North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Beverly Perdue opened her mouth and inserted her liberal left foot.
This week North Carolina became the latest state to enact a ban on same sex marriage, frustrating liberals everywhere and forcing President Obama off his own fence regarding the issue.
North Carolina voters approved the constitutional amendment with 61% of the vote.
In the wake of such an overwhelming moral victory for conservatives, Perdue offered this to the media:
“People around the country are watching us and they’re really confused to have been such a progressive forward thinking economically driven state that invested in education and that stood up for the civil rights people including the civil rights marches back in the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s,” Perdue said. “People are saying, ‘What in the world is going on with North Carolina?’ We look like Mississippi.”
Look like Mississippi, eh?
North Carolina would do well to look like Mississippi on such conservative ideological fronts. After all, the same sex marriage debate should rightfully be handled by the states and if voters in North Carolina, Mississippi, or any other state want to enact such a ban by an overwhelming majority, then by all means, the elected officials in those states should follow the lead of their voters and abide by their wishes, not deflect the issue for personal political cover while attempting to demean a sister state’s residents.
The reaction was swift from Mississippi’s top two officials.
Governor Phil Bryant offered this:
“I am certainly disappointed by Gov. Perdue’s statement regarding North Carolina’s ‘looking like Mississippi.’ Apparently, North Carolina’s voters are much more in line with Mississippi’s traditional values on marriage than those of Gov. Perdue.”
Lt. Governor Tate Reeves went further with his disdain for the remarks:
“Governor Perdue should know that her administration has a lot of work to do to make her state’s business climate ‘look like Mississippi.’ We are creating an environment which encourages the private sector to invest capital in Mississippi, and I would invite any North Carolina-based company wanting to move to a lower-taxed, less-regulated state to look at our business-friendly opportunities.
“In fact, the Tax Foundation ranks Mississippi as the 17th best in the country in its latest State Business Tax Climate Index, while Governor Perdue’s policies have dropped her state among the six worst in America. The business-friendly policies enacted in Mississippi have reduced our unemployment rate to 9 percent, according to the latest numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, Governor Perdue’s home state’s unemployment rate remained significantly higher than Mississippi’s at nearly 10 percent.”
Joe Nosef, Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party added:
“Thirty-two states have voted on the issue of defining marriage. Thirty-two states have voted in favor of traditional marriage. Gov. Perdue is obviously out of touch with the voters of her own state and is trying to change the subject by attacking Mississippi. We are proud to stand with North Carolina and the majority of other states in our country who have supported traditional marriage.”
Perhaps Governor Perdue should listen to her voters in North Carolina more than the whims and political rhetoric coming out of her national political party of choice.
But Democrats in Mississippi have the same problem – they just can’t break away from that liberal noose around their necks.
