McCrory threatens to stand up for Common Core
Published June 7, 2014
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, June 6, 2014.
Don’t look now but Governor Pat McCrory seems to be thinking about standing up to leaders of the General Assembly for a change. McCrory told a business group this week that the push by the House and Senate to repeal the Common Core education standards was “not a smart move.”
The business community and much of the education establishment support the standards, but repealing them has become a crusade for the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, who sees them either as a takeover by communists or the United Nations, depending on which conspiracy theory they believe at any given moment.
It probably strikes the N. C. Chamber of Commerce as odd that they are being accused of working in tandem with communist factions to take over public education.
The News & Observer quotes McCrory as saying he wasn’t ready to threaten to veto a bill that repealed the standards but would work with legislative leaders so that a veto wouldn’t be necessary.
That ought to be interesting. There doesn’t seem to be much room for compromise here. The far-right Republican base is demanding repeal and legislative leaders, including House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis, are on the record supporting ending the standards.
A veto may be all that can stop the repeal.
But will McCrory use it to stand up to the General Assembly and the Tea Party?
It’s hard to be optimistic. He promised that last year’s tax reform would be revenue neutral and the bill he eventually signed costs the state $600 million a year.
But maybe he’ll find the political courage to take a stand for something. Maybe.
