I was under the impression that McCrory did a fairly good job as mayor of Charlotte and had been well-received by moderates and blacks. Why did he decide, upon becoming governor, to start acting like this guy?
Two words: Art Pope
Long version: Pope is to North Carolina Republican politics what folks like Sheldon Adelson, the Koch bros., etc are to national politics. McCory seems to have sold his soul to Pope to be Governor (although in fairness, I suspect he's always been at least somewhat right-wing on economic issues since that seems to be the case with most socially moderate Republicans). Where he seems to have shifted most is on social issues, especially becoming so anti-voter's rights. However, I suspect that stems more from his willingness to trample on the democratic process to help Republicans win elections (like Pat McHenry, McCrory strikes me as an especially unscrupulous Republican hack). Miles can correct me if I'm wrong about any of this.
