Why? Because that's what mayors DO

I refrained from posting last night, because I was so angry.  Oh, I wanted to post.  While I was sitting in that crowded theater listing to the final Republican gubernatorial debate in Asheboro, I was planning what I would say.  I was going to do a voice post from my cell phone on the way home, but I was simply too fired up to say anything even reasonably polite.  I wasn't much better off by the time I got home, so I thought, "I'll do it tomorrow, when I'm calmer."

So much for all that.

What's got me so hot?  As I mentioned, last night was the final Republican gubernatorial debate, and it was held in Asheboro, NC.  All of the candidates were there -- even Elbie Powers, the Ron Paul character that speaks his mind and usually has 1% or less of the vote -- with the exception of Pat McCrory.  Now, common sense should tell you that with a race as close as this one, McCrory would not CHOOSE to miss the last debate, especially with his opponents attacking him every chance they get.  No, you see, Pat McCrory has a JOB.  He is mayor of Charlotte, and he has city council meetings to attend.  Early on in this race, McCrory made it known that he would not be missing city council meetings, because when he does, the Democrats control the meetings.  He stood by that promise last night.

Oh, did I mention that there are other gubernatorial candidates that also have jobs they should be doing?  Namely Fred Smith, who has been an absentee senator in the NC legislature for the past two years, missing OVER 300 VOTES IN 2007 ALONE.  And just in case you're not familiar with the NC legislature, it's got a Democratic majority, and every Republican vote counts when you have a Democratic majority.

Gosh, do I even need to finish writing this post to let you know WHY I'm so angry about last night?

As you can probably guess, two of the candidates took this opportunity to make it seem like McCrory doesn’t care about the people of North Carolina. It all began when Jack took the stage to speak on behalf of Mayor McCrory and explain why he couldn’t make it. There Fred Smith sat in front of the crowd, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, sneering and shaking his head. Oh what am I saying, I’m not being fair here – he’s always sneering. But he did made a show out of showing his disgust in a very tasteless manner.

The debate opened with an actual question, but rather than answer it right off the bat, Fred Smith took the opportunity to address the crowd and scold Mayor McCrory for not attending. I have the spectacle on tape, and I’ll be uploading it tomorrow so you can all see what it looks like when the pot calls the kettle black.

In all honesty, I don’t entirely remember what Smith said because it was completely dwarfed by Bob Orr’s comment. When it came time to answer the question, Orr again chose not to address the issue and instead told the crowd that McCrory “needs to decide whether he wants to be a mayor or run for governor.”

Seriously?

So let me get this straight – for starters, you absolutely have to be independently wealthy to run for governor. That’s what I’m going to take from that comment, because Orr obviously wants his gubernatorial candidates to be jobless.

And if you DO have a job when you run for governor, you’re supposed to completely shun it? Doesn’t that just speak VOLUMES about your work ethic? How do the citizens of North Carolina know you’re not going to decide it’s time to run for president in a few years and just leave your position empty in the governor’s mansion? Justice Orr, it’s good to know that if you are our next governor, you’ll be entirely committed to your position UNLESS something better comes along. Fred Smith has already shown his great work ethic through his senate attendance.

So yes, let’s please criticize McCrory for deciding to stick with his commitments, because after all, we don’t want a governor that’s going to stick to his word, and we CERTAINLY don’t want a governor that thinks he’s supposed to do his job.