“I’m A Black Nazi,” He Said.
Let’s talk about why the Southern strategy is failing the GOP.
If you’ve been watching the news lately, you might have seen the craziness happening with Lt. Governor Mark Robinson of North Carolina. If you haven’t, I’ll explain it in a series of bullet points:
He was caught using an account on a porn site with a verified history like his.
He called himself a “Black Nazi,” which became one of the most famous lines from the scandal.
Robinson also gave Mein Kampf a glowing review, calling it a “real eye-opener.”
He also said that he is in favor of slavery and that he would likely “buy a few” if it was reinstated. (Uh, who will hold his hand and tell him why he wouldn’t be a slave owner if that happened? I feel like someone should.)
He called himself a “perv” for enjoying porn featuring trans stars.
To add icing on the shit cake, Mark also admitted to peeping on women in the showers when he was 14.
What’s interesting about this scandal is that it’s not a new view. Robinson has been known for his Holocaust denial, his anti-LGBT stance, as well as other extremely hateful views. It’s just that it got leaked at a time when it matters more: his election.
By now, you probably have assumed that Mark is a member of the GOP. That assumption would be correct. He is running as a Republican, because of course, he is.
Lt. Governor Robinson seems to be fairly shocked that his fellow GOP runners are turning against him.
His comments were clearly not meant to be found, and it’s good to see they were. Robinson was expecting to just coast into the must-win seat, but it’s clear that journalists got his number before that happened.
I don't think he expected the GOP to start calling him out for his insane views. Much to his shock and dismay, his Republican cohorts have started to turn their backs on him.
Some have even gone so far as to ask him to drop out of the race now that it’s clear the numbers he needs to win aren’t there. Trump has stayed remarkably silent on the man he once called “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
Most of us on the Democrat side of things are not shocked. Tokens always get spent. Self-loathing tokens that hate their own race tend to get spent faster than “toady” tokens that just toe the line with their bullies.
It was bound to happen. But, there’s something bigger at play about this particular race that is worth discussing. North Carolina is a “must-win” race for 2024. The GOP is losing its grip on its voters.
Why? It’s because the Southern strategy is beginning to fail.
The Southern strategy is a political term that dates back to the 1950s — a strategy used in the Deep South to show Republican support for whites by adding carefully-placed racist dogwhistles against Black, Hispanic, and other non-white Americans.
The dogwhistles have been a major draw for racist white Americans. It was a key reason why the Republican party started veering to the right during the Civil Rights movement. And for a very long time, especially after Obama’s presidency, it worked like a charm.
The dogwhistles are no longer dogwhistles, though. They’re more or less like racist bullhorns. Laura Loomer openly “warned” that the White House would “smell like curry” if Harris gets elected. That’s pretty racist and Loomer’s not trying to hide it.
GOP operatives have been trying to continue a heavy-handed use of white nationalism as their platform. After all, it’s not like they have any solutions to any problems that this country has. It’s all they got.
And that’s what will doom the GOP.