When Extremism Eats Its Own, From the United States to North Carolina, Are Republicans Forgetting How to Win?
Written by Peter Boykin on December 17, 2025
When Extremism Eats Its Own, From the United States to North Carolina, Are Republicans Forgetting How to Win?
#GoRightNews Shared by Peter Boykin
American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist / Activist / Constitutionalist for Liberty
When Extremism Eats Its Own, From the United States to North Carolina, Are Republicans Forgetting How to Win?
It always starts the same way. A shocking event breaks. Social media lights up. Camps form instantly. No pause. No scale. No restraint. Just outrage racing ahead of judgment. The death of Rob Reiner did not create this problem. It exposed it.
What followed was not serious reflection. It was another reminder of how broken our political culture has become, not just on the left, but inside the Republican Party itself.
Selective Outrage and a Poorly Judged Moment
Trump’s social media post following Reiner’s death was poorly judged. In moments involving murder or loss of life, restraint matters. Saying that does not make someone anti Trump. Honest criticism is not betrayal.
What became clear immediately after, however, was the same selective outrage that defines modern politics. One ill advised post was treated as uniquely disqualifying, while years of rhetoric from the left labeling Trump supporters as fascists, traitors, garbage, or enemies of democracy was conveniently ignored. That culture did not begin with Trump. It did not end with him. It normalized dehumanization and produced real world consequences.
Trump’s point about obsessive anti Trump fixation, what many call TDS, is not imaginary. When every event becomes proof of moral evil and every disagreement becomes existential warfare, judgment collapses. That mindset is dangerous.
Pretending that only one side is guilty of extremism, however, is equally dishonest.
Extremism on the Right Is Not Strength
North Carolina Republicans have seen firsthand how right wing extremism can be just as destructive. The party nominated a gubernatorial candidate who openly spoke about violence against perceived enemies. That was not bold leadership. It was political malpractice.
At the same time, the state party platform continues to list same sex marriage as something to overturn, despite it being unconstitutional under the United States Constitution. While Republicans congratulated themselves over identity milestones like “the first Black governor,” they ignored the equal rights of gay Americans.
You cannot claim to oppose identity politics while practicing it selectively. You cannot champion the Constitution while dismissing settled constitutional law. And you cannot demand unity while treating members of your own coalition as expendable.
Equal Rights Are Not a Liberal Ideology
This contradiction sits at the heart of the backlash against Michael Whatley. Opposition to him is rarely about competence, experience, or electability. It is about resentment.
Resentment that he did not support Mark Robinson.
Resentment that he sided with Tom Tillis on equal rights.
Resentment that he refused to lead with culture war attacks on gay Americans.
Supporting civil rights is being lazily labeled “social liberalism.” That label collapses under basic scrutiny. Being gay or supporting gay rights is not a political ideology. Civil rights and equal treatment under the law are not owned by Democrats. They align directly with Republican principles of individual liberty, limited government, and personal freedom.
Treating gay Americans as a liability instead of part of the coalition costs elections and violates constitutional principles.
The Convenient Switch on What Trump Actually Ran On
There is another uncomfortable truth many prefer to ignore. People have been selectively turning a switch on and off when it comes to what Donald Trump actually prioritized.
In 2020, many openly acknowledged that Trump governed with what they called a New York state of mind. That phrase was not an insult then. It was shorthand for understanding that Trump was broadly fine with gay rights and not driven by evangelical culture wars. That understanding is precisely why Gays For Trump was created.
The message was clear. Other issues mattered more. Border security. Immigration enforcement. Jobs. Trade. National sovereignty. Free speech.
Then came COVID, lockdowns, censorship, and election chaos. Democrats used emergency power to silence dissent, restrict movement, shut churches and businesses, and punish those who refused to comply. Media colluded with government to suppress speech and shut down debate. Questions about election integrity were mocked or censored rather than addressed.
Instead of staying focused on those abuses of power, Republicans fractured.
When Social Issues Replaced the Real Fight
Even Trump noticed it happening in real time. At a Republican State Convention, he made a comment about transgender athletes in sports that drew a standing ovation. Trump openly stated he wished that same enthusiasm existed for issues that actually mattered, especially immigration. He pointed out that no one was that loud anymore about the border.
That moment exposed the shift.
Rather than recognizing how COVID and censorship reshaped the battlefield, Republican elites and activist groups seized the opportunity to re center everything around social issues again. Evangelical Christian activism regained dominance. Movements that were once about limited government and constitutional rights became vehicles for moral enforcement.
MAGA narrowed.
America First became moralized.
Student groups like TPUSA drifted from civic engagement into ideological policing.
The Anti Woke Trap and the Purity Test Spiral
What followed was a massive push around labels like anti DEI and anti woke. These terms are vague, subjective, and undefined. Once weaponized, they became tools of exclusion.
Question them and you are a RINO.
Talk about unity and you are a liberal.
Defend equal rights and you are accused of betrayal.
That is not conservatism. Liberty includes diversity of thought, belief, and identity. Inclusion is not collectivism. It is recognition of individual rights under the law. A free society does not require conformity. It requires restraint.
When Republicans abandon that, they stop defending liberty and start enforcing culture.
The Selective Trump Endorsement Problem
This same hypocrisy shows up clearly in how Trump’s endorsements are treated.
When Trump endorses Phil Berger over Sam Page, his endorsement is treated as definitive. Debate ends. Unity is demanded. Trump’s judgment is sacred.
But when Trump endorses Michael Whatley, that endorsement is suddenly ignored, minimized, or explained away. Trump’s judgment becomes optional.
You cannot claim unwavering support for Trump while dismissing his choices whenever they conflict with your own standards. That is not principled disagreement. That is opportunism.
Worse, those same individuals then attempt to impose their selective standards on everyone else. Trump is invoked as authority only when convenient. When inconvenient, he is quietly discarded.
Trump did not build his movement on blind conformity. He built it on challenging entrenched elites. Weaponizing his name selectively turns him into a tool rather than a leader and fractures the movement he created.
Results Matter More Than Purity
Michael Whatley has built party infrastructure, raised funds, organized ground operations, and helped Republicans win races. That work is not glamorous, but it is how principles turn into power.
Disagreeing with someone on social issues does not erase results. Purity tests do not win elections. They shrink coalitions and hand power to the opposition.
A party that prioritizes ideological signaling over competence guarantees its own irrelevance.
Faith, Power, and the Constitution
Evangelical extremism that places religious doctrine above constitutional limits is not conservative. It is authoritarian. When religion is used to override civil law and individual liberty, the Constitution becomes optional.
That mindset is no better than the anything goes Trump hatred on the left. Both reject restraint. Both reject pluralism. Both elevate emotion over law.
A constitutional republic requires limits, tolerance, and humility.
Who Benefits from the Chaos?
Big donors do. Political machines do. Outrage raises money. Conflict keeps funds flowing. The consultants and power brokers do not suffer when voters turn on each other. They profit.
Meanwhile, the priorities of ordinary Americans are ignored. Jobs. Safety. Free speech. Economic stability. National security. Equal treatment under the law.
Those issues decide elections, even if outrage trends better online.
Are Republicans Choosing Division Over Victory in North Carolina?
The real question is not whether Trump makes mistakes or whether party leaders disagree. Everyone does. The real question is whether Republicans want to win elections and govern, or whether they want to keep fighting among themselves while the other side consolidates power.
Experience matters. Effectiveness matters. Constitutional consistency matters. Outrage without perspective leads to bad candidates, shrinking coalitions, and permanent losses.
Trump never built his movement around moral purity. He built it around national sovereignty, economic strength, border enforcement, and resistance to elite control. When Republicans forget that and replace liberty with litmus tests, they weaken the republic they claim to defend.
The Constitution belongs to We the People, not factions, donors, or outrage machines. Any party that forgets that will eventually consume itself.
When Loyalty Becomes Selective, Does the GOP Still Stand for Anything?
#GoRight with Peter Boykin Commentary
Because that is the question hiding underneath every argument, every purity test, every social media pile on, and every internal fight we keep having.
Let us be honest with ourselves. This is not about one tweet. It is not about one candidate. It is not even about one election cycle. This is about whether the Republican Party still understands how to win and govern in a constitutional republic, or whether we have decided that ideological performance matters more than results.
We keep telling ourselves we are fighting the left, but too often we are really just fighting each other. We tear down anyone who does not perfectly mirror our personal priorities. We call it principle. We call it courage. But most of the time it is just insecurity dressed up as righteousness.
Look at how selectively outrage is applied. Trump makes a poorly judged comment after a tragedy and suddenly we are told this one moment defines everything. Yet for years, Democrats and the media normalized calling Trump supporters fascists, traitors, garbage, and enemies of democracy. That rhetoric did real damage. It fueled anger. It justified censorship. It made violence feel acceptable to people who thought they were morally superior.
Trump was not wrong to point out that obsessive hatred, what people call TDS. When everything becomes an emergency and every disagreement becomes evil, people lose judgment. But here is the part some do not want to admit. Extremism on the right is just as destructive when we excuse it or cheer it on.
North Carolina lived that lesson. We nominated candidates who spoke recklessly about violence. We pretended it was strength. It was not. It was political malpractice. At the same time, we keep a party platform that treats same sex marriage as negotiable even though it is unconstitutional to overturn. Then we act shocked when voters see hypocrisy instead of principle.
You cannot claim to oppose identity politics while practicing it selectively. You cannot say the Constitution matters while ignoring settled constitutional law. And you cannot demand unity while pushing entire parts of your own coalition out the door.
This is where the conversation around Michael Whatley exposes something uncomfortable. The anger toward him is not really about competence. It is not about effectiveness. It is about resentment. He did not support Mark Robinson. He did not play culture war theater. He sided with Tom Tillis on equal rights. And for some people, that was unforgivable.
Supporting civil rights is not social liberalism. Being gay or defending gay Americans is not a political ideology. Equal treatment under the law is a core Republican principle rooted in individual liberty and limited government. When we pretend otherwise, we are not defending conservatism. We are redefining it into something smaller and meaner.
People also conveniently forget what Trump actually ran on. In 2020, many openly acknowledged that Trump governed with what they called a New York state of mind. That meant he was not obsessed with evangelical culture wars. He was broadly fine with gay rights. That understanding is exactly why Gays For Trump existed and still exists.
Back then, people said other issues mattered more. The border mattered. Immigration mattered. Jobs mattered. Trade mattered. Free speech mattered. National sovereignty mattered.
Then COVID happened. Lockdowns happened. Censorship happened. Government overreach exploded. The First Amendment was treated like an inconvenience. People were told where they could go, what they could say, and whether they could work. Questions about election integrity were shut down instead of debated.
And instead of staying focused on those abuses of power, Republicans fractured and lost the plot.
Even Trump saw it happening. He made a comment about transgender athletes that got a standing ovation. And instead of soaking it in, he pointed out something uncomfortable. He said he wished people were that passionate about immigration. He noticed no one was that loud about the border anymore.
That was a warning. But too many ignored it.
Evangelical activism rushed back into the driver’s seat. Movements that were about limited government became about moral enforcement. Student organizations that once encouraged civic participation became ideological gatekeepers. Labels like anti woke and anti DEI became weapons instead of arguments.
Those terms are vague. They mean different things to different people. But once adopted, they became tests. Question them and you are a RINO. Talk unity and you are a liberal. Defend equal rights and you are accused of betrayal.
That is not conservatism. Liberty does not require conformity. A free society requires restraint, humility, and respect for individual rights.
Then there is the selective Trump endorsement problem. When Trump endorses Phil Berger over Sam Page, his endorsement is treated as sacred. Debate ends. Unity is demanded. Trump’s judgment is absolute.
But when Trump endorses Michael Whatley, that endorsement suddenly becomes optional. It is ignored. Explained away. Minimized.
You cannot claim unwavering loyalty to Trump while dismissing his choices whenever they do not align with your personal standards. That is not principle. That is opportunism. Trump is either your leader or he is a convenient tool. You cannot have it both ways.
Trump did not build his movement on blind conformity. He built it by challenging elites, not creating new ones inside the party.
Here is the hard truth. Purity tests do not win elections. Outrage does not govern. Coalitions win elections. Discipline governs. Michael Whatley has helped build infrastructure, raise money, organize ground operations, and win races. That work is not flashy, but it is how principles turn into power.
Big donors love the chaos. Conflict raises money. Division keeps the base emotional and distracted. Meanwhile, real issues get ignored. Jobs. Safety. Free speech. Economic stability. National security. Equal treatment under the law.
Those issues decide elections, whether social media likes it or not.
So the question remains. Do Republicans want to win elections and govern in a constitutional republic, or do we want to keep fighting among ourselves while the other side consolidates power?
Trump never built his movement around moral purity. He built it around sovereignty, strength, and resistance to elite control. When we replace liberty with litmus tests, we weaken the republic we claim to defend.
The Constitution does not belong to factions. It does not belong to donors. It does not belong to outrage merchants. It belongs to We the People.
And any party that forgets that will eventually consume itself.
What happens when outrage replaces strategy and purity tests replace constitutional principles?
This episode of #GoRight with Peter Boykin takes a hard look at how extremism on both the left and the right is fracturing political coalitions, distorting priorities, and costing Republicans winnable races in North Carolina. From selective outrage over rhetoric to selective loyalty toward Trump’s endorsements, this commentary exposes how factions inside the GOP flip standards on and off to suit their own agendas.
The discussion dives into how culture wars, evangelical absolutism, and vague labels like anti woke and anti DEI have overtaken core Republican principles of individual liberty, limited government, and equal protection under the law. It also examines why equal rights are being mislabeled as ideology, how coalition politics are being sacrificed for purity tests, and why big donors benefit when voters stay divided.
This is not about left versus right. It is about whether Republicans want to win elections, govern in a constitutional republic, and defend real liberty, or continue fighting each other while power consolidates elsewhere.
If you care about the Constitution, free speech, civil rights, and winning elections instead of losing them loudly, this conversation matters.
#GoRightNews, #GoRightNC, #PeterBoykin, #ConstitutionalRepublic, #NorthCarolinaPolitics, #CivilRights, #RepublicanParty, #EqualProtection, #EndTheExtremes, #WinElections
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