If somebody wanted to do a serious study on the mindset of wing-nuts, they should go no further than North Carolina. Between the GOP U.S. Senate primary and the North Carolina Democratic Party debacle, wing-nut mentality is on full display. While the issues that consume the nuts from the left and right are different, they share more than a few characteristics.
First, there is the savior mentality. On the GOP side, Greg Brannon and his Tea Partiers are going to save the nation and their party from those who would subvert the constitution and steal our liberty and freedom. At the North Carolina Democratic Party, the wing-nuts are saving the party from the corporate shills and DINOs who have ruined the party and lost the General Assembly and Governor’s Mansion.
Next, they are constantly under attack by an unjust establishment. The crowd at the NCDP is besieged by consultants and establishment types who are telling donors not to give to the party. Greg Brannon is under attack by the court system and the politically motivated lawsuits.
On a related note, they can do no wrong. Brannon certainly didn’t defraud those investors and failure to pay property taxes and plagiarism are really nothing to worry about. Over at the North Carolina Democratic Party, all those embarrassing stories on The Daily Show and national news stories following the David Parker press conference had no impact on donor relations or the credibility of the state party.
And the news media? Just a bunch of liars out to get us. Both the left and right wing-nuts refer to the “lame stream media.” On the right, Fox News is the only trustworthy news source and on the left, it’s MSNBC.
I’m sure there are more examples and probably better ones. The language that both sides use and their disdain for anything they consider “establishment” (which is anybody who disagrees with them) is remarkably similar. Maybe they should form their own club, but then they would be an establishment.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Mills: your item here did not hit its mark, folks wandered off. Lets be clear. The issue is that a group of your friends have slandered Randy Voller with impunity for a year or more. You are crass and untruthful. For ask Auditor Beth Wood if she has ever examined or looked at the NCDP books? When she says, no, then ask where she got her supposed info – which she does not have. Answer: Tiffany Reynolds most likely, who was reporting to the Council of State from the horrors of Randy-land. She quit once Dempsey departed, and that for good reasons. So Auditor Beth has NO information on the books in the NCDP, and has the audacity and temerity to essentially accuse Randy Voller of fraud! Now, misprison of felony – and fraud on the books of a political party which would interest the AG and the Board of Elections as fraud –her not reporting it is knowing of said fraud and not reporting it, is a felony. So Auditor Beth, which is it, (1) you were just lying about knowing about the NCDP books, (2) you got your information from another person, perhaps not a CPA or accountant (in which case you are fundamentally stupid and incompetent).
You and your bloody crew turned your accusations into a cause celebre, which provided cover for Hagan’s campaign to pull their stupid stunt of shifting the coordinated campaign to Wake County, which has no accounting system for this, no compliance officers, nothing except a bunch of suckers currying favor with Kay and DNC. So, this is been a carefully contrived campaign to continue to deny NCDP funds, which you know damned well has happened for a year, all the way to Governor for Life, he whom shall not be named. Got Nina running around feeding the C4 and seeking candidates, setting up an alternative Democratic State Party, and all telling voters, “do not give to the Party”, all the time causing the impoverishment of the Party – Sounds traitorous to me — opps, no they say, Voller is the outlaw. And Hagan and others light out into the swamp without a map. Go directly ask the Auditor lady about her charges, did she see the books directly, and drop Tiffany’s name. Of course not! Her charges are a direct lie! How can anyone trust this so and so? But, she hides behind her office claiming her professionalism – seen more than one of these types. Lets see if he lies get her re-elected. Reason I know, I helped Voller get an accountant into the place last year to straighten out the abysmal mess left by Tammy Brunner, the ex-ED, whom I bet is BFF with Auditor lady.
Save the wingnut shit, all of them are amongst you, Pearce and the other people working so hard the NCDP and Randy Voller, who is doing a great job. Great set up, but you were so far off base, not even your crowd of dipsticks can keep up.
This article is “spot on” only if you’re simple minded and delusional. More false equivalency and nonsensical “centrism”. Heaven forbid the people feel sold-out on both the left (what’s left of it) and the right. Furthermore, the notion that MSNBC has anything to offer “the left” or that people on the “the left” take it seriously (or that it even provides a “leftist” perspective) as a “news” outlet is utterly laughable.
You people obsessed with cable news and so-called centrist politics are out of touch and old.
What this article essentially says is that Populism, whatever color, brand, or ideological flavor, is silly and the people (and their anger) should just STFU and/or be ignored. This is how you know the person making the argument is an Establishment shill.
That’s not the impression I’m getting at all. I still don’t know all of the details of intra party politics here, but what I do know is that the tone here isn’t that responding to popular will is bad; but rather biting the hand of people who are trying to help you for the sake of being ‘pure’ whilst not offering transparency or as open an attitude as possible is extremely self destructive.
Having said that, any ‘centrist’ policy that doesn’t genuinely help the populace at large instead of just the 1% is a useless joke. Big Money allies? Great. Full transparency please and no strings attached. No more TPPP’s. No more smiling politicians with no records who speak with big words and petty disgusting actions.
Spot on!
A wingnut is as a wingnut does…
Well, if either party stood for something other than “vote for us ’cause while we might be stupid the other side is pure evil” we might have something. ‘Cause ya know, about 1% of the population cares about who gets voted into office, but a ton more care if their government works the way that they think it should work.
Seriously, if the Dems cared about reforming health care, they’d be fixing the ACA issues instead of denying they are any issues (ask me about mine — I’ll let you tell me how your side is either stupid-instead-of-evil, or how I’m stupid-and-maybe-evil). That MIGHT salvage the election, but… hey, not even a single bill being debated in the Senate.
Conversely, if the GOP really cared about, say, more cost-effective and less intrusive government, they’d be reigning in the NSA (after apologies for the Dubya-era laws). And of course they’d be explaining that there is no way, logistically, to send 13 million people “home”, and that no agency in DC can do 13 million complex apps — but then they’d turn around and proved they’re gonna seriously keep the flood of illegals to a trickle, so the first two facts would be put into law.
But the reality is that both parties care about their own little echo bubbles. Dems don’t care about the poor — I fought poverty issues before I came here, had a promise FROM THE GOVERNOR, and yet… nothing. The Dems don’t care about unions — ask ’em now how they feel about ACA. Dems care about getting elected, and whatever the minimum is to do that, THAT is what they do. And usually, half-donkey’d. And the same goes to the GOP.
Bother – A moderate who, no matter what evidence is presented insists that both sides are the same; see also Truther, Birther or Moron.
You’ll see my work on a couple of the conservative sites this week. Therefore, I assume your remarks are because you haven’t met me yet, or read my work. I encourage you to do so.
Tell me — which side are you on? Assuming you’re on the right, can you honestly say that Bob Dole et al have represented your views? Tell me — when was the last time a GOP person actually lowered the size and scope of government? When was the last time they, as a party, got up and said, “Hey, we need to stop illegal immigration before we can even consider how to clean up this mess”?
If you’re on the left, tell me again how Obama has helped labor. Tell me again how they “got tough with the Chinese” as they promised. Or any number of other measures that they promised to help the poor / oppressed / working person, only to have it vaporize in a cloud of country club liberal campaign contributions?
Sorry dude, I’m anything but a “moderate”, and your comment doesn’t inspire me to join you.
Both sides are bad. Both sides are not equally bad. I’m on the side of reality which means Not Conservative.
Obama has done many things I find despicable. He is not, however a reality denying psychopath.
Thomas Ricks — Side of reality? Seriously? I mean, I was raised by liberal parents, educated in liberal schools, and for 7 years, employed by liberals, and gotta tell you… Let’s just say I know your side a ton better than you seem to know mine.
But at any rate, your argument — that Obama is “…not ..a reality denying psychopath” is scarcely a reason to enjoy his tenure. As is the argument “No, he’s not evil.”
The argument presented for ACA, Fast and Furious, Benghazi, and all sorts of other debacles has been “I didn’t know” and of course, yeah, stupidity. Which I don’t find to be believable or appealing, ESPECIALLY from people who believe they are the the smart, educated ones.
Bheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeengaaaaaaaaziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! 😀
Clearly the ‘resident is not a psychopath. But he is a reality-denier. To claim 100 years of natural gas when those wells dry up within 10 is to deny reality. To never once talk about petroleum dependence being a potential economy crusher when we can’t afford it any more is to deny the reality of peak oil. To ignore that standardized testing is not a Trojan Horse for school privatization and enclosure of the commons we call “public education” is to deny reality. To pretend that he is not wiping his behind with the Bill of Right every single day he is in office (Drones, NSA spying, CIA torture probe obstruction, etc . . .) is to deny reality. To believe that he is anything but a spokesman for Wall Street and the MIC is to deny reality.
on and on and on . . .
But, come on geek49203, Bengazi? Y’all need to stop inventing scandals when there are perfectly good failures of leadership to harp on that are grounded in reality.
@Resist – I don’t know about the Natural Gas thing but I do know I’m against the pipeline because it will give the Koch’s 100 billion dollars more to lie with.
And as far as the bill of rights? Yeah. Especially ESPECIALLY after the revelations of the CIA spying on the Senate Committee investigating THEM.