The Guv Clears His Throat (Again)

Governor Squishy is becoming more outspoken about the radical extremists in his own party who are calling the shots in the NC General Assembly. He's speaking out against the sales tax redistribution scheme, calling it "class warfare" and even comparing its promoters to John Edwards. Ouch.

He sees no point, he avers, to the "religious freedom protection act" either. “It makes no sense,” he said. “What is the problem they’re trying to solve?”

And he was pretty strong in criticizing the bill being pushed by Sen. Phil Berger to allow magistrates to opt out of their oaths of office in order not to perform gay marriages. "At this time, I would not sign it the way it's written because ... I don't think you should have an exemption or a carve-out when you swore an oath to the constitution of North Carolina or to the Constitution of the United States of America," McCrory said.

Watch out for the waffle words, folks. "I would not sign it" is a good distance from "I will veto it." He's taken the "I won't sign" route before, but in North Carolina, when a governor doesn't sign a bill it becomes law anyway. Not signing is just cowardice. A strong veto would signal that he has indeed learned a few lessons about standing up to the radical right in his own party ... with his reelection looming.

Source for quotes above: News&Observer and WRAL.