Gov. Bev touts power of women - and herself

I just got back from the opening of the N.C. Women's Conference which has a sold-out audience of more than 1,500 women. Gov. Bev Perdue, along with author Terry McMillan, opened the conference that seeks to emphasize the power of women.

Gov. Bev took the opportunity to use her experience as governor this year tackling policy issues with a Republican-dominated legislature as an example. The democratic chief executive said she's had to stand tough against legislative moves to hurt programs important to women. Among them was a budget that will mean a $140 million shortfall in Medicaid funding, a shortfall that will mean, she said, people having to make choices about how to pay for eyeglasses, prostheses or vaccinations for their children. She veto'd that budget but lawmakers overruled that veto. Now the shortfall that was predicted has been confirmed.

Perdue also tangled with lawmakers over an anti-abortion bill that required doctors to show ultrasound images of the fetus to women seeking abortions. A judge has blocked that part of the law. Perdue said it was government intrusion between a doctor and his or her patient. We agree with her.

She also fought against cuts to education, particularly changes to the state's preschool program that restricted those who could attend. A judge has said changes violate the state's constitutional obligation to provide all kids an adequate education. We agree with that as well.

We don't know if being a woman had much to do with the handling of those issues. We suspect a male Democratic governor would have held the same views as Perdue. But Perdue was the woman who stood firm, wielding her veto like no other governor (all men) had ever done, and battled for those issues. Good for her.

By the way, Gov. Bev also noted rightly that a good education system is a mighty draw for businesses looking to relocate here. A new report on math and reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, shows North Carolina only making middling progress. The Washington Post says gains nationwide are short of what's desired. The Christian Science Monitor calls reading scores "deeply disappointing." South Carolina's student test scores on the nation's have declined. So to those politicians who want North Carolina to be more like our neighbors to the South, we say "no thanks."

Posted by associate editor Fannie Flono.