Mark Robinson is the epitome of the modern Republican Party

ALSO INSIDE: Abortion bans continue to have devastating consequences as women are delaying necessary medical care.

"Groundbreaking." 

That’s how North Carolina Congressman Dan Bishop described Mark Robinson in his 2023 endorsement of Robinson’s campaign for governor of his home state. 

Robinson is groundbreaking all right. 

As far as we know, he is the first major political candidate to make a series of posts on a pornography message board describing himself as a “black NAZI!,” expressing support for slavery, admitting to secretly watching girls shower at a public gym as a young teen, and lamenting being unable to join the Ku Klux Klan. 

He said a whole lot more, too, as CNN reported last week. While Robinson has denied the reporting and accused his opponent of using AI to generate the messages he’s accused of posting, additional details that have emerged in the past week suggest the reporting is spot on. The scandal is so bad that Robinson’s top staff have quit en masse, leaving the campaign with just two campaign spokesmen and a bodyguard. 

Predictably, many North Carolina Republicans who previously had cozy ties with Robinson are trying to remove any trace of their support for him, lest he drag them down in their own races. 

But let’s be clear: Robinson was a man the Republican Party proudly supported, celebrated, and boosted, despite years of reports suggesting he was unfit to serve. 

While some individuals kept their distance from Robinson, the embrace he received from Donald Trump on down underscores the reality that Republicans are trying to run from: Mark Robinson is them and they are him. 

He may have made his odious posts a decade ago on an adult forum, but the things he said are just slightly more extreme versions of things Republicans say and do every day, from their unchecked racism to their increasingly Nazi-friendly movement to their perverse views of women.

From the top to the bottom, it’s a party full of Mark Robinsons. Some of them are just better at hiding it. 

More from COURIER’s other newsrooms:

MICHIGAN

Ex-Republican congressman from Michigan says Trump turned the party into a ‘cult’

From The ‘Gander: Former US Rep. Dave Trott (R-Michigan) has been a registered Republican for most of his life. But with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, he said he can no longer trust Republicans to look out for Michigan’s best interests.

FLORIDA

Abortion restrictions delay necessary medical care, Florida physicians say in new report

From Floricua: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban “leads to preventable suffering” and unnecessarily puts women’s lives in danger, say health care professionals across the Sunshine State.

PENNSYLVANIA

VP Harris and Gov. Tim Walz discuss gun reform in Pennsylvania

From The Keystone: Following the Winder, GA school shooting, Gov. Tim Walz delivered a passionate and personal speech about the urgency of gun reform at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

NEVADA

Trump’s second term could rip Nevada’s immigrant families apart

From The Nevadan: A UNLV law professor lays out what’s at stake and shares his fears that families will be separated and entire communities put at risk in a second Trump term.

ARIZONA

Young climate advocates in Arizona staged a protest against the Trump campaign

From Copper Courier: As the Copper Courier team was reporting on the scene, five young climate activists were arrested after participating in a sit-in at Trump’s campaign office in Phoenix.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Healthcare leaders link Ayotte and Trump to GOP-led efforts rolling back IVF access and reproductive freedom

From Granite Post: Dr. Kristen Bannister, an obstetrician-gynecologist with over two decades of experience, delivered remarks at the event on how policies championed by both Donald Trump and Kelly Ayotte have directly affected women’s health in New Hampshire.

IOWA

IL Gov. JB Pritzker warns of a potential national abortion ban during an Iowa visit

From Iowa Starting Line: IL Gov. JB Pritzker and Lanon Baccam, Democratic candidate for Iowa's Third Congressional District, warned that a Republican administration would ban abortion nationwide.

WISCONSIN

Harris’ plans aim to make housing more affordable. Trump’s plans are less clear.

From Up North News: Harris has vowed to increase the available housing supply by three million homes and to provide lower-income first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 in down payment support. 

VIRGINIA

How Republicans blocking the latest IVF bill is playing out in Virginia’s US Senate race

From Dogwood: Democrats had tried advancing the legislation in part to call attention to Republican opposition to abortion rights and reproductive rights more broadly, despite Donald Trump’s attempts to moderate and obfuscate about where he stands. 

---

That’s it for this week! If you enjoyed reading this week’s issue, consider forwarding this email to a friend or colleague!