Semantics doesn't change GOP's intent

Editorial by Rocky Mount Telegram, August 2, 2013.

Perhaps it was inevitable.

When politicians run for office, they make promises. Then once they’re elected, some of those promises get ... broken.

So a broken campaign promise doesn’t exactly shock us – it was likely to happen. But we did roll our eyes all the same as Gov. Pat McCrory faced the music for saying one thing on the campaign trail and doing the exact opposite thing in office – and then to top it off pretending like a game of word play would pacify anyone.

McCrory on Monday signed into law a measure directing state officials to regulate abortion clinics based on the same standards as those for outpatient surgical centers.

McCrory calls it a health and safety issue. We call it a new round of abortion restrictions, which McCrory pledged he would veto.

He didn’t. And that’s OK. It’s not easy to stand up to your party.

We don’t know if McCrory was lying about his intentions as a candidate or if he simply decided to fold on this one because it wasn’t worth the fight. But we do know McCrory said he wouldn’t approve any measures like this one and now he has.

The law follows similar actions by Republican-controlled legislatures in other states. And it is designed with one goal: to close abortion clinics. Only one of the state’s 16 clinics meets the standards of an outpatient surgical center.

How refreshing honesty in politics would be. Break a campaign promise? Own up to it. Want to end abortions in North Carolina? Stop hiding behind words like “safety” and “women’s health.