The Family That Did So Much to Destroy Appalachia

 

I just finished the first of my Christmas books, "Empire of Pain" by Patrick Radden Keefe, and I'm a little agitated by the confirmation that the Sacklers of OxyContin fame have indeed "gotten away with it." None of that large connected clan of three generations of pill pushers -- none of them have ever been materially punished for their part in literally creating the "opioid epidemic," while benefitting outrageously from the human destruction. 

Okay, footnote: The Attorney General of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, named Purdue Pharma and individual Sacklers in a civil complaint in June 2018 that ran to over 270 pages, but the Sacklers successfully blocked her by putting Purdue Pharma into bankruptcy. So I incidentally learned -- surprise! -- that when a company is in bankruptcy, all other suits and complaints against it are put on hold. I didn't know that. But it's key to why the Sacklers haven't paid personally yet for their ethical and moral crimes. 

However, they have begun to pay in humiliation. Some of the museums that they funded lavishly and which put their names prominently on display, like the Sackler Wing at the Met, have been chiseling those names off its granite. Some cultural institutions, which in the past have received millions in philanthropic money from various Sacklers, have now begun to say "no thanks, cause we don't want to be associated with you people any more." The Sackler's poor, exploited, milked company, Purdue Pharma, suffered plenty. It's been charged and fined as a corporate entity and some of its executives (who were most assuredly not Sacklers) got sentenced, and it's now a shell in bankruptcy court. None of that destruction touched the Sacklers personally, nor the bulk of their money.

Here's the thing that allowed the Sacklers to become celebrated philanthropists: For many, many years, the elite crowd in NYC and the mavens of major institutions, like the Met, Harvard University, Oxford, the Louvre -- they simply didn't know (and perhaps didn't want to know) how the Sacklers were making their money. The family had always been secretive. They obscured the connection between themselves and the marketing of pills --  especially after OxyContin became a hot topic.

The Sacklers have evaded accountability through a combination of ruthless tactics, highly paid lawyers, a willingness to go after anyone publicly complaining, and fat influence at the highest levels of government. I think it's fair to say that the Sacklers in the now three generations of the family effectively corrupted the regulatory obligations of both the FDA and the Department of Justice. Family bosses knew how to compromise a federal regulator by offering him/her a desk and a big salary at Purdue if they ever got tired of low-paid government work. At the right moment, the Sacklers knew key people in the Department of Justice (particularly during both the George W. Bush and Trump administrations), when Justice should have been seeking justice for false advertising and various types of fraud. 

Instead, billions (that's no exaggeration) were going directly into the pockets of the Sacklers (and into off-shore accounts where the government can't reach it). Profit from OxyContin soon passed $3 billion a year. Meanwhile, for the overdosed dead, the Sacklers showed little sympathy. Drug addicts were the "scum of the earth" who had only themselves to blame for their addictions.

Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) a most mild-mannered, bowtie-equipped member of Congress, said this to David and Kathe Sackler, when they testified in a Congressional hearing titled "The Role of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family in the Opioid Epidemic":

"Watching you testify makes my blood boil. I'm not sure that I'm aware of any family in America that's more evil than yours."

Reading Keefe's book brings me to the same place.

In that Congressional hearing, the two Sacklers (Kathe representing the "A Side," descendants of the middle of the original three brothers who started the company; David representing the corporate "B Side," descendants of the youngest of the three original Sacklers) had just told Rep. Cooper and the other members of the committee, in sometimes testy tones and always with a billionaire's aplomb, an inability to read the room, that they did not know that OxyContin was addictive, that they had not and never would do anything wrong in the making and marketing of any medication, and why are you people persecuting the inventors of a medical miracle for pain control?

Keefe reports opinions that Richard Sackler, the inventor and prime marketer of OxyContin, simply lacked empathy. Had no understanding of and hence no sympathy for the suffering of others. If you're looking for a mortal flaw in not just Richard Sackler but in the whole corporate enterprise, "lack of empathy" will suffice. (We've had plenty of experience very recently with that type of human being.)

Hulu's "Dopesick" First Made Me Curious About the Sacklers

I really wanted to read "Empire of Pain" to learn about Richard Sackler in particular. I was riveted by actor Michael Stuhlbarg's portrayal of him in the Hulu series "Dopesick." Very good series. Focuses on the hills of Appalachia in Virginia, which was indeed the birthplace of Victim Zero, the first recorded death from OxyContin overdose. That drug (and then heroin, when there was no Oxy) ravaged Appalachia starting in 1996, and it's only fitting that "Dopesick" the series chose locations in Clifton Forge and other Virginia small towns for filming. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond served as the famous "Sackler Wing" at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Robert Gipe, a brilliant comic writer out of Harlan County, served as a script advisor. "He vetted every single detail," said writer Beth Macey, who had published the book "Dopesick." She signed on to write and help produce the Hulu series and wisely set aside her own bestseller to write a much broader script that went way beyond the local reportage that she had done for the Roanoke Times. 

Michael Stuhlbarg as Richard Sackler,
in the Hulu series "Dopesick"

Keefe's "Empire of Pain" must have supplied much of the Sackler history that Macy used in her script. All the stuff about those contentious Purdue board meetings, with the A Side and the B Side sniping at one another from opposite ends of a very long table -- all that came out of Keefe's book.

After watching the Hulu series (with Stuhlbarg's malign mystery as Richard Sackler), I got my hands on Macy's bestseller first (hattip JDG), hoping she was the source about the Sacklers. But, no, Macy's book is strictly reportage about the people of southwest Virginia touched by the opioid epidemic, particularly the families of the dead. In the TV series, the Michael Keaton character (the doctor who himself gets addicted) and the young woman coal miner and her family -- those are made up amalgamations of many people Macy had known, or known about. Meanwhile the Sacklers barely get a mention, nor do the various government lawyers dogging them and amassing a case against them, like the lawyers out of the Western District of Virginia and the FDA official played by Rosario Dawson. Macy's book goes into none of that, but Patrick Keefe does.

Don't Look Up

 

What a movie for Christmas Eve! Season of hope and renewal, coinciding (more or less) with the Winter Solstice, when the sun decides to return to us, and Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" proposes the sun won't come back. Ever.

For an end-of-the-world movie, it actually delivers ... the end of the world. I sat there for the first two hours wondering if Adam McKay would actually do it. He did it. But the tone of the movie leading up to that "conclusion of the species" is so Adam-McKay-clever -- satiric thrusts and wicked jokes about how narcissism makes us dumb (this McKay World is ruled by a blond, trifling president, played pretty brilliantly by Meryl Streep, and by the Q Score of a varnished pair of TV anchors on a popular feature news show, "The Daily Rip" -- played by Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry, having way too much fun) -- that biting tone of poking the bear of self-absorption did not entirely prepare me for the last 30 minutes, when McKay admits that human potential deserves reverence even as it faces its own extinction.

I was actually moved by Timothee Chalamet's performance as Yule, a skateboard dogtown boy with a hat turned around backwards ("I'm FirePuma142 on Twitch. Do you game?"), who turns out is possessed of a sweet disposition and a talent for praying a sincere prayer over a last supper. The moment absolutely floored me. The only Black character in the whole film (Rob Morgan as head of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, a real thing) sits at the table and hears Yule's prayer. "You got some church game, man," he says. That scene could make you love the human race.

The ending of "Don't Look Up" moved me in unexpected ways. Leonardo DeCaprio nails the long arc of a serious academic astronomer of limited achievements who first discovers the trajectory of an Everest-sized meteor, who goes from the urgency of terror and a need to ride like Paul Revere to an unhorsed hanger-on seduced by his own celebrity (he officially achieves the status of an "A.I.L.F.," which you can translate for yourself; first word is "astronomer"). He redeems himself. His instinct at the end, when the end is inevitable because not one, not two, but three attempts to fly rockets to explode and divert the meteor have failed, he wants to go home to his estranged wife and his two teenaged boys, achingly good young men. At that last supper, he says to everyone, "We really did have everything, didn't we? I mean, when you think about it."

Chalamet in "Don't Look Up"

That's of course the message: gratitude for what we have could actually lead us to save what we have. More than just a ribbing about how stupid we are, "Don't Look Up" delivers a solution that still resides in our genes (alongside the gene for destruction), a capacity to love and to protect what we love.

FOOTNOTE

I could bend your ears a lot longer about other characters, other actors portraying them ... like Jonah Hill as the president's son, the little prick she's appointed nepotistically as her chief of staff, who gets the lion's share of funny lines. He's an idiot and doesn't know it. He talks like this when he wants to feign sympathy: "There's dope stuff, like material stuff, like sick apartments and watches, and cars, um, and clothes and shit that could all go away and I don't wanna see that stuff go away. So I'm gonna say a prayer for that stuff. Amen."

Or Jennifer Lawrence as the new-age doctoral student who first discovers the comet. She's got the big picture and does not get seduced by notoriety, but she's as buried in the petty details as everyone else. She discovers that an Army general has charged her for snacks meant to be free in the White House, and she will not let it go. It's as big an issue with her as the comet named for her.

Ariana Grande, hilariously cast as a self-absorbed pop star whose breakup with her boyfriend currently dominates social media and broadcast media too. One critic labeled Grande as "a good sport" for taking a role that could be seen as an unintentional self-parody, the young woman whose fame has throttled her maturity. This scene, where the Grande character, glitsy singer Riley Bina, sits in a TV greenroom with the two astronomers played by Jennifer Lawrence (as Kate Bibiasky) and DeCaprio, waiting to go on-air:

Riley Bina: You guys discovered a comet? That's so dope. I have a tattoo of a shooting star on my back.

Kate Dibiasky: Oh.

Dr. Randall Mindy: That's terrific. We heard about your breakup too, so we just wanna say... We're very sorry, right? We're real sorry. You seem like a... great person.

Riley Bina: Why don't you mind your own business, you old fuck?

 

RELUCTANT FOOTNOTE

I know that professional critics are divided on this movie. Some of the reviews have been unnecessarily savage, implying a smugness about McKay that I don't see and don't accept. If you can't hold a mirror up to current society without being accused of conceited motives, we've gone so brittle as a culture that we deserve to shatter.

Update on NC Insurrectionists Charged for Jan. 6th Assault on Capitol

 

Almost a year ago a large crowd of stirred-up Trumpists stormed the U.S. Capitol. That assault caused at least $1.5 million in building damages, led to the deaths of five people, and injured scores of police.

Reporter Michael Gordon has done the leg-work tracing where the charges against 14 North Carolinians currently stand:

Brad Bennett -- former Mecklenburg Co. resident, wellness coach, and survivalist. He's charged with six crimes, one a felony that could send him to prison.

Aiden Bilyard -- from Cary. "Photos show the 19-year-old shooting chemical bear spray at a line of police officers and later using a baseball bat to break out a Capitol window, which he and scores of other rioters used as a portal to the Senate side of the building."

Grayson Sherrill -- from Cherryville. Now accused in an amended complaint of several acts of felony violence inside the Capitol, including assaulting a police officer with a metal pole.

Laura Steele and Charles Donohoe -- named in a new Dec. 14 criminal complaint filed by the District of Columbia against two paramilitary groups (Oath Keepers and Proud Boys) who the government says helped plan the Capitol siege. Steele is a former police officer accused of being part of a multi-state conspiracy by the Oath Keepers to storm the Capitol. She's charged with at least one felony. Donohoe is "an alleged member of the right-wing Proud Boys who federal prosecutors say helped plan and direct the group’s activities during the mob attack."

Matthew Wood -- from Reidsville, "who originally told the FBI that he entered the Capitol only to avoid being trampled, but was caught on camera urging the mob to attack police."

Lewis Cantwell -- from Sylva, charged with six crimes and, "according to court records, appears to have backed off from entering a guilty plea."

Chris and Virginia Spencer -- from Pilot Mountain. The only husband-wife team of defendants. Virginia Spencer has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge and is to be sentenced Jan. 7. Chris Spencer has pleaded not guilty. "Normally, a misdemeanor charge in the Capitol cases has not carried a prison sentence. But in a December sentencing memorandum to Virginia Spencer’s judge, prosecutors noted for the first time that the Spencers brought one of their children, a 14-year-old, to the riot. The family took part in one of the first waves that stormed the building, briefly entered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite, and joined another mob that massed outside the House chamber when the representatives were still trapped inside, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer wrote. Virginia Spencer’s 'participation in a riot… combined with the defendant involving her minor child renders a sentence of incarceration both necessary and appropriate in this case.' ”

Doomscrolling (Revisited)

 

I posted this a year ago on Xmas Eve. I rediscover it now as still applicable, if not more so (and I'm in no mood to capitalize on poor Madison Cawthorn's divorce):

Is there a better word for 2020? Doomscrolling (noun) -- the act of consuming an endless procession of negative online news, to the detriment of the scroller's mental wellness.

Yeah, that's me.

Every morning, scrolling headlines and taglines and come-ons and click-bait, my mind sinking deeper and deeper into a black pool. Just this blooming morning: "Highest Levels of Microplastics Found in Molluscs, New Study Says";  "Portugal outrage after Spanish hunters massacre 500 wild animals"; "Trump’s last-minute outburst throws pandemic relief effort into chaos"; "Could Trump declare martial law to try to steal the election?"; "Trump vowed to drain the swamp. Then he granted clemency to three former congressmen convicted of federal crimes"; "A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable."

We're doomed, folks.

I wrote a Christmas letter. First time in years. I got calls from all over the country -- especially from Texas -- asking either directly whether I might be suicidal, or implying it by tiptoeing around the topic. I ain't that. I ain't suicidal. Sometimes I yell at the TV. Sometimes I yell at myself. Not out loud. Not yet, that. I've not become the guy who goes through the grocery store muttering angrily (though for social distancing, it ain't a slouch of a motivator).

Fact is, I don't go to the grocery store. Because of the risk of infection, natch. That's an oppressive topic that didn't make the first national headlines I saw this morning. My expanded scrolling to North Carolina yields this: "NC COVID hospitalizations hit another new high as deaths top 6,300." The virus darkens every corner of life, doesn't it? No need to ask really, with so many of us at home alone rather than with extended families. The virus is ever present and, just incidentally, deadly to people like me and mine.

“Doomscrolling can be a harmful habit, and detrimental to your mental and even physical health.” 

--Stephanie J. Wong, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist

I know, Dr. Wong, but it's hardwired in me to crave the news every morning. Habit? Like drugs? You bet. I very well know that bad habits can produce depression, which can be a bottomless pit. Here's another word for the year: catastrophizing: focusing on the negative aspects of the world in a way that makes it more and more difficult to notice anything positive. "When you experience stress – whether it's low-level stress from doomscrolling or a sudden, stressful event like a car crash – your body kicks into overdrive and releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol." The fight-or-flight response -- built into us by evolution, to save our butts from fang and claw, but "long term activation of this fight-or-flight response has been linked to digestive problems, headaches, heart disease, weight gain, anxiety, sexual side effects, and high blood pressure, as well as many other health issues."

Gee, thanks, Doc, like we don't already have enough stress.

So what does Dr. Wong recommend? "Avoid all social media." Unrealistic. But also this, a really good suggestion: "Practice gratitude." It's Christmas Eve. I'm in a warm place. I have my partner for life here with me, along with wonder dog Jake, and we have gifts prepared for one another. Pam's making a Pekin duck tomorrow, and we've got movies queued up for all day. Fuck everything else.

You Can't Win Races Without Candidates

 

Before the courts stepped in, candidate filing for 2022 in North Carolina went on for two-and-one-half days, beginning at noon on Monday, December 6, and ending at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, by court order. There was a rush to file among Republicans. There was a rush not to file among Democrats.

Filing won't crank up again until after the trial on the merits of lawsuits filed against the Republican redistricting, followed probably by appeals to the NC Supreme Court. After that, who knows? Maybe different districts. Maybe a higher interest among Democrats.

If the current lack of Democratic enthusiasm/bravery doesn't turn around ... I don't want to finish that sentence. But the numbers below represent above all else the deleterious effects of extreme partisan gerrymandering.

NC House

Out of a total of 120 seats, Republicans are running in 64 of them without a Democratic opponent (so far)

Democrats have filed in some 17 seats with no Republican opponent (so far)

NC Senate

Out of a total of 50 seats, Republicans have filed for 31 of them with no Democratic opponent (so far)

Democrats have filed in only 3 seats with no Republican opponent (so far) 

If You Dine With the Devil, Better Use a Long Spoon

Roe on the left, with Youngkin

Jeff Roe is a Republican political consultant who guided Glenn Youngkin's recent successful campaign to become Virginia's governor. Roe had a fraught history with Donald Trump going back to the 2016 Republican primary when he was working for the Ted Cruz for President campaign. He advised Youngkin to enthusiastically embrace Trump during the primary and then get the hell away from him for the general election -- which actually worked and which majorly pissed off DJT.

The Washington Post recently reported that Roe was forced to get himself to Mar-a-Lago to smooth Trump's ruffled feathers. Trump was said to believe that Roe had "belittled" his role in Youngkin's win. And it's true enough that "after winning the GOP nomination and Trump’s endorsement, Youngkin stopped dropping Trump’s name."

Trump had told the “John Fredericks Radio Show” ("America's Godzilla of the TRUTH!" which broadcasts out of Goochland, Va.) that “the only guys that win are the guys that embrace the MAGA movement. When they try to go down a railroad track … ‘Oh, yeah, love Trump. Love Trump. Okay, let’s go, next subject.’ When they do that, nobody, they don’t — they never win. They never win. They have to embrace it.”

Youngkin was still walking that tightrope when he gave his first post-election interview to Fox News's Tucker Carlson (the faint praise for an unnamed DJT got noticed): “We had help from everybody. We had a huge support from the Latino community. You know, the president made a call and asked everybody to get out and vote. And we had big turnout in southwest Virginia. We saw parents turn out.”

When you have an ego as large as Trump's and you're mentioned after the Latinos -- why, boy, you got some groveling to do!

"Roe told others privately that he did not want Trump to visit the state and that it would be harmful to Youngkin, according to a political operative who spoke with Roe about it. Trump told Roe that he would like to see his supporters publicly given more credit for the victory, two people familiar with the meeting said. Trump called Youngkin several times to give him advice in the race and talk about the numbers in the state...."

Youngkin's win, without throwing himself into Trump's arms, is supposed to signal that Trump's influence in the Republican Party is fading. That's a fiercely debated topic. But when you have to make your pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring, you're not a free man.

Modeling Masculinity

 

“A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others.”

Reading about what motivated state Senator Jeff Jackson to bow out of the US Senate race and endorse his rival Cheri Beasley sparks inevitable comparisons with other politicians, some of them right here in North Carolina seeking office right now. Jackson's exit was the honorable thing. He had been told by his consultants that he couldn't win the Democratic primary next year without going negative on Cheri Beasley. Recent polls showed Jackson behind Beasley in a two-person race. The only way to climb back up was to tear Beasley down. That's what the consultants were advising.

Jackson told Michael Graff, “We decided not to do that. Not because I have a particular problem being critical when I think it’s fair, but just in her case, it would not have been honest. She has over a decade of exemplary public service to her name. And the prospect of suggesting otherwise on television ads, was just a non-starter with me.” That is more than honorable. That models a masculinity free -- or damn near free -- of self-interest. Manly self-sacrifice for the good of the many (in this case, "the many" being the NCDP).

Comparisons are odorous (said Dogberry), but also however oh so delicious. Look now at the Ted Budd for Senate faction. You've been seeing how they're treating poor pathetic Pat McCrory, right? I know Ted Budd did not (supposedly) have anything to do with those attacks (which have included TV hit-pieces), but he is said to benefit from them, and he hasn't so far as I know ever distanced himself from them. Ted Budd ... hence and therefore (and this is how comparisons work, chums) not a good man.

Alex Jones wrote a great piece about toxic masculinity, how it blossomed under Trump and swept the old Republican party rudely aside, until what's happened -- see -- is that Mark Robinson is the most popular Republican elected official in the state of North Carolina. Mark Robinson is a giant dick. He plays a swaggering bully with a booming voice who can deliver a sermon tongue-lashing like a tent preacher.

Which brings us to the topic of toxic masculinity. (You know me: I've been reading.) A male gene, present in some and not in others, produces constant anxiety about "gender performance," and not just performance in the bedroom, so that making a show of manly dominance becomes the best medicine for doubts (with emphasis on show; an audience is required). Performative masculinity appears to be a symptom of a psychological bundle of neuroses now defined as "precarious manhood," wherein "men experience anxiety when it comes to their manhood and masculinity, or masculine gender identity." In extreme cases anxiety can lead to acting out, violence, or at least physical aggression. Or he might just refuse to protect even himself and his loved ones by masking up. He can't admit any fear. Trump made fun of people wearing plague-masks, and so did Fox News, and suddenly it was a matter of endangered manhood to comply with any "mandate."

Since we're all here in the theater with our popcorn, here are some other displays of what Alex Jones was writing about:

Congressman Madison Cawthorn once upon a time not so long ago had himself filmed punching out a punky tree, and posted this performance of heroic manhood to his social media:

I can't post here the new Bo Hines for Congress introductory video, but you can view it easily on his Twitter feed. He's proud of it. He spent a lot of money on it. It's a show of aggressive manhood. Alex Jones: "The piece shows him vigorously pumping iron and doing pullups in a gym bedecked with a prominently displayed Back the Blue flag. Over a background of rock music, a tough-guy’s voice says Hines will bring 'North Carolina gridiron values' to Congress. Message: This guy is a stud. Vote for him."

(You remember Bo Hines, right? He's almost as young as Cawthorn and has been a district-shopping itinerant who may have settled finally on running for Congress in the CD 4. Hines is a Madison Cawthorn acolyte. Cawthorn introduced him to Trump.)

Or Ted Budd, the Trumpist choice for US Senate, who's obviously six times the man that Pat McCrory could ever claim to be.

Jeff Jackson Is Getting Out of the Senate Race

 

Jeff Jackson, who's been running hard (and we thought, effectively) for the US Senate seat, is reportedly bowing out and endorsing Cheri Beasley -- probably today. WRAL appears to have been the first with the news yesterday after 5 p.m. that Jackson "was expected to announce his plan to drop out as soon as Thursday morning." No explanation. No rationale.

People will ask, naturally, "Did something happen?" As in something bad.

If this move helps Cheri Beasley win that Senate seat, Jackson's announcement may may end up looking very cool, a self-sacrifice for the good of the Republic, let alone the state of North Carolina.

ADDENDUM

Just posted in the NewsObserver:

Many rumors circulated in North Carolina’s political circles Wednesday night about what is next for Jackson’s political future. [Political scientist Chris] Cooper said it could be that his campaign had information indicating that he couldn’t win. 

“I think it’s equally as likely to be him trying to set himself up for a future run,” Cooper said. 

He added that Jackson is not known to run negative campaigns and that may have been his only option. He also pointed out that Jackson may have realized he’s a white male running against a Black female for a nomination by a party that is trying to be inclusive and diverse. 

“He’s a Democrat and when the Democratic Party establishment runs counter to your interests, it makes sense to try to figure out how to make friends rather than make deeper enemies,” Cooper said, saying this could be a smart long-term strategy for Jackson’s career.

What the Republicans Have To Choose From in NCH109

 

The Incumbent Republican

One Donnie Loftis got appointed to the Gaston County seat (Dist. 109) in the last week of October to replace Rep. Dana Bumgardner who had passed away. WRAL immediately outed Loftis as enthusiastically attending Trump's nullify-the-election/insurrection on January 6th, but he said he absolutely, positively didn't enter the Capitol building (though he was close enough to catch teargas in the face). He bused with other fiery hot patriots to D.C., and on the bus back home he posted this on Facebook:

“I got gassed three times and was at the entrance when they breached the door. I spoke to many service members, and we all agreed that we didn’t want to be there, but we had no other choice. They don’t get it that they work for us. And I mean that in a respectful way.” (Source: Gaston Gazette)

A 30-year Army veteran with combat experience, Loftis served two short terms -- separated by years -- as a Gaston County Commissioner. He last held office in 2012. He could never gain a second consecutive term. Last time he tried, he got beaten in the primary. He also tried twice to win the NCH109 seat but couldn't get through either the 2004 or the 2012 primary. Doesn't seem very popular in Gaston County. So how did he get appointed? He was the pick of the Gaston County Republican Executive Committee, "after considering the nomination of three individuals and through two rounds of voting" (Gaston.NC.gop). Any more detail than that will take snitches inside (but I strongly suspect that old friends and relatives of the deceased Dana Bumgardner were not happy with the Loftis appointment ... see below).

He was a very public Trumpist in Gaston County before he ever thought of storming the Capitol. Somehow Loftis got to be chair of the board of directors of CaroMont Health Inc., a very large regional hospital chain, and was forced to resign in 2020 when his Facebook re-posts of COVID-19 conspiracy theories got into the public bloodstream, along with his calling Gov. Cooper a tyrant for that initial stay-at-home order. The Gaston Gazette says he got himself reappointed to the board of Caro-Mont and is still serving, but CaroMont's website does not list him

When Donnie Loftis was presented in the House chamber on the Monday evening of November 1st, all the Democrats in the chamber walked out rather than attend his swearing in.

The Loftis Challengers (so far)

Lauren Bumgardner Currens, the daughter of the late Rep. Bumgardner, has been the number two in the Gaston County GOP since 2015, and she was one of the three nominees for appointment to the seat. Her Twitter account defines her with stark gender norms -- "Mom. Wife. Candidate for NC House 109" -- but she's no country mouse -- more country club. She posed with House Speaker Tim Moore when she served a year as a house legislative aide, and I am betting she's banking on the family legacy. [Apologies! Just realized that I left unsaid the obvious thing: Lauren is the former rep's daughter.]

Bumgardner has left virtually no trace on social media except for the Twitter feed and a very thin Facebook page.

But her filing statement ain't so attractive:

"The message coming from the citizens of Gaston County to the Far-Left Democrats is clear. Stop indoctrinating our children in schools. Stop tearing down statues of our Founding Fathers. Stop overtaxing our families. Stop hating America."

Jesus. Stop being so goddamn unoriginal, Lauren.

That's the same bullying posture that all the Trump soldiers now ape. How is she different from Loftis? She looks better and maybe just missed the bus.

Ronnie Worley is currently serving his second four-year term on the Gaston County Commission. He was the third person initially nominated to replace Bumgardner. Worley is a former mayor of Cramerton and a retired state Highway Patrol trooper. He doesn't sound crazy:

“This campaign will be about accountability and getting government working again," Worley said in a Nov. 23 release stating his plans to run. "As we come out of the pandemic, we have seen too many systems in government fail. We need to get state government working again. We need a focus on citizen service – not mandates and extended executive emergency powers.

“Government at every level is failing the average citizen and average family,” Worley said.

Compared to Loftis and Bumgardner Currens, that's soft soap. No grabbing for the easiest divisive one-liners. No apparent instinct for bullying. Sure, there's the "no COVID mandate" boilerplate, but it's under- rather than overstated. 

The most telling piece of evidence about Worley came following the Charlottesville racist rioting in 2017 when local Black leaders requested the Gaston commissioners to remove the Confederate statue at the entrance to the county courthouse. At first, Worley and his fellow commissioners took no action. Then later, this:

"Maybe I didn’t have the political courage to say, ‘Yeah, we need to move it,’ although I probably knew then," Worley said....

Now [2020] he says it’s time to move the monument.

"So I’m thinking well, how would a Jewish person feel if they had to look at a swastika? Maybe Black Americans feel the same way looking at this monument to the Confederacy and what was a symbol of hate to that population," he said.

Worley, a retired state trooper and former mayor of Cramerton, says his conviction came from not only the current national upheaval over race but from talks with local Black people who say the symbolism makes them skeptical about the justice system. 

Good God. This man probably doesn't have a prayer in the Republican primary. He made the about-face on the Confederate soldier monument in July 2020, way after all filing for a primary was completed. He had no primary opponent and no general election opponent in 2020. Will the MAGA crowd now get delayed revenge for his apparent race treason?