There are sore losers.
And then there is North Carolina, where Republicans apparently are so upset at losing the governor’s office to a Democrat that they’re punishing the winner — by stripping him of much of his gubernatorial power.
Get a load of this: Gov.-elect Roy Cooper is taking office without much of the appointment power that the man he defeated, Gov. Pat McCrory had.
Moreover, the Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature — meeting in special session — enacted a law that reduces drastically the number of appointments the governor can make. McCrory, also a Republican, signed the bill into law this week. Another bill requires the governor to gain Senate approval of appointments made to the University of North Carolina System.
McCrory only recently conceded defeat to Cooper. It was an intensely fought campaign. Cooper won by a whisker. McCrory conceded and did not seek a recount of the ballots cast in the contest. I was proud of McCrory for conceding the contest.
Then he signs these ridiculous, petulant pieces of crap into law.
The reaction to these bills, quite naturally, have broken along partisan lines. Democrats are incensed. Republicans are not. But then a neutral group weighed in. According to the Washington Post: “Nonpartisan watchdogs, like Bob Hall with Democracy North Carolina, said the changes go ‘far beyond the normal partisan wrangling and change of power.'”
So much for a collegial transition in North Carolina.