And you thought Mark Robinson was crazy

Republicans have become the party of extremists and Democrats the party of experience

Just when we thought Mark Robinson was about as extreme a candidate as we could get, in walks Michele Morrow. Morrow defeated Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt in the GOP primary earlier this month. She called public schools “socialist indoctrination centers” and accused Truitt of allowing pedophiles to flourish in schools.

It’s hard to understand why Morrow would know so much about public education since she brags about homeschooling her kids instead of sending them to public schools. She clearly gets her information from right-wing, conspiracy-addled websites. Her only political experience is losing a Wake County School board race in 2022.

Morrow grabbed national attention last week when CNN ran a story highlighting her social media posts that advocated executing prominent Democrats, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Instead of trying to equivocate, she doubled down with a tweet accusing Obama of committing treason for drone attacks on “hundreds of innocent Muslims in Yemen.” Of course, back in 2020, she called Islam a “cult” with ambitions of “world dominance.”

Morrow is part of a new breed of Republicans who have little interest in governing and every intention of destroying institutions like public schools that they believe have been captured by leftists. They are delusional but seem to appeal to a majority of Republican primary voters. They also should send a warning to otherwise mainstream Republicans who pretend like they are normal candidates. In comparing her candidacy to Truitt’s, she derides the current Superintendent as “Thom Tillis’ candidate.”

Other candidates on the GOP ticket are extremists, too. Representative Dan Bishop allied himself with the Matt Gaetz and the GOP House Chaos Caucus. He promoted the Big Lie, supported white supremacist web sites, and was the author of HB2, the notorious Bathroom Bill. He’s outside of the mainstream of North Carolina’s moderate electorate.

Hal Weatherman, who is the favorite the in GOP lieutenant governor runoff, supports a “heartbeat bill” to ban abortion after six weeks. He attacks our public schools, saying, “Our schools denigrate the ideals of hard work, individualism, faith, thrift, self sufficiency, entrepreneurship, capitalism, home ownership, living within your means, and the Golden Rule.” That’s quite a slap in the face to the millions of parents and teachers who work every day to make our underfunded schools the best they can be.

The GOP ticket in North Carolina is made up of a group of conspiracy-spouting bomb-throwers and national Democrats are taking notice. As one person described it, it’s the “reverse coattails theory.” Voters get so repulsed by the GOP nominees at the top of the state ticket that they either stay home or vote for Joe Biden out of disgust.

Hal Malchow, the Democratic consultant who will die tomorrow, has written a book arguing that Democrats should spend time rebranding Republicans as out of touch and beholden to extremist. He writes, “The Republican Party has been living in the echo chamber of its own base.  Today, it stands in support of a long list of policies and beliefs that are anathema to most American voters.” Nowhere is that more true than here in North Carolina.

Democrats need to wrap every Republican around the extremism of Mark Robinson, Dan Bishop, and Michele Morrow. The GOP has told us these people are the party’s standard bearers, so Democrats should let voters know they represent Republican values. Individual campaigns may need to promote their candidates, but the state party and the Democratic SuperPacs need to do to the GOP brand what Republicans did to the Democratic brand.

In 2012, when Republicans in North Carolina won both the legislature and the Governor’s Mansion, the GOP launched an experiment that Republicans replicated nationally. They pushed through extremist legislation using populist language and branded the Democratic Party with the rhetoric of its left flank. North Carolina had Trumpism before Trump. The GOP won by dividing and conquering.

It’s time for Democrats to turn the tide. They need to force every Republican to either repudiate their own standard bearers or embrace their radical and extremist rhetoric of Robinson, Morrow, and Bishop. No candidate should have an out.

Democrats, on the other hand, have a stellar council of state slate from top to bottom. Democrats need to brand themselves as the party of experience, moderation, and accomplishments. Just look.

Josh Stein has two terms as attorney general and eight years in the state senate before that.

Rachel Hunt served in the state house and state senate, not to mention that her father is North Carolina’s eduction governor emeritus, Jim Hunt.

Jeff Jackson was a prosecutor, state senator, and Member of Congress before running for attorney general.

Treasurer nominee Wesley Harris is an economist who has serve three terms in the North Carolina House.

Mo Green, Morrow’s Democratic opponent, may be the most experienced candidate to ever run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He served as chief advisor to the superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system before becoming superintendent of Guilford County Schools, the third largest school system in the state. He left Guilford to helm the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, an organization know for supporting innovative education initiatives.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall may be the most popular politician in the state. Her office has numerous national awards for efficiency and effectiveness in cutting red tape for businesses.

Jessica Holmes is the current state auditor who took over after the resignation of Beth Woods. Holmes is an attorney who was twice elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners and was Deputy Commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

Natasha Marcus is a three-term state senator from Davidson who is the nominee for Commissioner of Insurance. She received her law degree from Duke University and was a litigation attorney. Before her election to the senate, she worked with a non-profit to help families in need.

Braxton Winston is the nominee for the open Labor Commissioner post. He’s been elected At-large twice to the Charlotte City Council and served as Mayor Pro-tem of the state’s largest city. A graduate of Davidson College, he’s also a union member who works as a grip and stagehand.

Sarah Tabor, the nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture, is a crop scientist who has spent 26 years in the food and crop business. She has a long record of helping small and family farms succeed.

That’s a helluva line up in anybody’s book. North Carolina Democrats need to let voters know they have choice and a contrast.