I may sound like a broken record on this point, but it’s important: Nothing about the North Carolina Republican Party is moderate. On Tuesday, 27% of Republicans voted for Greg Brannon, who believes the United States government may have planned 9/11, and who has spoken to groups that advocate secession from said government. Primary winner Thom Tillis, who failed to persuade even half the voters, sports a record that is in sync with Brannon’s goals. The extreme Right is defining the terms of Republicanism.
That means our state’s ruling party is under the sway of uninhibited radicals. By a 2-to-1 margin, NC Republican primary voters do not believe in evolution. Similar proportions don’t think Barack Obama was born in the United States, that climate change is real, or that the U.S. Department of Education should exist (a sentiment Tillis recently claimed to share, although he has since backtracked). These aren’t the views of internet-addicted ideologues, they’re what the mass of our state’s Republicans think.
Unless the 17th Amendment is repealed, these people will continue to rule the Republican party and the counter-revolutionary spirit will predominate. The best the quasi-reasonable “establishment” can do is swamp the airwaves in the hope of limiting it to paranoid worldviews, not clinical paranoids. Even then, long-serving Republicans will try to do things like ban basic environmental protections.
How can we get a respite? Democratic victories, Democratic victories, Democratic victories. Because the GOP is so thoroughly dominated by extremists, only a change in parties can slow the crazy train. Frustratingly, Republican power grabs have made the Democratic task much more difficult.
This is the dreary situation we’re in. As Tuesday’s election showed, the far right, in effect, cannot lose. But as Tea Partiers constantly remind us, this is America! Optimism is our birthright–Democrats’ too.
Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.
Is this where I chime in and show the number of votes from BOTH PARTIES that went to lunatic idiots over the years?
I recall a Michigan sheriff’s race where a Dem challenger got 40% of the vote in spite of the fact that he was a repeat felon offender (a testimony to the power of straight-ticket idiocy perhaps?).
Then there was that Lyndon guy who ran every 4 years. Hell, didn’t some guy from the Smothers Brothers run every 4 years too? Colbert, anyone?
The Brits at least seem to make a sport of it. Start Raving Looney Party or something. Maybe we can pull up that Monty Python skit?
And that bit where the South Park gang, post 9-11, note the number of people who believe that 9-11 was an inside job was basically equal to the number of dumbasses in the population? (their term as I recall).
Back to 911 for a second. I lived in the bastion of uber crazy Dem liberal stupidity, Madison Wisconsin, during the early 2008 election. Wanna guess how many of those people though that 911 was an inside job? Wanna guess how many showed up for a Cynthia McKinney rant?
So, we all have our crazies. And no, this does NOT mean that your side (or any other side) will now win an election ’cause the other side has crazies.
Jeez.
So you admit you’re on the conservative side? It was obvious, but let’s stop all “I’m not a Republican” pretense. A conservative is a Republican is a conservative.
I will refrain from making the equal, but opposite, mistake in your case.
I have given exactly $1 to the GOP in my life, and another $100 or so to another candidate who happened to be GOP (he was running against my rep who voted for Obamacare).
But hey, you know it all.
I don’t know all. But I know that political donation does not mean a lack of support. I haven’t given a dime to democrats in years after the DNC and DCCC wasted my money, but I admit I’m pro reality reality.
When spouting 90% Reagan Reality talking points, its hard not to be viewed as a Republican.