News-Record.com

If Republican Pat McCrory were governor, and spoke to Democratic legislative leaders like this ...

"This is the time to stand up to the sweet seductions of special interests, the temptations of politically popular pork-barrel spending, and end the practice of backroom dealing. Those days are gone."

... I imagine he would have made intractable enemies.

But those brave words were delivered last night by Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue in her State of the State address ... in the N.C. House of Representatives chamber.

The lion's den.

I hope the big cats don't devour her.

That wasn't her only challenge to their past practices.

"Starting today, it is no long business as usual for North Carolina's budget. I want all our citizens to know it is a new day. Everything is on the table. We don't have time for talk-show political posturing or petty partisan games. Not on my watch.

"We are confronted with challenges our state has not seen since the Great Depression. With a $3 billion-plus shortfall, we must be upfront and make hard, painful decisions. Truth in budgeting time is here."

Perdue has until next week to roll out her "truth-in-budgeting" plan. It ought to be one that doesn't authorize hundreds of millions of dollars in borrowing for capital projects not approved by voters or other spending that will cost much more in the long run than is revealed to taxpayers upfront.

There's no need to guess what she means by denouncing backroom dealing and the sweet seductions of special interests. Former Speaker Jim Black -- but not only Jim Back -- was a master of rewarding supporters and contributors with favors. The price for winning funds for pet projects was to play ball with Black. Clearly, that didn't stop with Black's imprisonment for corruption or else Perdue wouldn't have called for an end to it now.

This is the stuff that McCrory campaigned against last year, faulting Perdue because, as lieutenant governor, she seemed not to notice legislative corruption.

But now she says the state can't afford it. Good for her. She may be a lot stronger than her doubters thought. She said she would be, once she got her hands on some real power as governor.

We'll see. The governor will have to be tough as nails to exert her will over legislative leaders.

As a Republican, McCrory would have been severely tested. Maybe Perdue can pull it off, but being a Democrat is no guarantee. She'll need a lot of public support to prevail over legislative leaders who are largely insulated from the will of the people.