Easley's record looks worse and worse
Mike Easley, we hardly knew you.
By your design, apparently.
If we had known you better, surely we would not have put up with you.
Yesterday's report by the N&O gives another example of how the former governor's secrecy let him get away with behavior that was ethically questionable at best.
The Charlotte Observer follows up with an editorial today.
The story concerns Easley's close relationship with "NASCAR titan" and auto dealership owner Rick Hendrick, who treated the governor to some nice trips and other favors, and also benefited from some tax breaks supported by Easley.
Easley didn't report these favors on ethics disclosure forms, the N&O noted, and replies curtly by e-mail now: "I don't discuss personal business on personal vacation on personal time."
The implication being that the newspaper is prying into private matters.
Quite a dodge. Trouble is, when an elected official's "personal vacation" is paid for by someone else, it's a matter of public interest whether that someone else is benefiting in return.
It would be nice to see the attorney general take a look at this information and determine whether an official investigation is warranted. His office has delved into lesser matters.
Easley's record as governor continues to look worse in retrospect. It makes it easy to predict he'll never run for office again.
Comments (8)
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"Easley's record looks worse & worse"
He's a govmint employee, what did you expect ???
Posted on March 31, 2009 12:12 PM
Easley claims he was on a "personal vacation?" Well, that figures. It's not like he made more than a token appearance on the job in his eight years.
But don't hold your breath on any kind of investigation. He's pretty tight with the current leadership in Raleigh, so you can bet Perdue, Cooper, etc. won't ask too many hard questions.
And correct me if I'm wrong, Doug, but didn't the N&R endorse this guy not once, but twice?
Posted on March 31, 2009 12:45 PM
Easley's record as governor continues to look worse in retrospect. It makes it easy to predict he'll never run for office again.* Doug
Don't worry! The former Gov and his wife have sign a mult-year agreedment with the Hendicks Racing team to race at Daytona next year as a tag team on who has the money! It's called the full employment stimulus act for political losers
Posted on March 31, 2009 12:53 PM
"we hardly knew ye." Only if you don't read the Carolina Journal. They have long been documenting the ongoing corruption of Easley, especially when it came to transportation.
They reported in much detail Easley's connection to a big supporter, who owns of an air service operation that provided Easley with approximately $200,000 a year in air travel which he never reported as income.
Anyone who truly cares about how their government, including the government schools, operates subscribe to the Carolina Journal. It's free!
Posted on March 31, 2009 1:50 PM
We did endorse Easley in 2000 and 2004.
He had a good record as AG from 1993-2000 as far as I could tell.
In 2004, we weren't very impressed by Patrick Ballantine.
More importantly, I don't think it was apparent until Easley's second term how many things were going wrong in state government. I don't recall Carolina Journal having much on him in his first term? That's just my memory. Am I wrong?
Posted on March 31, 2009 2:45 PM
Guys, get real. Of course he did all this stuff. Why do you think people run for office, to serve mankind? For fun?
One thing, at least Easley looks like a real person. I have concerns that Bev Perdue is actually actress Florence "This is the story of a lovely lady" Henderson of Brady Bunch fame and this is just an acting gig, sort of like Reagan.
Scary.
Posted on March 31, 2009 3:03 PM
Reagan acted like an effective president, and Perdue acts like she cares about doing a good job. That made both big improvements over their immediate predecessors.
Posted on March 31, 2009 3:09 PM
Not only did they endorse him (tax and spend liberal, only qualification needed). Their 2000 endorsement was,he knows how to take care of taxpayers money. In so far as I know, there was never one letter about what the Weasel was doing. I never read anything bad about the Weasel until the last few months of his term.
Carolina Journal, reported many of the Weasel miss deeds.
In fact I was under the impression that the NR, had a capital reporter. I was in Raleigh, Monday long enough for a salad and a glass of tea, and left there sick, not because of the food.
Perdue, have yet to read about cutting pork.
Posted on March 31, 2009 4:04 PM