Running Like Hell from limited government

It would appear that an awful lot of NCGOPers in Raleigh are taking advice from Pink Floyd.  I am willing to bet that bus rides around our fair capital city are getting a little bumpy these days.  (People keep getting thrown underneath.)

We had Gov. Pat and Speaker Thom throwing the state Senate under the bus regarding ObamaCare.  Now, we’ve got Gov. Pat’s team leaving DENR chief John Skvarla — an outspoken critic of the professional “environmentalist” movement — hanging out there to dry.  Then, there is the case of Dianna Lightfoot who was JUST appointed to head up early childhood education oversight at DHHS.  The N&O is mighty upset about some things Ms. Lightfoot posted on Facebook.  Those  paywall people, and their comrades at the NC Democrat Party (and party subsidiary WRAL) howled, and — as a result — Ms. Lightfoot “informed Secretary (Aldona) Wos this morning that she does not wish to be a distraction to the department and will pursue other opportunities. Secretary Wos accepted this decision.”

Translation?  “Hurry up, Dianna.  You’re going to be late for your bus.”

What got the media so bent out of shape?  Well, for one, WRAL’s Laura Leslie got tied in knots over Lightfoot referring to Hillary Clinton as “butch.”  AND ??????????     WRAL’s hit-woman also had more “concerns”:

[…] From the DHHS news release:

“Ms. Lightfoot is a strategic and tactical top tier policy executive with extensive healthcare, child welfare and education expertise,” said Secretary Wos. “Her leadership will ensure we meet the State’s longstanding commitment to protect and serve our young children.”

Lightfoot has served as president of the National Physicians Center, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that supports and promotes healthcare public policies and education, a post she has held since 2001. … She holds a master’s degree in psychology and community relations, a counseling license and a secondary teaching credential.

The National Physicians Center for Family Resources, which Lightfoot founded in 2001, advocates against “institutional” preschool programs.

“In the case of early childhood education programs, available research suggests they may actually be inferior to early learning opportunities at home. In addition, it appears the demand for out of home childcare is not as prevalent as many advocates claim,” says an open letter signed by Lightfoot on the group’s website.

The letter also warns that “There is great potential for early learning institutions to foster more dependency on the government (i.e. taxpayer) and more of an entitlement mentality.” 

“Will institutions focus on character building and teaching strong values? If so, whose values will children be taught?” it asks. […]

*The horror.*  It looks like her real offense here was openly criticizing a taxpayer-subsidized leftist cash cow.  Does harrassing her and running her out of this job count as “viewpoint discrimination?  

Adding to this dilemma is the fact that Gov. Pat took the lefty position on  state-funded pre-school during the campaign — openly praising it.  So, why on Earth would you appoint someone who takes a more conservative stand on government-funded day care?

Instead of welcoming a debate challenging the lefty conventional wisdom on government-funded day care,  Team McCrory chose to stomp out the sparks and give the lefties the “kill” they wanted.

A pattern is really starting to emerge.  If someone steps out and says or does something conservative — you’re going to get either (1) crickets or (2) the cold shoulder  or (3) a piling-on denunciation from the Raleigh GOP establishment.

A lot of us in the conservative grassroots fought hard to put Pat McCrory and Thom Tillis where they are today.  It’s becoming increasingly clear that Team Charlotte™ will not fight for us.