Another Entry Into The Race For The Craziest GOP Candidate-- Meet North Carolina Sociopath Mark Walker

One of the most overlooked races in the country, NC-06, had their Republican primary runoff last Tuesday. The Republican establishment favorite, Phil Berger Jr., was expected to win thanks to his money and his Dad’s connections and high name recognition among Republican voters. Instead local teabaggers powered an even crazier candidate to victory.

There are 10 counties in NC-06 but Guilford is the biggest, by far, followed by Rockingham and Alamance. The district was drawn to be safe Republican territory but there is a 6-point Democratic voter registration edge and the beloved incumbent, Howard Coble has been in there since 1984 when he narrowly beating a freshman Democrat by riding Ronald Reagan's formidable coattails. The rematch in '86 was even tighter but Coble won, 72,329 to 72,250... 79 votes! Now ailing and in his eighties, Coble is retiring this next year and November will be the first real test of what that Democratic voter registration edge actually means. Obama only garnered 41% against Romney in 2012 but… you know.

Mark Walker is a Baptist Choral Pastor who won the Republican runoff by promising to vote against John Boehner for Speaker, instead pledging his support for Trey Gowdy.  Walker is an extremist in the mold of Jody Hice or Todd Akin. He was already running a primary against Coble when Coble was taken to the hospital and soon after announced he would retire. Hice and Walker are both are anti-Jesus preachers of bigotry and Hate and both are incredibly extreme-- even for southern Republicans, far more radical than anything to do with conservative. But, like Hice, Walker ran against the privileged son of an Establishment figure-- in Hice's case, the son of ex-Congressman Mac Collins and in Walker's case, the son of the widely despised Art Pope puppet, Phil Berger, Sr., President pro tempore of the North Carolina state Senate. Right-wing populists have the sense to know the GOP Establishment is no friend of any ordinary Americans, even if they can't figure out that fascism is not the answer.

Walker is not just anti-choice, but believes women who are the victims of rape or incest should be forced by the government to give birth to the child of her rapist. Walker wants to defund Planned Parenthood, and enthusiastically supports a so-called personhood amendment to the constitution, which would ban common forms of birth control. Everything about him reeks of statism and Big Government interfering in the private lives of regular working families.

Walker has called for what he called “radical change in our current tax code,” and expressed support for combining a "fair" and flat tax, which would be one of the most regressive tax proposals currently in Congress, something that would work really well for the wealthy and shift more of the burden onto the backs of working families, while defunding government functions that underpin a modern post-agrarian society. He opposes the raising the minimum wage, and even questioned the justification the existence of a minimum wage at all.   Walker is another climate change denier steeped in profound ignorance and calling the science behind it "contested." He has called for cutting billions from the Department of Education, and even supported raising the social security age to 70. Art Pope may have supported Berger Jr., but he'll have no problem with Walker if Walker wins in November.

Voters in north-central North Carolina have a better option, and a strong Democratic candidate running for the seat, in Laura Fjeld.  She supports marriage equality, women's right to choice, and she is a passionate spokesperson for protecting and strengthening public education, her top issue:

As a mother and the daughter of two public school teachers, I know that a strong public education system is vital to expanding North Carolina’s economy in a way that will be sustainable over time. From high school, to community colleges to our world-class university system, which I was privileged and proud to serve for years, our schools are training the citizens and work force of the future for jobs that might not even exist yet. 

• Instead of prioritizing the education of our youth and our strong future, the majority administration in Raleigh has done great harm to our students, teachers and parents with drastic cuts that have increased class sizes, cut the number of teachers and teachers’ assistants, and cut pay for public school teachers. This is bad for business, communities, and all North Carolinians, and I will fight against any strategy in Washington that would weaken our public education system in North Carolina.
• Congress should prioritize the education of our nation’s children so that they are prepared for the 21st century, global economy. Congress should provide leadership and support for local school boards, teachers, parents, and students instead of instituting national tests that limit our children’s potential by wasting time and energy on test preparation. We need to support programs that will reward innovation and creativity and allow students to develop problem-solving skills necessary for success

As of the June 30 FEC deadline she had raised $581,598 with an average contribution of under $300, and had $120,363 cash-on-hand. Walker raised $325,262 and spent almost all of it battled Berger and only had $22,671 left in his kitty. Fjeld took it right to Walker on primary night, and assures her supporters she won’t be afraid to call him out on his extremism and his radical positions. It really does look like North Carolina voters can stop an unhinged extremist in Mark Walker. This is a tough district for Democrats (R+10), but Kay Hagan won the district in 2008. Its a good jumping off point to keep another Tea Party crackpot out of Congress.