Who is this Mark Robinson that suddenly wants ‘thoughtful discussion’ in NC? | Opinion

Giving the Republican rebuttal to Gov. Roy Cooper’s State of the State address on Monday night, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson almost sounded like a reasonable man.

He told a life story about growing up in poverty, raised by a single mother. He advocated for his party and its leadership. He shared a vision for the future. In general, Robinson largely avoided the fiery culture war issues that have defined his political career, instead sticking to traditional GOP talking points like tax cuts, education and public safety. Other than a few jabs at Democrats and the media, there was little trace of the blustering we’re used to from our lieutenant governor.

It was the kind of speech that might appeal to moderate North Carolina voters — or at least the kind of speech that would not chase them away.

It was very different than the Mark Robinson we were given a glimpse of throughout the past month.

On Saturday, in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Robinson compared himself to American soldiers sent to fight in World War II to explain his “calling” to hold public office.

Last week, he appeared on a radio show with a state representative and voiced his support for a total abortion ban.

“If I had all the power right now, say I was the governor and had a willing legislature, we could pass a bill right now that says you can’t get an abortion in North Carolina for any reason,” Robinson told state Rep. Jeff McNeely, who hosted the show.

And just two weeks before that, Robinson appeared on a podcast with former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, where he resurfaced the anti-transgender hate speech that has unfortunately become his brand. On the podcast, Gorka recalled a sermon in which Robinson called the transgender movement “demonic” and “full of the spirit of Antichrist.”

“Dragging our kids down into the pit of hell, trying to teach them that mess in our schools … that ain’t got no place in no school,” Robinson said. “Two plus two don’t equal transgender. It equals four. You need to get back to teaching them how to read instead of teaching them how to go to hell.”

Ironically, Robinson decried the divided nature of today’s politics in Monday’s speech, lamenting how “thoughtful discussion” has been replaced by “heated rhetoric.” Maybe he should consider looking in the mirror.

That is who our lieutenant governor really is. It’s who he always has been. It’s telling — and troubling — that North Carolina Republicans chose Robinson to deliver this address. It was a break with tradition, as state House and Senate leaders typically take turns giving the response. It reads as a tacit acceptance of Robinson as the leader of their party, despite his dangerous rhetoric. Few, if any, Republican leaders have criticized him or his disparaging remarks publicly.

One person did bring up culture war issues on Monday — and it wasn’t Robinson. In his State of the State address, Cooper urged Republicans to drop those kinds of political battles. Avoiding them, like Cooper has, has been good for business. The state should stay “off the front lines of those culture wars that hurt people and cost us jobs,” Cooper said. We agree.

At times, Robinson’s address felt like a stump speech — the soft launch of his expected gubernatorial bid, which he recently called one of the “most poorly kept secrets” in state politics. For a moment, he almost sounded like the kind of Republican who might win a statewide election in North Carolina.

But North Carolinians shouldn’t allow themselves to be fooled by such a speech. You cannot divorce the Mark Robinson who tried to represent the best of his party on Monday night from the Mark Robinson who often represents its worst. The man who delivered an uncharacteristically tepid statewide address on Monday night may run for governor, but the man who spews hate in church sermons, radio shows, conservative conferences and podcasts will be on the ballot, too.

This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 9:48 AM.