came from a Republican or a Democrat. What mattered was whether it solved a problem and did so at a cost taxpayers could afford.

This collaborative, problem-solving, focused leadership transformed Charlotte from a regional hub into a leading national metropolitan center.

This focus on pragmatic problem-solving is now fueling North Carolina’s comeback to prosperity as well.

PAT McCRORY
Governor
Raleigh, N.C., July 12, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/opinion/north-carolinas-path-the-governors-view.html?_r=1&

Well, that was rather... limp. But good swipe at libruls!

[CurtEastPoint]

1. 'verrrrruh librul wurldvyew...' shut the fuck up, McCrory.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

2. Squawk! Pull my string!

"Pragmatic" was a nice touch, too.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. I grew up in NC and am so ashamed.

Of course, I live in GA so I don't have much to squawk about here. SSDD.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

4. I left Northern Virginia for this.

For a while there I was ready to flee, but think I'll stick around to fight these MFers. Republicans will destroy NC's fragile economy, and that's when we'll *really* see voter wrath. And it'll be sooner than we think...

[octoberlib]

5. Collaborative?? Bullshit.

Secret bills passed in the night aren't collaborative. The only people his reforms are helping are the 1% and corporations. 9,000 jobs? Over 70,000 people are getting kicked off unemployment. Lame.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

9. Yep. And Triangle unemployment ROSE in May.

And then there's this:

Teacher assistants hold breath as state legislators discuss budget cuts

....

The Senate budget takes a whack out of the funds that go to pay for teacher assistants, cutting more than $142.3 million and leaving money for them only in kindergarten and first grade. With a cut of $24.6 million, the House budget proposes to take a smaller chunk from teacher assistant spending. Teacher assistants are 7.5 percent of the state’s public education budget.

The Senate budget would eliminate 4,580 teacher assistant jobs, according to the state Department of Public Instruction, while the House budget would cost 790 jobs.

Last year, 24,400 teacher assistants worked in public schools, with 17,579 paid with state money. The Senate budget would cut about a quarter of the teacher assistant positions.

On average, statewide, teacher assistants working 10 months a year make a little more than $21,250. In Wake, these classroom workers are called instructional assistants, their salaries range from $18,000 to $24,700, and they work a little more than nine months a year.

....

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/12/3026469/teacher-assistants-hold-breath.html#storylink=cpy

[Lex]

6. Meanwhile "NC Falls Out of the Top 10 Best Places For Business"

http://m.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/07/nc-falls-out-of-top-10-on-cnbcs.html?r=full

[WorseBeforeBetter]

8. Ouch... "the first time the Tar Heel State has failed to make the top 10."

Can't wait for Pat's rebuttal to this...

[Hissyspit]

7. What a dick he is.

Yeah, dumbass McCrory. It will take more than six months to see the real damage you've done.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

10. It's a Sarah Palin level of dickishness.

Are there *any* Republican governors out there who don't act like flaming assholes? I didn't follow Huntsman all that closely, but he came across as a classy guy. I guess one of the reasons he didn't win the GOP nomination!