Knives Out for Dan Forest Already

RALEIGH – If you’re catching flak, it probably means you’re over the target, the saying goes. If that’s the case, then Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who just announced his exploratory committee for governor, maybe right on the mark. The North Carolina Democratic Party wasted little time in attacking the expected gubernatorial challenger of their Dear Leader Roy Cooper with a statement out yesterday that cut right to the bone.

The Democrats must be worried about the challenge Forest represents n 2020 if they are attacking him this viciously right out of the gate. They, of course, include the requisite embellishments in their political attack.

By “speaking to only far-right extremists,” they mean, conversing with the grassroots conservatives who share the principles of limited government; by “dividing people based on their faith and championing HB2,” they mean being proudly Christian and acknowledging the truth that boys and girls are different and perhaps shouldn’t share locker rooms at school; by “shaking hands with an abusive radical group,” they mean a kook showed up at an event unbeknownst to Dan Forest and Forest failed to read his mind before politely shaking a constituent’s hand.

Dan Forest is the ‘most extreme candidate to ever to run for the Governor’s Mansion’?

Something that is very far removed from your own perspective is often seen as extreme. The fact that the N.C. Democratic Party thinks that Dan Forest – a successful, down to earth, family man that takes his Christian faith to heart and believes government’s core purpose is securing liberty rather than ruling every facet of our lives  – is the most extreme candidate to ever run for governor tells you a lot about how far removed they are from mainstream North Carolina.

That being said, Forest has spent the last several years in a role that has not been the primary focus of attack for Democrats. Now that the knives are out for him and his 2020 campaign, it will be interesting to see how the mild-mannered Forest is able to respond the the bare-knuckled sucker punches have only just begun.