Michael Whatley’s campaign is flailing. The Republican Senate candidate doesn’t have anything to run on, so he’s trying to find something to run against. So far, he’s stuck on re-litigating the COVID era. In particular, he’s trying to claim Roy Cooper released a bunch of prisoners who went on to commit more crimes. It’s not going to work because, one, it’s not true, and, two, this electorate is looking to the future, not the past.
Republicans are feverishly trying to make shutdowns, mask mandates, and vaccines the issue of the midterm elections. They’ve dragged Anthony Fauci before a Congressional committee and Trump is demanding he be indicted for something. RFK, Jr. can’t stop talking about vaccines, making Senator Bill Cassidy the biggest dupe in the Senate — no small accomplishment. Most of the country that’s not living on Twitter is ignoring the whole sordid episode.
Whatley’s campaign is accusing Cooper of releasing about 3,500 prisoners, implying that he’s soft on crime. Last week, the Assembly basically debunked that whole line of attack by reporting that Cooper’s administration fought the release of prisoners. The ACLU and other groups were suing the state, demanding 18,000 prisoners be released. The ones released were part of a compromise, not an initiative of the Cooper administration.
Besides, North Carolina was far from the only government to release prisoners. Other states also reduced their inmate populations to prevent the spread of the disease. Donald Trump released more than 13,000 federal prisoners to home confinement. Whatley’s certainly not complaining about his benefactor putting criminals back on the street.
Republicans are trying desperately to change the national conversation. It won’t work. Successful campaigns tap into voters’ concerns and let people know that they are being heard. Whatley is ignoring their problems and instead trying to distract them by talking about a time most people just want to forget.
He’s like a guy waving his arms at the back of a large crowd moving forward, yelling, “Look at me! Come this way!” As I said earlier, he’s flailing. And so are a bunch of other Republicans.
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