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Jonathan Chait: Mark Robinson and the Republican Whackjob Problem
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Jonathan Chait
Mark Robinson and the Republican Whackjob Problem
What happens when you stop trying to keep out the kooks.
By Jonathan Chait
the national interest 7:59 P.M.
Thursday afternoon, CNN reported that North Carolina Republican Governor candidate Mark Robinson frequented a porn site where he called himself a “Black Nazi,” said he wished slavery was still legal, heaped abuse on Martin Luther King, and expressed several controversial sexual opinions (the latter of which, at least, is more in line with the tenor of opinion one would expect on “NudeAfrica,” the porn site he frequented.)
Of course, any political party’s vetting is bound to slip up from time to time. But understanding how Robinson won the gubernatorial nomination in a swing state requires a bit of context for how the Republican Party’s gatekeeping functions have deteriorated to their sorry state.
Robinson was known for his history of extremely wild statements outside of the NudeAfrica board. Here is brief summary, from March:
Robinson said all these things before his party’s primary took place. Republicans were informed about this stuff, and then decided to nominate him for governor. The Republican Party could have found a more sober-minded candidate than Robinson even if it had confined its recruitment entirely to the NudeAfrica posting community.
/snip
What happens when you stop trying to keep out the kooks.
By Jonathan Chait
the national interest 7:59 P.M.
Thursday afternoon, CNN reported that North Carolina Republican Governor candidate Mark Robinson frequented a porn site where he called himself a “Black Nazi,” said he wished slavery was still legal, heaped abuse on Martin Luther King, and expressed several controversial sexual opinions (the latter of which, at least, is more in line with the tenor of opinion one would expect on “NudeAfrica,” the porn site he frequented.)
Of course, any political party’s vetting is bound to slip up from time to time. But understanding how Robinson won the gubernatorial nomination in a swing state requires a bit of context for how the Republican Party’s gatekeeping functions have deteriorated to their sorry state.
Robinson was known for his history of extremely wild statements outside of the NudeAfrica board. Here is brief summary, from March:
There was the time he called school shooting survivors “media prosti-tots” for advocating for gun-control policies. The meme mocking a Harvey Weinstein accuser, and the other meme mocking actresses for wearing “whore dresses to protest sexual harassment.” The prediction that rising acceptance of homosexuality would lead to pedophilia and “the END of civilization as we know it”; the talk of arresting transgender people for their bathroom choice; the use of antisemitic tropes; the Facebook posts calling Hillary Clinton a “heifer” and Michelle Obama a man.
Robinson said all these things before his party’s primary took place. Republicans were informed about this stuff, and then decided to nominate him for governor. The Republican Party could have found a more sober-minded candidate than Robinson even if it had confined its recruitment entirely to the NudeAfrica posting community.
/snip
As of 9:56pm, he's still their Candidate for NC Governor...
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Yes, he should... should... remain and secure a Democratic victory for the Old North State. But, as a born and raised North Carolinian, I cannot deny the existence of that Dunning Kruger collection that somehow maintains enough of presence to constantly screw the state up.
I hope the good folks there prove me wrong. I really do.
