Tag: Gov. Pat McCrory

Governor to announce new physical fitness directive for state employees?

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June 12, 2013 at 9:53 amCategory:Uncategorized

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As you’re probably aware, Governor McCrory has ignited a bit of a controversy in recent days with his decision to slip outside the Capitol Building to toss a baseball around with a security guard (under the weird gaze of aid Thomas Stith) at the same time that his staff told citizens delivering a petition with more than 16,000 signatures asking him not to approve plans to increase class sizes in public schools that he was unavailable and in a meeting. (See the photos below.)

According to the Governor’s strangely combative statement from press spokeswoman Kim Genardo, however, the Guv didn’t slip outside until after the petition was delivered.  Why, if true, that would matter is not entirely clear, but that appears to be the story McCrory is sticking to.

What was more interesting about the statement was this  portion reported by Rob Christensen of the News & Observer: Read More…

The third Koch brother?

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June 11, 2013 at 9:52 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Art Pope 3This is from this morning’s Washington Post:

“The third Koch ‘brother’ hits North Carolina

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There’s something rotten in the state of North Carolina — and it smells like money. Specifically, Art Pope’s money.

In fact, Pope and his cash are responsible for North Carolina’s recent meteoric rise as the poster child for regressive, conservative politics.

As the head of Variety Wholesalers (a family-run discount store holding company) and the $150 million Pope Family Foundation, he has invested in an array of think tanks and advocacy groups dedicated to aggressively aligning the state’s political terrain with his business interests. Gov. Pat McCrory, whose campaign he bankrolled, recently named Pope to the powerful post of state budget director.

Pope is, for all intents and purposes, North Carolina’s third, lesser known, Koch brother. In fact, he’s attended the Koch Brothers’ planning summits and considers himself their close ally. Read More…

The elephant in the video poker checks scandal room

May 24, 2013 at 8:34 amCategory:Uncategorized

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McCrory11092012No one has presented any evidence thus far of any wrongdoing by Governor Pat McCrory or his campaign in the growing scandal surrounding campaign checks from the video “sweepstakes” (aka video poker) industry, but at some point, the Governor would do well to address the issue and answer some questions.

This is because the hard and uncomfortable truth is that the checks appear to have been funneled through the law firm at which the Governor (a non-lawyer) worked for many years on matters that have never been explained and on behalf of clients that have never been identified.  Read More…

Chart: NC Medicaid has drastically reduced cost growth since 1990

May 22, 2013 at 11:44 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Over the weekend, Governor Pat McCrory continued on his theme of “Medicaid is broken and costs are out of control” in a number of interviews. This reflects the talking points in this week’s NC Senate budget release that blame Medicaid for every budget woe in the state. It’s enormously disappointing that McCrory is not being challenged in these interviews with some basic facts about NC Medicaid that show far from being broken, it is actually a model program in reducing costs. In fact, why not ask him about this one easy chart? Over the last twenty years North Carolina has gone from an annual growth rate in Medicaid costs of 14% to today’s 3.5% growth rate (the lowest in the nation). North Carolina leads the nation in reducing Medicaid growth responsibly.

nc medicaid annual cost growth

Local TV anchor gives “ugly” performance in McCrory interview

May 22, 2013 at 11:24 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Given the utterly vacuous conversations he conducted with Lt. Governor Dan Forest a few weeks back (“interview” would be too generous of a word), it’s no particular surprise that WTVD reporter Larry Stogner turned in this half-baked 129 seconds with Governor McCrory yesterday.  

Still, Stogner needs to apologize for the offensive editorializing with which he began the segment.

“Governor Pat McCrory has a lot on his mind these days. He and state Senate leaders are butting heads over several key items in the Senate’s $20 billion budget plan. And he’s keeping an eye on those ugly Monday night protests and mass arrests led by the NAACP.“

Say what? Hey Larry: You’re the journalist—not the commentator. Your use of the pejorative “ugly” was offensive and utterly inappropriate. Read More…