Source: Editorial Board
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is the favorite in North Carolina’s GOP gubernatorial primary and just like other Republicans, such as N.C. Sen. Ted Budd, Robinson has essentially stopped talking about abortion, or “the a-word,” as he now calls it.
Don’t for a second think that Robinson’s new fear of addressing abortion means he’s had a change of heart – all it means is that he likely has a campaign advisor in his ear telling him to stop talking about it because of how deeply unpopular the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade is.
Robinson has previously said that he would ban abortion in all circumstances (including rape and incest) if he could get it passed through the legislature. He often compares abortion to murder and has said that once a woman is pregnant she no longer has a say over her bodily autonomy because her body is no longer her own.
To say he’s made his position on abortion clear would be an understatement. This is a man who talks about abortion as though he gets a check every time he mentions the word.
But as we get closer to the March 5 primary (early voting begins Feb. 15!), Robinson is no longer talking about abortion. And if you believe what he says, he “doesn’t recall” making any of the above statements, which is concerning since he was captured on video or audio making them. There is no doubt Robinson has said all of these things, no matter how much he wants to pretend he didn’t.
CNN recently tackled the topic of Robinson’s extremism and took a look at how his past statements on abortion completely contradict what he is saying now.
According to CNN, Robinson “denies ever supporting abortion bans without exceptions” and has stopped using what he calls “the a-word” in favor of softer words like “life.”
From the CNN article: “At a public event in August, Robinson said he didn’t recall making statements in support of a total ban on abortion and said that he always struggled on the issue.”
“Struggled” is an interesting term for Robinson to use considering he paid for his now-wife’s abortion in 1989 and has spent the last five-plus years that he’s been in the public spotlight railing against the procedure.
As is often the case with more extreme candidates like Robinson, he appears to be trying to soften his views in an attempt to appeal to more moderate voters.
Mark Robinson may claim he “doesn’t recall” his extremist views on abortion, but voters won’t be fooled so easily because there is simply too much evidence out there disproving his latest claims.
It’s especially hard to feign ignorance when he forgets he’s not supposed to talk about abortion like he did last week on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” It was on that show that he admitted what his campaign is doing when it comes to talking about abortion.
“They think that I’ve changed my position. I have not changed my position. I’ve just changed. I’ve changed what I’m saying … we really need to start changing … the subject is not abortion. The subject is life.”
