Bloomberg: Robinson’s Extremism Could be “Disastrous for the State’s Economic Interests”

Bloomberg: Robinson’s Extremism Could be “Disastrous for the State’s Economic Interests”

A new column from Bloomberg Opinion underscores the threat that Mark Robinson’s hateful rhetoric and toxic extremism poses to North Carolina’s business environment that was recently ranked number one in the country by CNBC for two years in a row under Gov. Roy Cooper’s leadership, writing:“The slate of MAGA Republicans that will be on North Carolina’s ballot in November has the potential to be disastrous for the state’s economic interests and its business leaders know it.”

Bloomberg continued, “For North Carolina’s business community, it’s a painful reminder of 2016, when its lawmakers jumped into the culture wars with their passage of the so-called bathroom bill.”

The column even highlights a recent statement from the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce that worried about Republican primary results that served as a “warning of the looming threats to North Carolina’s business climate.”

Specifically, instead of focusing on the biggest issues facing North Carolina, Mark Robinson has been in the news in recent weeks for reaffirming his plans to ban abortion with no exception, spreading conspiracies, and even saying, “folks, it’s time to stand up and fight” federal law enforcement.

Read other key excerpts from the Bloomberg Opinion column on Robinson’s toxic extremism:

• From the top of the ticket, where Republican primary voters last week picked an anti-Semitic, election-denying, misogynist and transphobic candidate for governor to selecting a home-schooling mom with no education experience for state superintendent, the choices are so concerning that business leaders took the unprecedented step of sounding the alarm.
• Perhaps most troubling for the fast-growing state, which CNBC ranked No. 1 for business two years in a row, is the nomination of Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson for the top job.
• Robinson, an acolyte of former President Donald Trump (who called him“Martin Luther King on steroids”), regularly disparages the LGBTQ community and believes a pregnant woman’s body “is not her body anymore.” He’s made hateful comments about school shooting victims, Jewish people and also normalizes Hitler.
• [Robinson]…is breaking the bounds of decency and humanity. He’s an extremist, even by MAGA standards.
• For North Carolina’s business community, it’s a painful reminder of 2016, when its lawmakers jumped into the culture wars with their passage of the so-called bathroom bill.
• Backlash against the bill caused companies to kill plans to expand in the state…. The financial impact was staggering, and an analysis by the Associated Press estimated the bill would have cost the state more than $3.7 billion over 12 years.
• Robinson…would eliminate the state board of education, and has called for an end to social studies in elementary school where “we surely don’t need to be talking about equity and social justice.”
• Business and economic development officials need look no further than Robinson’s public statements and social media to see the kind of welcome message that would greet companies and visitors looking to come to North Carolina. Some of the most vile and incendiary were written before he became a candidate in 2020 but can still be found on his Facebook page
• No matter how hard Robinson tries — and he has tried to defend most of his statements by blaming the media and suggesting people have taken his words out of context — these comments are branded into our memories.
• How can North Carolina residents forget Robinson’s suggestion while running for lieutenant governor that he “absolutely would go back to the America where women couldn’t vote?”
• If the Chamber believes MAGA extremism is bad for business, it should publicly declare that Robinson’s offensive, dehumanizing rhetoric has no place in a state that has earned its rightful place on the global stage as a leader in commerce and education.

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