Abandoning ship
Sundays are normally slow news days. But not THIS Sunday. The state politics chattering class is — this very day — chattering away about THIS:
So, we apparently have the top four posts in the Mark Robinson campaign being vacated. It’s now September 22. Absentee ballots are reportedly being mailed out this week. In-person early voting begins October 17. Election Day is November 5. Calling this crunch time would be an understatement.
At this point, there is not a whole lot else these statewide campaigns can do — except focus like a laser on get-out-the-vote strategies. Still — it’s not helpful to be short-handed at this stage in the game.
Pogorzelski has been with Robinson since the very beginning of the 2020 lieutenant governor campaign. Whillier has helped Robinson raise an impressive amount of money. She has also worked for AG candidate Dan Bishop, Lt. Gov candidate Hal Weatherman, and former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.
WUNC is reporting that three more staffers have joined this quartet — reportedly leaving the Robinson campaign with only three staffers (two communications staffers and a bodyguard) in the run-up to Election Day.
So, it’s beginning to look like the finale to that movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s not looking good for the grassroots Republicans who invested so many of their hopes and dreams in Mr. Robinson.
It’s also a sad statement about our society that allegations of loitering on an X-rated website trump credible evidence of: mishandling government money, falsifying government reports, and failure to pay taxes, among other things.
(The last time I checked, hanging out on racy websites was not illegal. Taking government money you are not entitled to, however, IS. )
If we’re going to get all heavy-handed about what people are looking at and saying on the Internet, why stop with Mark Robinson? (He’s surely not the only Raleigh political / governmental figure with skeezy online interests. And we are paying for those computers.)
As far as the R vs. D “competition” for governor goes, the race has been over. (Surely, Roy and Kristin will be amenable to allowing Josh and Anna to start measuring for drapes in that big mansion on Raleigh’s Blount Street.)
What are conservatives to do? Not many can feel comfortable about casting their precious vote for lil’ Josh.
The General Assembly has done a pretty good job of neutering the office of governor. By holding a veto-proof legislative majority, holding the current judicial majorities, and electing Dan Bishop attorney general, Republicans can sit Governor Josh Stein in a corner for at least the next four years.
The shoe-string budget Constitution Party has an interesting nominee in the governor’s race. Vinny Smith is a Durham Jordan High and US Naval Academy alum, as well as a Navy veteran. He appears to be a down-the-line limited government kind of guy. He may be a long-shot, but you can feel better about yourself voting for someone like him.
Read more about Smith on his website and in this article.
And Mark KNEW all these issues would come to light, right?
Did he really believe the Dems, Stein & the gop would allow him grace? It’s politics!
Jesse Helms was a master at exposing the dark side. Her was the master.
Robinson’d career is over.
Whatley knew this about Mark, and he did NOT inform Trump?
https://www.wral.com/story/a-ticking-time-bomb-how-north-carolina-s-mark-robinson-became-donald-trump-s-problem/21636837/
The lack of vetting of Robinson by NCGOP is not the only failure of the party leadership in this fiasco.
The NCGOP “leadership” has failed us very, very badly on the Mark Robinson trainwreck. This political hit was clearly politically fatal to Robinson’s campaign, and created real problems for the Republican brand, whether it was concocted or true. This was a clear and present danger to the rest of the ticket. That is what the party leadership should have been looking at, but they looked the other way.
When the Trump campaign pushed Robinson to withdraw, the NCGOP put out a message standing by Robinson. That encouraged him to dawdle instead of fall on his sword. Was the NCGOP really expecting any solid thinking from Robinson or his staff? Robinson himself has consistently shown his lack of political savvy and his campaign staff, like his Lt. Gov. staff, were all lightweights.
When this broke, there should have been a state ExCom meeting called to be ready if Robinson withdrew, and the party should have backstood Trump in telling Robinson to get out.
Our party leadership has failed us very, very badly, and they need to be replaced in 2025.
Paul Shumaker holds voters responsible:
“Even if a candidate touts multiple endorsements and becomes a crowd favorite, it’s the responsibility of the voters and the front-runner’s opponents to investigate whether that person is fit for office, said Paul Shumaker, a longtime Republican strategist.
“It’s not for the party to pick and choose one candidate over the other. It’s not the party’s role to vet these candidates,” Shumaker said. “It’s the party’s role to remain neutral.”
Liberal establishment RINO consultant Shumaker was the campaign consultant for the third placed primary contender in this year’s gubenatorial primary who was a wealthy trial lawyer. Why did Shumaker not address Robinson’s shortcomings in TV ads in that campaign????? He had the chance.
You guys are not cynical enough. Of course Shumaker stayed quiet.
GOPe wanted MKRs campaign to implode at the perfect time to hand the victory to Stein. Great for NCGA Rs to fundraise off for the next four years.
And guess what – MKR is destroyed and no threat in 2026.
Threat to who? You figure it out.
Somebody recruited him!! Who was it?? … And from this ginormous fiasco, the party better start vetting candidates!! Or we’ll see another one of these failures!!
Totally agree. And then to reward the head of the NCGOP for being an utter failure…they made him the head of the RNC. See how that works?
The info was out there.
Nobody listened.
In 2025 we cannot stand for another sham party election.
I will voting for Smith. He is the only option.
I bet if you walked down the street and asked 10 people outside of the Triangle area who the candidates for governor are in North Carolina 50% could not tell you.
I don’t take much stock in polls but NYTimes has Trump up 2 over Kamala now and, 1 short of 50%
As far as Trump endorsing Robinson, who is willing to bet Whatley will soon be persona non grata too. This is good because I cringe when I see him doing an interview.
And remember we still have Whatley’s designee running our state party, as well.
And remember Whatley said something like, Get over it, NC is turning purple. That was, just a few short years ago. Amazing, he is now co-chair of the National GOP.
Good grief, people. Have you driven around this state lately? Been to any small towns recently? Been Downeast, the reddest party of the state, lately?
Strongly suggest you wrench yourself from behind your key board and take a drive through the North State this week. Do this BEFORE you cast your vote.
We are SWARMING, literally SWARMING, with illegals. And if you, the highest and the mightiest, elect open borders, illegal rapist lover (you saw the Dems voted to not deport illegals who commit sexual assault crimes last week, right?) Stein, the state and this country are over. I do not know how you can NOT see this.
And, do NOT lecture me on Robinson or the horrible NCGOP. I GET IT. But, at least with Robinson, we have a chance of reversing this invasion while with Stein we will all be living in “Springfields.” FOREVER.
Get your heads out of your as$es. We must play the cards we were dealt. And most importantly, we MUST win in November.
The GOP insiders knew all this but also held back the information to allow Stein to win and remove Robinson as a future threat to the establishment.
Phil Berger plays a very sleazy power game. It is all about HIM, not principle or the party, and he plays footsy with the Democrats. He pushed Robinson in this race to win the primary and lose the general, which he calculated was in his interest. He enticed Dan Bishop into the AG race to keep him from running for US Senate in 2026, which is Berger’s own goal. I will never never never vote for despicable scumbag Phil Berger for anything.
Robinson was neutered his entire term.
LIKELY he was silenced or blackmailed with just a tidbit or ALL of the aforementioned info.
He went SILENT on EVERY issue he ‘supposedly’ was a zealot for and about. He ROSE to ‘prominence’ over a gun speech at a Greensboro City Council mtg. NOBODY and I mean NOBODY had ever heard of MR.
The reality of it, all set up. All this has been a concerted effort designed to elect Stein, downplay the ticket (from top to bottom). Plan is to RID the gop in NC of ALL those conservatives. We want a play to pay party, a $$ matter party, a party just like in DC, where there are NO dems or r’s; it’s all one big uniparty.
Berger, Moore and the gop KNEW all this about MR. This is NO surprise to anyone. This website published snippets of the Robinson saga and actually criminality for months.
I could see one move that might possibly redeem Robinson. If he filed a SWORN statement before a court that the social media postings reported on CNN were forgeries, and challenge Stein to do the same with a statement that neither he, his campaign nor the Democrat Party had anything to do with their creation, I might regain a little trust in him. Otherwise, he is just one more candidate accusing the other of being a liar. Ho hum.