“We’ve got to start making determinations about how to get back to life based on real data, and I think we’ve seen a lot of data out there that’s a bit faulty and certainly a bit biased and certainly not the full story,” Forest said.

The above quote was from a radio interview Lt. Gov. Dan Forest recently participated in that was referenced in a report by WRAL.com. It is another example of the reactionary electioneering that Forest has fully committed himself to during the coronavirus epidemic.

Calling data into question is certainly not a bad thing. As a teacher, I encourage to students to question, seek, and argue to inquire especially if it is to seek an answer that benefits the class.

But it helps to know what data is being questioned. In Forest’s case, he never indicated what the data were.

Asked which data points are “faulty,” Forest’s campaign didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, Forest spokesman Andrew Dunn referred WRAL News to the letter to Cohen.

Here’s that letter:

Where’s the faulty data, Lt. Gov.?

Maybe he could have also asked how many more people could be treated effectively without fear of a personal economic crisis and how many more rural hospitals would be able to treat people if Medicaid had been expanded.

And there is no actual DATA out there that even suggests that Forest would even use real data to guide his actions. Remember HB2, the bathroom bill?  All for a non-existent problem. But Lt. Gov. Dan Forest championed that bill and its intent as much as anyone. Remember this?

“If our action in keeping men out of women’s bathrooms and showers protected the life of just one child or one woman from being molested or assaulted, then it was worth it. North Carolina will never put a price tag on the value of our children. They are precious and priceless.”

Where was the data that confirmed this was even an issue?

And when data actually was present that confirmed something that Forest didn’t like, he tried to get the data changed. Remember this from 2016?

State education leaders sidetracked a report describing the overall student population at North Carolina’s charter schools as whiter and more affluent than student bodies at traditional public schools after Lt. Gov. Dan Forest complained it was too negative.

What Forest’s recent words show is that he is more interested in trying to score campaign points rather than confronting issues like a real leader would do – a leader who will approve budgets that affect public schools that teach students about how to gather data and use it well.