Hot air and deplorables

by | Jun 29, 2017 | Editor's Blog, NC Politics | 9 comments

Yesterday, Republican Rep. Chris Millis introduced a measure to begin impeachment proceedings against Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. The House Rules Committee voted to begin an investigation into allegations that Marshall illegally commissioned notaries of public who are not citizens. It’s nothing more than political bluster that was debunked during her re-election campaign last year. No state or federal law enforcement agency has suggested any wrong-doing on Marshall’s part.

Still, some people believe where there’s smoke there’s fire. But this time, there’s not even smoke. There’s just the hot air Millis is blowing out his ass. The Republicans on the Rules Committee but be wise to get their heads out of there.

So who is Chris Millis? We got a glimpse yesterday. While he was introducing his impeachment charges, a twitter account belonging to a group he leads called NC Conservatives PAC (@NCCPAC) was cheering him on and insulting other legislators. When House Minority Leader Darren Jackson was arguing against the resolution, the group tweeted, “Hey NC House Democrat Caucus…Maybe it’s time for a more Butch leader than @DarrenJNC. Clearly he’s failed. @priceyharrison perhaps?”

It got worse. When Republican Senate staffer Brent Woodcox rebuffed the tweeter, @NCCPAC responded, “Oh please girl. @DarrenJNC sounds like a faggy version of Truman Capote. You know it’s true. Get over yourself.” And finally, the twitter account attacked Woodcox for being overweight, calling him a “a huge fatass apologetic cuck pussy” and telling him to update his profile picture.

By 11pm or so the account was pulled down and Millis was trying to distance himself, claiming he had been hacked. This morning, though, a note on the account blamed a “volunteer” for the bad behavior.

Don’t buy it. Those tweets are a window into the soul of extremist elements of the Republican Party that Millis and his friends embrace. That “volunteer” shares their views and said out loud what the Millis wing of the GOP says in private. He wouldn’t have made those tweets if he didn’t think those sentiments were reflected by Millis and other members of the PAC.

And that’s not just any “volunteer,” either. That’s somebody who is around Republican politics or the General Assembly often enough to know what Brent Woodcox looks like. He’s an insider whose views are accepted by certain members of the GOP establishment, including almost certainly Chris Millis.

The tweeter is in no way representative of all Republicans. However, the party has turned a blind eye to such sentiments and even pandered to them at times. These are the people Hillary Clinton was talking about when she talked about “a basket full of deplorables.” At the very least, Chris Millis has tolerated a “volunteer” in his organization that clearly holds disturbing views. At worst, he shares those sentiments. Regardless, his colleagues should be very wary of jumping on his partisan bandwagons.

9 Comments

  1. A.D. Reed

    Josh Horn’s standard of evidence is “you haven’t debunked it yet,” so it must be true, and therefore it’s perfectly legitimate to impeach a long-term, highly successful, efficient, honest public servant. Because an accusation made up out of whole cloth with no evidence “hasn’t been debunked.”

    Sounds like a troll to me.

    • Joshua Horn

      Don’t be ridiculous. Have you actually read Millis’s letter? I have and I’m honest interested in the debunking because on the whole, it sounded pretty legitimate to me.

      • A.D. Reed

        “because it sounded pretty legitimate to me.”

        This is the standard of evidence all Republicans apply when trying to defame a Democrat. “Benghazi.” “Lock her up.” “missing emails.” “Filegate.” “Travelgate.”

        Endless made-up accusations by Republicans, all ending in a fizzle like a wet firecracker, because every single time there has been no there there. But they never stop.

        “It sounded pretty legitimate to me.”

        Thank the lord Josh has no role in our court system (I hope).

  2. A.D. Reed

    Hillary was wrong. She said that about half of Trump’s supporters could be put into “the basket of deplorables.” Underestimate by far. It seems that 90% of those who still support Trump and his ilk are deplorable — or worse. And far too many live in my beloved home state.

    As I’ve written elsewhere, you can try to inform the ignorant, educate the educable, but you cannot smarten up the stupids. And there are a lot of them out there.

  3. Bill

    I continue to be amazed at the actions of the current state legislature…so rarely, if ever, can I single one out and say “this is being done in the best interest of the citizens of North Carolina.”

  4. Joshua Horn

    Where were the accusations debunked? After reading Rep Millis’s letter, as well as the Secretary of State’s statements in the press, she seem to be in wrong. Whether she did this knowingly is unclear, it looks like the General Counsel & NCDOJ gave her some incorrect information.

    • Veleria Levy

      Neither state nor federal law requires that a notary be a U.S. citizen. He or she must, however, “reside legally in the United States.”

      • Joshua Horn

        I’m aware of that. But the issue is that the Secretary of State was letting folks who were not legal residents become notaries.

        • Mike

          That’s not been proven, and it doesn’t look like anyone other than Millis said it happened, who has questionable motives at best. Even his own party is reluctant: “Rep. John Blust, a veteran Republican lawmaker from Greensboro”… , “I’m going to need something that meets a pretty high standard and proves substantial evidence before I’m going to go anywhere beyond just an investigation.” http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article158707014.html

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