Frankly, the governor says "frankly" a lot

Former editorial board member Lew Powell thinks we missed the bigger story with our Saturday editorial about Gov. Pat McCrory. Frankly, he might be right.

 

Here's Lew: 

 

I was shocked to read your misguided Aug. 30 editorial, “Does the governor have a truth problem?”

 

Of course, Gov. McCrory wasn’t telling the truth when he insisted his two campaign aides were given jobs that “frankly, a lot of older people applied for, too.” Nor was he telling the truth when he claimed, "Frankly, yesterday I went out and talked to several” Moral Monday protesters.

 

But we North Carolinians should be proud, not ashamed, to hear McCrory prevaricating with such earnestness. What previous governor even approaches his self-proclaimed frankly-ness? 

 

On the limits of government to solve problems:

 

“Frankly, there is no new money falling out of the sky.”

 

On his unwillingness to support teacher pay raises:

 

“Frankly, I inherited a financial mess.”

 

On the shortcomings of liberal arts:

 

"Frankly, if you want to take gender studies, that's fine. But I don't want to subsidize that if that's not going to get someone a job.”

 

On his opposition to extending unemployment benefits:

 

“Frankly, Gov. Perdue accepted over $2.6 billion in debt, which we haven't paid back to the federal government.”

 

On the elimination of pre-registration for young voters:

 

“Frankly, we think students can do that themselves, just like any other age group.”

 

And McCrory hasn’t hesitated to contend that advertising for the state lottery is “frankly annoying,” that corruption “frankly has existed in North Carolina politics in the past,” that drug testing for welfare recipients “frankly can't be implemented in a consistent way,” that US Airways was “frankly, one of the parties that brought up some of the initial concerns” at the airport and that legal loopholes “frankly allow people to vote once or twice or even more.”

 

OK, so maybe truthfulness isn’t our governor’s strength. But where’s the Observer’s appreciation of his mastery of frankly-ness? We’re witnessing rhetorical history in the making – and he’s only in his first year!