Gary Pearce says that the Order of the Long Leaf Pine has always been overrated.
The longtime Democratic consultant, who worked for Gov. Jim Hunt, says on his Talking About Politics blog that he feels bad when he reads that the order is the "highest civilian honor" given by the governor.
I don't know about more recently, but when I was Governor Hunt’s press secretary (1977-1984), we pretty much gave the things to anybody who asked. As long as there was no indictment pending.
We got a lot of requests. There were no criteria, no review process. Just ask and ye shall receive.
Some people apparently framed theirs.
It was an easy — and inexpensive — way to make folks feel good. How often do you get that from government these days?
He also joked that former state Supreme Court Justice Burley Mitchell's dog had to have been a "good dog" to get the award.
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Re: Pearce: Anyone can get in Order
Wow, that's so sweet, that it's just a way to make people feel good.
What would make me feel good would be knowing that our elected leaders took their oaths of office seriously, that we elected people of integrity who chose not to hand awards out like candy to our big donors, patsies or family members, that the people named to sit on boards and commissioner were so appointed because of a demonstrated committment to public service rather than because they're related to a fat cat senator or that they gave oodles and oodles of m oney to the appointing authority's campaign.
Now THAT would be something worth honoring.