John,

This evening, GOP candidates for Governor of North Carolina will gather to discuss and debate their differing approaches to leadership in Wake County, the state’s most populous county and home of the state capital, Raleigh.

BORING.

At least, that’s how these debates sometimes should be: civil, informative, and uneventful. In a word, boring. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What is bad, and destructive to the democratic process, is when major candidates arrogantly decide that they don’t need to participate — and are openly hostile to being held accountable for their public (and private) views.

It’s what four-time indicted criminal Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail right now, and what pathetic mini-Trump jerks like Mark Robinson are copying as they seek higher office.

Politicians should respect the voters enough to show up and defend their stances and justify the things that they say to their donors at private fundraisers. With the outsized influence that dark money and right wing billionaires play in our elections, literally the least these people can do is stand at a podium for one hour in front of voters and the media.

We hate bullies here at American Muckrakers, and we hate it even more when bullies treat our democracy with disrespect, disdain, and disregard.

If Mark Robinson — a man who has a lot of explaining to do to the voters for his extreme and unpopular views — thinks that he is above all of that, then he has another think coming. We’re going to make damn sure of that.

Robinson thinks that he can buy his way to the top — and we need your help to send a message that extremists can’t court crazy billionaires while sidelining actual people. Can you chip in $15 or more to our work to hold dangerous extremists like Mark Robinson accountable?