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Mark Robinson

Top GOP Candidate For North Carolina Governor Calls Beyonce's Music 'Satanic'

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is the frontrunner in his state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, and oh holy crap is he a conspiracy theorist and a bigot. Robinson isn’t just your run-of-the-mill “9/11 was an inside job” or QAnon-believing conspiracy theorist. He does buy into both of those, along with many others, but he also believes that Beyoncé’s music is “satanic,” Jay-Z is “demonic,” and reality television shows are a precursor to a New World Order in which people are condemned in show trials and executed. That’s a special level of whoa.

Many of Robinson’s ugly views have already gotten widespread attention, like his 2021 comment, “There is no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality—any of that filth. And yes, I called it filth.” But HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery has done amazing work tracking down more of the conspiracy theories that Robinson embraces alongside and in addition to his bigotry.

It shouldn’t be controversial to call Robinson a conspiracy theorist when he’s said it himself. “Folks will get mad and say, ‘Oh you’re just a conspiracy theorist,’” he said in March. “OK, I’m going to tell you right now, conspiracy theorists are 42-0. We’re undefeated right now, folks.” That’s part of the point of a conspiracy, of course—it can never be defeated in the conspiracy theorist’s mind, because it was never rational to begin with—but 42 really could be an accurate count of the number of conspiracy theories Robinson adheres to right now.

Robinson buys into most of the really big-name conspiracy theories, like the moon landing having been faked. But he goes way past that, Bendery writes:

In lesser-noticed social media posts, Robinson has said that news coverage of police shootings is part of a media conspiracy “designed to push US towards their new world order.” He and his wife both liked a since-deleted Facebook comment that stated, “WWG1WGA are my ‘Identity’ letters,” a reference to the QAnon rallying cry “Where we go one, we go all.” In October 2018, on a day when authorities intercepted pipe bombs intended for President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN, Robinson suggested on Facebook that they had done it to themselves. “If you can’t beat ’em, bomb yourself,” he wrote.

Robinson’s talk of media conspiracies ventures into outright antisemitism often enough that even when it’s not explicit, it’s fair to assume antisemitism is lurking just in the background.

For instance, there are his views about the music industry, which don’t stop at just Beyoncé and Jay-Z. “We sit starry eyed watching these puppets of beelzebub, not realizing the obvious fact that the masters who pull their string HATE us, and want to see us destroyed,” Robinson wrote in 2017. “We run to the theaters to see the films produced by the sons of Satan of Hollywood to further glamorize the street ape mentality that is destroying OUR future.” That reference to “the masters who pull their strings” draws on classic antisemitic tropes even if he didn’t quite spell it out in the moment.

In 2015, he wrote, “I know this may sound paranoid and crazy, but I truly believe that the ‘judgement’ format of these ‘reality’ competition shows ( i.e. American Idol, DWTS, Chopped, etc. ) is sign of things to come in the REALITY of the New World Order.” Asked to elaborate, he added in a comment, “The format of these shows reminds me of the predetermined format of Stalin's ‘Show Trials’. Where people were lined up and judged then executed. Of course no one is being killed but all the elements are still there. Sometimes I think these shows are setting people's mind on this type of format for a more sinister reason.”

If he isn’t elected governor of North Carolina, Robinson should look for career opportunities as a conspiracy theory tester. People wanting to spread a conspiracy theory could come to him and try to persuade him. If they failed, they’d know no one would ever believe it. But the thing is, he could be elected governor of North Carolina. In 2020, he defeated state Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley 52-48 percent in the general election for lieutenant governor—a bigger margin in the state than Donald Trump’s over President Joe Biden. There’s real reason to fear that the state ranked ninth in population could elect a governor who believes reality television is getting us ready for show trials and mass executions.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Mark Robinson

North Carolina Republican Urges 'Moms' To Read Hitler, Stalin And Mao (VIDEO)

North Carolina Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, a far-right Christian nationalist who is running to be the state’s next governor, defended the writings of a slew of authoritarian dictators at the recent Moms for Liberty convention.

“And here’s the thing,” Robinson told the radical, anti-LGBTQ “parental rights” organization that appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of extremist anti-government groups.

“Whether you’re talking about Adolf Hitler. Whether you’re talking about Chairman Mao. Whether you’re talking about Stalin. Whether you’re talking about Pol Pot. Whether you’re talking about Castro in Cuba, or whether you’re talking about a dozen other despots all around the globe, it is time for us to get back and start reading some of those quotes.”

The New Republic suggested, “Robinson thinks that dictators such as Hitler and Mao are being taken out of context, and their work is worth reconsidering,” while noting, “It is unclear how one could decontextualize a dictator.”

Jezebel’s Caitlin Cruz notes Robinson was “speaking to the crowd gathered for Moms for Liberty’s ‘Blessings of the Liberty Breakfast’ event on Sunday,” and wrote: “I cannot stress enough how this Nazi referencing took place on a Sunday morning at what was essentially a prayer breakfast with a Rabbi present.”

Robinson’s remarks come after a Moms for Liberty chapter was forced to apologize for including a quote from Adolf Hitler at the top of their newsletter. The apology came only after they defended including the remarks from the genocidal mass murderer responsible for the slaughter of millions of people, especially Jews.

The Moms for Liberty five-day convention in Philadelphia, which included speeches from Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and other GOP presidential hopefuls, was highly protested.

Robinson refused calls to resign two years ago after he essentially called LGBTQ people “filth,” and defended his remarks by saying, “Yes, I called it ‘filth.'”

“And if you don’t like it that I called it ‘filth,’ come see me and I’ll explain it to you,” Robinson said, referring to “transgenderism” and “homosexuality.”

“It’s time for us to stop letting these children be abused in schools, and it’s not going to happen til the people of God stand up and demand different, same ones that established those schools to begin with,” he added.

Robinson has declared America is a “Christian nation,” while proclaiming the First Amendment is supposed to protect him from criticism as he expresses his “deeply held religious values that are guaranteed to me by the Constitution.” He has declared, “the Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation,” and once appeared to “jokingly” threaten any IRS agents who might come to his home: “Would you like to see some of my ammo, revenuer man?”

He has also said straight relationships are “superior” to gay relationships, and said even “cow manure” is better. He has called being transgender “demonic.”

A former Human Rights Campaign press secretary, Charlotte Clymer, responded to Robinson’s latest remarks defending authoritarian despots’ works by observing: “We have reached the point where Republican elected officials are pushing for bans on LGBTQ books but encouraging all to read books by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.”

Watch a clip of Robinson’s remarks from the news organization Heartland Signal below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Mark Robinson

North Carolina GOP Candidate Smeared Parkland Survivor As 'Actor'

In a now-deleted Facebook comment from 2018, Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson falsely accused David Hogg, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, of being a paid actor.

Seventeen people, including many of Hogg’s classmates, were killed by a shooter at the school on February 14, 2018.

Conspiracy theorists often claim that mass shooting victims are actually “crisis actors” and accuse survivors of being involved in orchestrated plots to achieve their political goals.

Robinson, who is running for the GOP nomination for governor of North Carolina, wrote on Feb. 27, 2018, on Facebook:

Let me see if I have this correct. A spoiled, angry, disobedient CHILD shot and killed 17 of his classmates, and now spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN are trying to tell law abiding ADULTS that we must give up our Constitutional RIGHT to own certain weapons. Cue Rod Serling because this must be an episode of the Twilight Zone? David Hogg and the rest of these silly little immature “media prosti-tots” need to grab a passy, have seat in time out, and shut up.

According to CNN, Robinson used social media more than once to attack survivors who were calling for legislation to prevent future gun violence, including Hogg, then a 17-year-old, who had witnessed the shootings and become an outspoken advocate for gun safety.

On February 26, 2018, he posted a series of laughing emojis and a photoshopped picture of Hogg with the name “Media Hogg.”

A commenter replied, “An opportunist well trained by his parents.”

Another responded: “Nope. A paid actor who graduated in California several years ago.”

In his now-deleted reply, Robinson answered: “Yep. Hence the name I gave him,” followed by more laughing emojis.

A Robinson spokesperson did not immediately respond to an American Independent Foundation inquiry for this story.

After the CNN story was published, Robinson, who also has a long history of anti-LGBTQ, antisemitic, racist, sexist, and Islamophobic comments, released a statement in which he said: “These coordinated attacks from the elitist politicians like Biden and Stein with activist ‘journalists’ in the media are just the beginning. … They want to destroy me because they don’t think normal people should be elected to the highest office. They think that should be reserved for the elite who sit in ivory towers, judging everyone else while sticking their noses up at the world.” He offered no apology for or retraction of his attacks on the Parkland survivors.

Robinson will face former Rep. Mark Walker and current State Treasurer Dale Folwell in the March 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary in North Carolina. The winner will likely face Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is term-limited.

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Mark Robinson

Christian Nationalist Instantly Leads In North Carolina GOP Governor's Primary

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced Saturday that he would seek the Republican nomination for governor next year, a declaration that came a month after he told a church service that “God formed” him to fight against LGBTQ rights. His entry, however, had been anticipated for years, so much so that Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein preemptively attacked his likely opponent during his own campaign kickoff in January, warning in a video, “Robinson wants to tell you who you can marry, when you’ll be pregnant, and who you should hate.”

But while Stein has no intra-party opposition in his quest to succeed termed-out Gov. Roy Cooper, a fellow Democrat, Robinson will have some company in his primary. State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced a bid last month, while an advisor for former Rep. Mark Walker tells the News & Observer that he’ll also join the race in May. Folwell, who has trailed Robinson by 50 points or more in the few polls we’ve seen, acknowledged he’s the “underdog” while still arguing, “What I am going to talk about is how do we talk about problems without attacking people.” Walker also seems undeterred, despite his own weak third-place finish in last year’s Senate primary.

Robinson, who would be the Tar Heel State’s first Black chief executive, was a political unknown until 2018, when he became a conservative celebrity after giving a speech protesting the cancellation of a gun show in Greensboro. The former furniture factory worker went on to take the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in his first bid for office two years later. He beat state Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley 52-48 in the general election despite standing by his past litany of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and transphobic screeds.

Robinson went on to make news over the following years with more bigoted comments. His most infamous remarks may have been those he offered in a 2021 address to a Baptist church. “There is no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality—any of that filth," he said. "And yes, I called it filth.” Robinson refused to apologize and has continued to spout hateful rhetoric in the years since. “We are called to be led by men,” he told congregants at another church just last year. “God sent women out … when they had to do their thing, but when it was time to face down Goliath, [He] sent David. Not Davita, David.”

The Republican frontrunner showed absolutely no interest in changing in the lead-up to his new campaign, declaring in January that “abortion is not compatible with this nation, the same way slavery was not compatible with this nation.” This statement came just months after Robinson confirmed that his wife had an abortion in 1989, just prior to their marriage, saying, “It's because of this experience and our spiritual journey that we are so adamantly pro-life.”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.