Photo Courtesy of Anthony Crider
Two distinct Republican political candidates, both famous for saying extremely controversial things, then not owning up to them and deflecting when they are brought up against them, especially on issues surrounding abortion and the LGBTQ+ community.
The most striking difference is one lost his race in a landslide whereas the other is headed back to the White House as the 47th president.
The November election pulled back the curtain on how North Carolinian voters value each other and what issues we are willing (or in some cases not) to put before others.
Information involving Mark Robinson posting anti-semitic and pro-slavery comments online forced many North Carolinia voters to turn to Democratic nominee Josh Stein.
To many, this scandal could reflect similarities to many articles that circulate about Donald Trump, such as when he described immigrants as “bloodthirsty criminals” and “the most violent people on earth,” at the October 13th rally in Aurora County, Colorado when he explained his plan to create a nationwide policy on deporting immigrants dubbed ‘Operation Aurora’ that is supposed to emulate the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
While there are similarities in their rhetoric, it’s important to remember that Trump and Robinson were very different candidates. Trump is a billionaire who was born wealthy and built a multi-faceted career that made him independently wealthy before turning to politics. Robinson grew up in a poor family with an abusive father. Before getting involved in politics he worked at several fast food restaurants. During the mid-2000s Robinson shifted to the political scene after working at the daycare his wife ran where he “saw firsthand how the government overburden small business” which came after the federal government found several violations at the business. Inspired, Robinson started speaking at the National Rifle Association of America’s annual convention and eventually got involved in state politics and became North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor in 2021.
Trump was an unfamiliar face in the political world before he ran in the 2016 presidential campaign, but was already famous and gained large support and funding on his way to upsetting Hillary Clinton.
Robinson’s provocative social media posts and speeches grew his platform, but also undercut his campaign when CNN reported about a series of suggestive and anit-semitic comments Robinson posted on online forums many years ago.
In the end, Robinson lost his election by more than fourteen percent. But there were over 2 million North Carolinians who voted for him.
Personally, this knowledge is terrifying.
Whether someone sees their personal values align with Robinson’s anti-semitism and homophobia and/or stances on political issues like abortion bans, it is disheartening to know so much of North Carolina supports these ideals.
Robinson’s proposed abortion ban without exceptions makes me feel unheard and undervalued as a woman. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago there have been countless examples of how when women’s civil right to make decisions about their body is taken from them it can be deadly. I may have the resources and money to travel to an area where I would be able to get an abortion, but that is not the case for many women in my state and country.
Just three weeks ago the Texas Tribune reported about a woman who died after being denied an emergency abortion due to her miscarriage. Her doctors explained that due to Texas’s new abortion bans they had to wait for the baby to have no heartbeat before they could perform the surgery legally. The woman was in labor for 40 hours before she finally miscarried and passed away due to infection three days later. All because doctors were unable to perform the procedure she needed due to new bans.
Many politicians who supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade hid their support of similar bans behind the excuse of wanting to put the choice about abortion bans “to the people.” During the historic June 24, 2022 overturned ruling Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito stated that “The Constitution makes no express reference to a right to obtain an abortion…thus we return the power to weigh those arguments to the people and their elected representatives.”
The biggest problem with that is that half of the people voting on what type of abortion bans we have are men who will not be directly impacted by this change. Men are essentially able to make decisions and effectively control women’s bodies around the country.
But it isn’t only Robinson’s opinions on abortion that concern me. How does the hateful language he directs toward people of color, Jewish people, members of the LGBTQ+ community and women not turn all voters away? It baffles me that in the twenty-first century there are still millions of people living in this state who do not believe his comments were offensive enough to discourage them from voting for him.
It is important to know how the majority of your community feels on certain issues. This year’s election proves that over half of our state chose Trump’s promises of lower taxes and gas prices over the rights of women, marginalized communities and low-income families.
While the overall results have done nothing to convince me that we as a country are taking steps in the right direction, I do believe that we got the lesser evil. Yes, Trump was elected, but North Carolina also elected a Democrat who believes in giving women back their choices of their body and is also the state’s first Jewish governor.
Ultimately, this election has shown me that it is more important than ever to find a way to collaborate with people different from you and to not be discouraged by leaders and political candidates who don’t support those different from themselves.
