This is one of those images that is so incredible that my immediate reaction to it was that it had to be parody. But it’s posted by the account Patriot Takes, which is a credible account on Twitter/X. If this is fake, it would be the first thing that I’ve seen Patriot Takes put up that is fake. This is some image. What’s it supposed to mean, that they are with him in spirit? This, I predict, will show up in a movie about this era of American politics.
Marjorie Taylor Green @mtgreenee is familiar with cardboard, cut outs, maybe they can share stories. pic.twitter.com/YQ4c2Wf9Id
— Thomas St James (@Thomasstjames3) September 27, 2024
Color me stunned. And it takes a lot to stun me after eight, nine years of this madness. A week ago yesterday, Thursday, was the deadline for Robinson to leave the race. He did not. Then his staff resigned en masse. Then he decided he was going to sue CNN but the fact of the matter is that the digital trail that Robinson left was not fake and he’s not going to be able to prove that in a court of law — if the technical explanations I’ve read are in fact accurate. Ergo, if what CNN used in its story was true, then it’s not “fake news” or defamatory, and Robinson doesn’t have a leg to stand on. So now the Robinson problem is framed thusly:
- Will he still leave the race, 38 days before election day and what would that look like?
- If he stays in the race, can he affect up ballot (or down ballot, for that matter) races, particularly the Trump/Vance ticket.
If anyone manages to force him to leave the race, his name will remain on the ballot. In one scenario, the state party would need to find a replacement candidate and explain to the electorate that a vote for Mr. Robinson is technically a vote for the replacement. It remains unclear who would want to run under the tarnished Robinson banner.
If Mr. Robinson remains on the ticket, though, he will likely continue to face a barrage of negative press that could hurt down-ballot candidates and, possibly, former President Donald J. Trump, who believes he must win North Carolina to win the election.
“The governor’s race is typically one that drives the organization in the state, the get-out-the-vote and the ramping up of enthusiasm in the rank-and-file party people,” said Robert Orr, a Republican and former North Carolina Supreme Court associate justice who is voting for Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor and the attorney general of North Carolina. […]
With most of his original advisers gone and no future ad buys announced by the Republican Governors Association, Mr. Robinson has struck a defiant tone since the scandal broke.
At a campaign stop in Taylortown, N.C., on Friday, he said in a brief interview that he had not spoken with the chairman of the state Republican Party, Jason Simmons, about strategy.
“We’re running our own campaign and running on our own steam,” Mr. Robinson said.
And evidently, running on his own steam, Robinson has decided that a cardboard cutout of Donald and Melania Trump is a good idea and is going to get him votes. I, for one, can’t wait to see what he does next. Maybe he’ll have cardboard cutouts of Lara Trump, and Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson and the entire body of Republican elected officials. This could get strange quickly, but if Robinson has proven anything, it’s that kinky and off the walls is what he excels at.
It’s a shame that the cardboard cutouts can’t vote, Mark. Truly a shame. Your problem would be solved.
d
Fun fact: Cardboard cut-outs of Donald Trump tell the truth as often as the real Trump does.
cardboard cutouts of Trump, McConnell ad everyone else. it’ll be just like the Sgt pepper’s album cover, only with scumbags.