Dan Bishop, Putin tool and right-wing troll
The N.C. GOP attorney general nominee has been parroting Russian propaganda and disinformation
In North Carolina, Mark Robinson is getting the most attention right now because he’s a disaster on so many fronts, but we need to remember the other extremists on the Republican ticket. Michele Morrow is also all over the national news because of her unhinged statements calling public schools “socialist indoctrination centers” and attacking teachers. But Dan Bishop is not getting nearly enough attention for his extremist views.
Last week, Representative Dan Bishop voted against aid to Ukraine, showing more loyalty to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin than U.S. allies in Europe. Bishop has consistently sided with the most extreme elements of the GOP in Congress. He’s been part of the chaos caucus that has rendered the Republican House caucus comically inept, unable to pass a single significant piece of legislation without Democratic support and now on their second speaker in less than two years.
Bishop was the only member of the North Carolina House delegation to vote against the aid package. He joined the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Paul Gosar instead of people like Virginia Foxx, Richard Hudson, and Greg Murphy, who are also all election deniers. In opposing the aid, Bishop went out of his way to show us he’s the most extreme Member of Congress from North Carolina.
Just two weeks ago, top Republican Congressional leaders warned that Republican House Members were parroting Russian propaganda and disinformation. Last week, those members, including Bishop, were opposing support for Ukraine. In other words, Dan Bishop is doing Putin’s bidding in Washington. In another era, he would be a pariah, but today he’s the Republican nominee for attorney general. One thing is clear: Dan Bishop is not a patriot. In fact, he may be a Russian dupe.
Bishop has flirted with extremism for years. He was an early supporter of Gab, a twitter-like platform that became “a haven for white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other extremists” where the Pittsburg synagogue shooter posted his final deranged and racist screed. He campaigned with Lauren Boebert for Congress. He voted against certifying the 2020 election and signed onto an amicus brief in a nutty lawsuit brought by corrupt Texas attorney general Ken Paxton to invalidate elections in four states that voted for Biden. He’s a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act that would ban abortion without exception and probably end IVF. He voted to sink the bipartisan effort to secure the border despite calling immigration a crisis. He’s an uncompromising bomb-thrower unfit for any office, but especially an executive one where he can do real damage on his own without relying on his crazy Congressional colleagues.
Dan Bishop is what happens when people don’t face contested elections. He’s had a free ride in virtually all of his campaigns because of gerrymandering. He’s lost touch with average Americans and identifies with the extremist elements of the Republican Party who vote heavily in primaries. Like them, Bishop is a target of Russian propagandists and he’s taking their bait. Now, he’s running for attorney general from the fringe of American politics promoting conspiracy theories and trolling people on social media. He should never be near North Carolina’s Department of Justice, much less running it.
Thanks Tom for this excellent summation of why Dan Bishop would be a disaster as our Attorney General. I hope Jeff Jackson can find media space for his positive message in this election cycle with the likes of Mark Robinson and Donald Trump on the ballot.
Dan, a distinguished alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his law degree and made substantial contributions to the North Carolina Law Review, has surprisingly joined forces with MTG, a figure often criticized for her ignorance and self-absorbed behavior.
There are several potential reasons for Dan’s actions. One possibility is financial gain - he may see the attorney general’s office as a means to distribute favors in exchange for monetary benefits. It’s suggested that Dan, much like his idol, Trump, employs the art of deception, misleading his supporters while amassing wealth for himself. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with the ambition to accumulate wealth, in America, we value a robust work ethic, which includes principles such as integrity and responsibility - qualities we expect from our politicians.
A section of Republicans, but not all, believe that any aid to Ukraine could potentially boost Biden’s chances of re-election. In other words, if Biden successfully thwarts Putin’s imperialistic ambitions in Ukraine, an independent sovereign nation, it could make a controversial figure like Trump, who is facing legal accusations of fraud and misconduct, more appealing to American voters. Trump did manage to restrict abortion rights, leading some to believe he is executing a divine mandate. However, the ends do not justify the means in this instance. For Dan to back MTG and individuals like Putin demonstrates a total lack of integrity, prioritizing party interests over the country’s best interests. This is not the person we desire as North Carolina’s attorney general.
North Carolina needs to concentrate on revitalizing our genuine public education system, building a more robust economy, and discarding these absurd ideas of women having to tolerate the state interfering in their private health issues. Dan, who appears to care more about using his public office to advance the goals of a backward political party and enrich himself, is not the attorney general this state requires.