Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory had it all – he was the leader of an increasingly Republican state, was instituting severe, regressive laws left and right, and was soon to serve under President Donald Trump.
But then it all crumbled.
While Trump celebrated his presidential victory in November, McCrory watched as the votes for his Democratic opponent began rolling in. Once the ballots were all counted, McCrory was left without a job.
He didn’t stop fighting then, though. Instead he refused to concede and demanded the ballots be recounted. When that effort failed, he and his Republican buddies schemed to steal power from the Governorship, crippling the legislative and staffing responsibilities of the incoming Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. McCrory even tried to repeal the anti-Trans bathroom law in order to steal the accomplishment from his successor, an effort that failed.
But no matter what he tried, when January arrived, McCrory left office and became a private citizen once more.
Now, the former Governor is at it again, this time speaking before an RNC conference to bemoan the sad state of voter fraud in America. A sad state that was clearly the reason he was no longer in office, right?
McCrory gave his speech on Saturday in North Carolina for the state’s annual RNC convention. During his address, the no-longer-Governor advocated for a voter I.D. law in order to prevent non-citizens from casting a ballot.
“I know for a fact that we had a lot of non-citizens that were voting. Ladies and gentlemen, voter ID would have stopped it. Keep it a clean bill, stay with a voter ID law and get that passed.”
Of course the frequent call for Voter ID laws is nothing new for Republicans desperate to keep Democrats out of office. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the GOP maintains that harsh voter ID laws are necessary in order to prevent a slew of illegal votes – an outright lie. But to hear McCrory spout the party lie so shortly after his own stinging defeat is just sad.
McCrory didn’t lose his election to a bunch of “illegals” voting fraudulently. Instead, McCrory lost because his constituency was tired of the shame and economic loss they were experiencing at the hands of his infamous “bathroom bill.” Companies elected to build their facilities elsewhere, sports and entertainment venues elected to hold their events in other states, and widespread condemnation from the rest of the country put the heat on North Carolina residents to disavow the law their Governor had signed into law in the dead of night.
Facing the incredibly unpopular, hateful legislation that he had forced into law, the people of North Carolina sent a clear message to their Republican leader – we want you gone.
It wasn’t the “illegals,” Pat, it was you.
