Educating our voting public about the truth that Mark Robinson endangers on all issues is a challenge that both sides must take on. If we are to be a sane country that stands for true freedom, Robinson must be fully revealed as a dumb fool and a danger to anyone his life touches. You, Judd, Tesnim, and Rebecca are doing exactly what needs to be done. I would like to hear and see famous black people with big voices weigh in and stand up with their talents.
We can't really be headed to having our country destroyed by the increasingly babbling incoherence of Trump, and other unbalanced and angry people who want to run for office so that they can control large groups of witless sheep! Or, ???
If you have lived in some of these states where these ideas are surfacing you might have found these ideas lurking in more subtle terms or out of the way places. Little local Civil War “museums” featuring the confederacy with rooms not available to the public & little patience for strangers where groups meet. Or the faux militias like the Michigan one which was connected to the Oklahoma City bombing. He and his enablers helped elevate them. But they were always there waiting for their chance.
I agree with your point about educating voters. The problem is that many, perhaps most, republican voters do not care about Mr. Robinson’s heinous views. In fact, they support those views. Republican primary voters in North Carolina had a clear choice and they overwhelmingly chose Robinson. That speaks volumes about what republican voters there want.
Pick a corporation, find out who is on their Board of Directors, write them individually condemning this and for extra credit write an LTE to the corporation’s home town paper calling them out by name.
Instead of letting them collect fat paychecks, let the sunshine hit them. Can’t hurt.
FYI: A hard copy letter is about 100 times as powerful than an email. It gets logged, read and filed and often must get a reply. including a check with zeros in all the places is a good illustration.
Buy one share of the company's stock. Attend the shareholder meeting. Propose a resolution to cutoff all contributions to Republicans. Make a general nuisance of yourself. (It's a shareholder right).
What amazes me the most is how so many people aren't paying attention to the fact that these hateful, angry people could care less about them or their families or their freedom. They are mindlessly and angrily giving votes to people who will make their lives harder while solving none of their problems.
This is a particularly salient point in the NC gov race. Stein, as AG, has real concrete accomplishments he can point to. As Lt Gov, robinson...doesn't. Literally all he did in office was rant about teh geyz and tranz people. He's a hateful bigot and a complete waste of an elected official.
When Trump endorsed him, he referred to Robinson as MLK on steroids.
As for the corporate donors. Usual cast of characters but no AT&T or big law firm from VA?
The NC state legislature has become controlled by the same type of Republican as Robinson. They never saw a district that gerrymanding didn't help. From my early years experience following NC, the Jesse Helms Repub gang ruled the roost. A million new and diverse people have moved to NC in the past decade mostly to the big cities like Charlotte Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem.
This is why when I preach about 43 state legislatures and Governor's being GOP controlled you should be very worried.
We stopped Youngkin's quest for a GOP General Assembly last November in VA.
Gerrymandering keeps then in power. I have supported Stein from next door even as he had the Mark Meadows voting mess after 2020. He has handled his job as AG like a champ. Send his campaign support through Act Blue. We proved with Warnock and Ossof in GA grassroots small donor help from everywhere can really make a difference.
I hope he defeats this awful man for the well-being of NC and the US.
Get the message to them. I wish that we had laws in the USA of not allowing people whose ideology violates our constitution to run or sit on our courts.
I agree. And the Oath comes too late. It should be done when they apply to run for office, along with an extensive security background check. Before they run. Doing it after they get elected is too late, as we have all seen , time and again.
Sorry, but Mr. Robinson sounds like a close cousin to George Santos as he pursues the policy to tell people what they want to hear and they'll accept you at face value and vote for you without any sort of vetting or evaluation of the veracity of your claims or the personal history you supply. Since he seems to be practicing massive amount of psychological projection (as dysfunctional right wingers and fundamentalists generally do), I suspect its only a matter of time before we discover he's a sexual predator or "wide stance" restroom customer.
Anyone so filled with hate is clearly using that barrage of B.S. as a smokescreen to hide some very serious malfeasance or mental illness.
Also vital for this story: Mark Robinson is accused of some $500,000 in campaign finance violations, but the investigation by the state board of elections has never been released or finalized. Many think it is so damning that the Board is simply unwilling to release it. He also has multiple personal bankruptcies. So the comparison to Santos is particularly apt.
Corporate political “donations” are legalized bribery, plain and simple.
How many of us can afford to compete with the vast sums of money multinational companies throw at campaigns via their super PACs and political organizations?
Whose interests do you think these bought elected officials are going to address first and foremost?
How else would antisemites, fascists and conspiracy theorists like Mark Robinson rise to political power were it not for the corporate money pumped into their campaigns?
Democracy was lost long ago. We live in a plutocracy. And soon perhaps, God forbid, an autocracy.
Having lived in NC for many years and having known many good and bad national and local politicians and movers and shakers personally from around the country, including Mr. MAGA, for well over 50 years...the thought of Robinson as Governor should scare the h-e double tooth picks, out any semi intelligent soul be he a farmer, small business owner, public servant, physician, etc. Basically everyone in state with the exception of Republican politicians and their big money funders. He represents a major step backwards in any type of progressive growth and incapable, unfit, unworthy of any type of positive population leadership role...which is exactly what the Republican super majority loves and may end up. He is a republican's "Yes Man". Sadly a majority of the NC voting public, have in the past, mistaken independence and control over their lives to be a "Republican" mandate...while in reality they have unwittingly been supporting leadership that has been keeping them right where they have always been..."in their place", in a financial limbo, under educated, and unknowingly subservient, easily impressed and supportive of a greedy bunch of miscreants interested in anything but elevating the state to a more shared level of prominence and success in regards to the rest of the nation. If they were to understand their broader situation and the kind of success they could have, they would undoubtedly be mad as hell, knowing what opportunities they have been robbed of over these many years. Don't get me wrong...the majority of Republican down to earth voters are not to be blamed, they just haven't been permitted to see, learn and understand the bigger picture. Our present legislature can take a major amount of credit for that reality. In life, there is good and bad and everything in between...NC is still finding its way politically.
Henry, No, most republicans are saying nothing about leaving a seditionist rapist on the ballot. All they need to do is listen to one speech salad by trump to understand what a psychopath he is. McConnell and the entire party are stood in the way of removing this monster after J6 findings and 2 impeachments! These are people who support racism. down-to-earth? Bullshit.
People see what they choose to see. That applies to more than politics. People are moved by emotion not reason. Validation is an emotion as is fear. Combine the 2 and you have a powerful tool like Mr. Robinson.
This guy parrots the talking points of the christian nationalist fascist movement which is gaining ground not only in NC. The only difference is his race. I’m reminded of many years ago when the klan came to the capital of Kentucky where they had few fans. They brought a bi-racial black man with them, complete with his own robe, to feature in their press releases and as a speaker to deliver their message on the dangers of “mixing races”. Validation and fear.
Since he lives in the egregiously gerrymandered state in which I live, I am gravely concerned. It breaks my heart to see CocaCola from my natal state among the corporate donors. Thank you, Judd, for keeping the spotlight on.
Like Trump, Robinson offers people in general something they are looking for. Self-confidence, self-assurance in a time of doubt, and the complete simplification of a complex world.
These appeal to people subconsciously well before sound logic reaches them at the cognitive level.
I see nothing to ponder in these countries as a model for the US.
Ecuador does not have a history of strong democracy.
The US (thank Kissinger and Nixon) encouraged and supported the downfall of Allende in Chile. 17 yrs of violence, hundreds of thousands of people fled, over 40,000 are believed to have been executed, killed or disappeared. Exiled Chileans are credited with keeping the resistance inside Chile alive. In 1988 a provision in the regime’s constitution mandated a vote on whether to continue the leadership. The resistance was able to prevail. It took 2 more years to return to being a democracy.
Columbia has a relatively stable strong history of democracy punctuated by violence and violations of human rights. Parts of the country are controlled by gangs and guerilla groups. Elections are “mostly peaceful.
Is that Clayton Bigsby in disguise 🧐. Sorry. I’m suffering from insomnia thanks to the many terrible things that terrible people are doing in this country while holding public office.
That is exactly what I thought! It is not that I love any of these companies, it is that they dominate and make it easier to choose to patronize them rather than finding alternatives. So I think, what are other ways I can show my distaste for them?
Corporate hypocrisy reigns!
Thanks for bringing this to light.
The same corporate hypocrisy happened in Germany as Hitler came to power; I worry we are Weimar America. Vote in November.
The fascist party of current America are soft, impudent cowards though. Oh, and there are more small arms in this nation than a 100 Weimar republics.
Educating our voting public about the truth that Mark Robinson endangers on all issues is a challenge that both sides must take on. If we are to be a sane country that stands for true freedom, Robinson must be fully revealed as a dumb fool and a danger to anyone his life touches. You, Judd, Tesnim, and Rebecca are doing exactly what needs to be done. I would like to hear and see famous black people with big voices weigh in and stand up with their talents.
We can't really be headed to having our country destroyed by the increasingly babbling incoherence of Trump, and other unbalanced and angry people who want to run for office so that they can control large groups of witless sheep! Or, ???
He won the GOP primary despite an opponent running an ad with a sampling of his ugly remarks. In any other time it would be unbelievable.
It is almost unbelievable isn’t it? But then….Trump.
If you have lived in some of these states where these ideas are surfacing you might have found these ideas lurking in more subtle terms or out of the way places. Little local Civil War “museums” featuring the confederacy with rooms not available to the public & little patience for strangers where groups meet. Or the faux militias like the Michigan one which was connected to the Oklahoma City bombing. He and his enablers helped elevate them. But they were always there waiting for their chance.
I agree with your point about educating voters. The problem is that many, perhaps most, republican voters do not care about Mr. Robinson’s heinous views. In fact, they support those views. Republican primary voters in North Carolina had a clear choice and they overwhelmingly chose Robinson. That speaks volumes about what republican voters there want.
Pick a corporation, find out who is on their Board of Directors, write them individually condemning this and for extra credit write an LTE to the corporation’s home town paper calling them out by name.
Instead of letting them collect fat paychecks, let the sunshine hit them. Can’t hurt.
FYI: A hard copy letter is about 100 times as powerful than an email. It gets logged, read and filed and often must get a reply. including a check with zeros in all the places is a good illustration.
Buy one share of the company's stock. Attend the shareholder meeting. Propose a resolution to cutoff all contributions to Republicans. Make a general nuisance of yourself. (It's a shareholder right).
True that!
Great idea!
What amazes me the most is how so many people aren't paying attention to the fact that these hateful, angry people could care less about them or their families or their freedom. They are mindlessly and angrily giving votes to people who will make their lives harder while solving none of their problems.
"while solving none of their problems."
This is a particularly salient point in the NC gov race. Stein, as AG, has real concrete accomplishments he can point to. As Lt Gov, robinson...doesn't. Literally all he did in office was rant about teh geyz and tranz people. He's a hateful bigot and a complete waste of an elected official.
When Trump endorsed him, he referred to Robinson as MLK on steroids.
As for the corporate donors. Usual cast of characters but no AT&T or big law firm from VA?
The NC state legislature has become controlled by the same type of Republican as Robinson. They never saw a district that gerrymanding didn't help. From my early years experience following NC, the Jesse Helms Repub gang ruled the roost. A million new and diverse people have moved to NC in the past decade mostly to the big cities like Charlotte Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem.
This is why when I preach about 43 state legislatures and Governor's being GOP controlled you should be very worried.
We stopped Youngkin's quest for a GOP General Assembly last November in VA.
Gerrymandering keeps then in power. I have supported Stein from next door even as he had the Mark Meadows voting mess after 2020. He has handled his job as AG like a champ. Send his campaign support through Act Blue. We proved with Warnock and Ossof in GA grassroots small donor help from everywhere can really make a difference.
I hope he defeats this awful man for the well-being of NC and the US.
Time to go after the Unaffiliated voters in North Carolina. https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2023/09/28/who-are-north-carolinas-7-3-million-registered-voters-2023/
Get the message to them. I wish that we had laws in the USA of not allowing people whose ideology violates our constitution to run or sit on our courts.
If we get very large majorities in Congress, maybe qualifications to run for office will be strengthened. They certainly should be.
I agree. And the Oath comes too late. It should be done when they apply to run for office, along with an extensive security background check. Before they run. Doing it after they get elected is too late, as we have all seen , time and again.
Before OR after, the penalty of perjury should be applied to those who break it.
There you go Judd!! Ok people. Spread this far and wide!!
Sorry, but Mr. Robinson sounds like a close cousin to George Santos as he pursues the policy to tell people what they want to hear and they'll accept you at face value and vote for you without any sort of vetting or evaluation of the veracity of your claims or the personal history you supply. Since he seems to be practicing massive amount of psychological projection (as dysfunctional right wingers and fundamentalists generally do), I suspect its only a matter of time before we discover he's a sexual predator or "wide stance" restroom customer.
Anyone so filled with hate is clearly using that barrage of B.S. as a smokescreen to hide some very serious malfeasance or mental illness.
We already know he paid for at least one abortion.
So, Judd, what's he got in his pockets?
Or both.
Also vital for this story: Mark Robinson is accused of some $500,000 in campaign finance violations, but the investigation by the state board of elections has never been released or finalized. Many think it is so damning that the Board is simply unwilling to release it. He also has multiple personal bankruptcies. So the comparison to Santos is particularly apt.
Those are not at all insubstantial amounts.
Robinson will keep on going with his schtick. He knows his audience well and gives them what they like, just the way they like it!
Robinson is an organ grinders' monkey.
Thank you Judd, Teznim and Rebecca.
Corporate political “donations” are legalized bribery, plain and simple.
How many of us can afford to compete with the vast sums of money multinational companies throw at campaigns via their super PACs and political organizations?
Whose interests do you think these bought elected officials are going to address first and foremost?
How else would antisemites, fascists and conspiracy theorists like Mark Robinson rise to political power were it not for the corporate money pumped into their campaigns?
Democracy was lost long ago. We live in a plutocracy. And soon perhaps, God forbid, an autocracy.
Having lived in NC for many years and having known many good and bad national and local politicians and movers and shakers personally from around the country, including Mr. MAGA, for well over 50 years...the thought of Robinson as Governor should scare the h-e double tooth picks, out any semi intelligent soul be he a farmer, small business owner, public servant, physician, etc. Basically everyone in state with the exception of Republican politicians and their big money funders. He represents a major step backwards in any type of progressive growth and incapable, unfit, unworthy of any type of positive population leadership role...which is exactly what the Republican super majority loves and may end up. He is a republican's "Yes Man". Sadly a majority of the NC voting public, have in the past, mistaken independence and control over their lives to be a "Republican" mandate...while in reality they have unwittingly been supporting leadership that has been keeping them right where they have always been..."in their place", in a financial limbo, under educated, and unknowingly subservient, easily impressed and supportive of a greedy bunch of miscreants interested in anything but elevating the state to a more shared level of prominence and success in regards to the rest of the nation. If they were to understand their broader situation and the kind of success they could have, they would undoubtedly be mad as hell, knowing what opportunities they have been robbed of over these many years. Don't get me wrong...the majority of Republican down to earth voters are not to be blamed, they just haven't been permitted to see, learn and understand the bigger picture. Our present legislature can take a major amount of credit for that reality. In life, there is good and bad and everything in between...NC is still finding its way politically.
Henry, No, most republicans are saying nothing about leaving a seditionist rapist on the ballot. All they need to do is listen to one speech salad by trump to understand what a psychopath he is. McConnell and the entire party are stood in the way of removing this monster after J6 findings and 2 impeachments! These are people who support racism. down-to-earth? Bullshit.
People see what they choose to see. That applies to more than politics. People are moved by emotion not reason. Validation is an emotion as is fear. Combine the 2 and you have a powerful tool like Mr. Robinson.
This guy parrots the talking points of the christian nationalist fascist movement which is gaining ground not only in NC. The only difference is his race. I’m reminded of many years ago when the klan came to the capital of Kentucky where they had few fans. They brought a bi-racial black man with them, complete with his own robe, to feature in their press releases and as a speaker to deliver their message on the dangers of “mixing races”. Validation and fear.
Since he lives in the egregiously gerrymandered state in which I live, I am gravely concerned. It breaks my heart to see CocaCola from my natal state among the corporate donors. Thank you, Judd, for keeping the spotlight on.
Like Trump, Robinson offers people in general something they are looking for. Self-confidence, self-assurance in a time of doubt, and the complete simplification of a complex world.
These appeal to people subconsciously well before sound logic reaches them at the cognitive level.
At which time it is too late.
Have been giving that some thought --
At the high systems level, governed by and for capitalists, it does seem too late for this round (our generations).
Down at the personal level, what counts immediately is how we treat strangers. Here it is never too late.
How to affect the governing system seems like such a challenge for every generation, until collaboration happens around larger issues.
How did Chile and Ecuador and Columbia climb out (even temporarily)?
Ponder, ponder,....
I see nothing to ponder in these countries as a model for the US.
Ecuador does not have a history of strong democracy.
The US (thank Kissinger and Nixon) encouraged and supported the downfall of Allende in Chile. 17 yrs of violence, hundreds of thousands of people fled, over 40,000 are believed to have been executed, killed or disappeared. Exiled Chileans are credited with keeping the resistance inside Chile alive. In 1988 a provision in the regime’s constitution mandated a vote on whether to continue the leadership. The resistance was able to prevail. It took 2 more years to return to being a democracy.
Columbia has a relatively stable strong history of democracy punctuated by violence and violations of human rights. Parts of the country are controlled by gangs and guerilla groups. Elections are “mostly peaceful.
Is that Clayton Bigsby in disguise 🧐. Sorry. I’m suffering from insomnia thanks to the many terrible things that terrible people are doing in this country while holding public office.
It’s getting very difficult to take care of life daily as I learn about more companies I don’t want to do business with. Thanks for the info.
That is exactly what I thought! It is not that I love any of these companies, it is that they dominate and make it easier to choose to patronize them rather than finding alternatives. So I think, what are other ways I can show my distaste for them?
It is also very difficult to not patronize them because as conglomerates they operate under a variety of names. For example Coke:
https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/what-does-coca-cola-own/