NC8 Watch: Conspiracy theory Tim D’Annunzio loses it on WBT radio

TD and HJI’ve written numerous times at this blog about the battle going on between the two GOP contenders for NC’s 8th Congressional District – Tim D’Annunzio and Harold Johnson. Early voting in this race is currently underway, with the actual runoff date across the state for all runoffs set for next Tuesday the 22nd.

I’ve made clear in that series of posts how I feel about both candidates, noting, in a nutshell, that I believe Harold Johnson, who is an all around nice guy, classy, gentlemanly, and solidly conservative, would best represent the interests of the voters in NC-8 if he were elected to serve in the US House of Representatives. Tim D’Annunzio, on the other hand, is a juvenile, unstable, hostile egomaniac who has waged a determinedly negative campaign of deceit and manipulation by playing on people’s emotions and religious beliefs, shamelessly using the Bible as a political tool – all of which is a matter of public record.

If nothing else he’s said or done – or that has been reported in various local media outlets – has convinced anyone reading this blog of that, the interview he did this morning on WBT Radio’s Keith Larson show should convince them. If you have about 45 minutes, I want you to listen carefully to what he says and how he acts – like a schoolyard bully who is all talk but no action (outside of “serving lawsuit papers”) on people who rub him the wrong way. His behavior, as I have said for months now, is completely inappropriate for someone who says they want to go to Washington, DC as a representative for the people of the district in which they live.

A few things about Larson: He’s been on WBT Radio for years, and while he’s done some amazing charity work and many other noteworthy things in an effort to give back to the community, I am not a fan of his interview style – never have been. I say that as someone who has worked in radio and at one time was a talk radio show host myself. Number one, Larson doesn’t like anyone – and you’ll see that when you hear the pot shots he takes at Harold Johnson. It’s ok to be skeptical of a politician or a candidate for public office, but it’s another thing entirely to be disrespectful over simple disagreements. Larson’s interview with D’Annunzio was one of the most unprofessional I’ve ever heard, from either host or a guest. After the first 15 minutes, D’Annunzio should have been cut off for the way he was acting and the accusations he was throwing out there, but Larson kept the tape rolling and the two of them yelled at each other for another 30 minutes.

I was getting emails and Tweets galore about this interview this morning but my radio doesn’t get good AM reception at the 8-5. I didn’t think about the fact that I could have listened to it online. Oh well. Thankfully, it’s on Larson’s main page (in two parts) for all the world to listen to. D’Annunzio’s behavior speaks for itself; I don’t need to add anything to it. Once you hear it, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

I would, however, like to address one thing I found greatly offensive that he said during the interview to Larson. He told Larson (to paraphrase) that he was “going to hell” for the things he had said about him. As a Christian, I was repulsed by this comment because D’Annunzio, as a self-proclaimed “Christian warrior” should danged well know better. Here’s a newsflash:

YOU don’t get to decide who goes to heaven or hell, D’Annunzio. That’s up to the man upstairs. Furthermore, a person doesn’t “go to hell” simply for saying something that YOU believe is untrue. If people went to hell simply for lying then no one would go to heaven – INCLUDING YOU, because you sure have told a mountain of lies. The way it works, and I should NOT have to explain this to a fellow so-called “Christian” is that if you accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Saviour and ask forgiveness for your sins, then you are on the pathway to heaven. THIS IS IN THE BIBLE you proclaim to know so well, Mr. D’Annunzio. How dare you act as a judge and jury for your fellow man? I don’t know if Larson is a Christian or not, but frankly his relationship (or lack thereof?) is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. And if you think I’m just saying that because I support Harold Johnson, think again. I said the same thing when a private prayer note of President Obama’s that was placed in the Western Wall was stolen and published 2 years ago.

This is what I’m talking about – he uses the Bible as a political tool to denigrate opponents and to stir up True Believers for “The Cause.” People like me are “sinners” who are “going to hell” simply because we don’t think he’s the right guy for NC8 and instead support the evil “establishment ‘RINO’ candidate.” Yet he can lie like a bear-skin rug and the opposition has a “Christian duty” to sit back and shut up while he does it? I don’t think so.

D’Annunzio – and some of his more militant supporters – have made a big deal out of what they see as Harold Johnson being nothing more than an “empty suit” who has an allegedly questionable “mental capacity.” It’s not true, but even if it were, I’d personally prefer an “empty suit” to an underhanded, slithery, faux-preacher/manipulator who refuses to take personal responsibility for his own actions and behavior and instead blames all his problems on “conspiracies” – like the one about Harold Johnson and the Charlotte Observer being “in cahoots,” and the one about how Harold Johnson had “conspired” with NBC-17 on what was supposed to be their only debate, and the one about Keith Larson “doing an ad” for Harold Johnson … when none of the above is true! Like one of the callers to Larson’s program said today, Alvin Greene would do a better job representing NC8 than Tim D’Annunzio.

Why would I prefer a so-called “empty suit” over Tim D’Annunzio? Because in the end, no matter what a candidate’s grasp of the issues actually is, CHARACTER MATTERS. A candidate could know the Constitution like the back of his hand and be the staunchest conservative on planet earth, but in the end, if he or she is a nothing more than a jerk who will stoop to any level – including using the (manipulated) Word of God in order to “win” an election – that speaks volumes as to who the person is behind the mask. And when people vote to send someone to Washington, DC to represent their interests, not only do they want someone who they believe will work on their behalf, but they also want someone there who not only they can respect, but someone who will also be respected by their fellow Congressional representatives in order to get things done and advance conservative principles. As has been proven time and time again, Tim D’Annunzio is not working on behalf of anyone other than himself, and he certainly isn’t earning any respect outside of what he already has from the few diehards who really do believe that he is a local, GOP version of the Obamamessiah. They can have him. The whole of NC8, however, deserves much better.

Related: WBT Radio’s Tara Servatius interviewed Harold Johnson this afternoon. You can listen to the interview here.

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