'Toxic political environment,' so drop out?

Editorial by Charlotte Observer, March 16, 2014.

To hear Tim Moffitt tell it, he was only trying to be a good guy by asking his Democratic opponent to drop out of the race for the Asheville House seat Moffitt holds.

“We’re all rookies at some point. ... I could tell that nobody had really sat down with him and said, ‘Hey, do you really know what you’re getting involved with?’ ” the aspiring House speaker told NCInsider.com. Moffitt said he was simply trying to educate a political newcomer about what he could expect from the coming campaign, describing Buncombe County as a “toxic political environment.”

Whatever Moffitt’s motivations, he would have to be a political novice himself to believe his action wouldn’t be construed by some as more self-serving than altruistic. It’s a bit patronizing as well. Challenger Brian Turner is a former vice chancellor at UNC Asheville and a former MTV producer, not jobs where naivete gets you very far.

Moffitt denies he offered Turner a state job at UNC TV in return for dropping out. Buncombe County commissioner David King, the Republican who arranged the meeting between the two and was present, concurred. A misunderstanding is possible on that score.

But this private meeting with an opponent where Moffitt asks him to drop out of a race in a district where neither political party has a lock on winning was bound to spark suspicions. You’d think Moffitt, a political “veteran” with four years in the House, would know that.

Waiting game for N.C. teachers