The Republican Knot at the Heart of the NC-5

Interesting and informative article in the Statesville Record & Landmark about the nature of Iredell County Republicanism. Iredell County is as dominated by Republican office-holders as Watauga is dominated by Democrats: all five members of the County Commission and all seven members of the county's delegation to the General Assembly are GOPers. It's a place where never is heard a discouraging word about Madam Virginia Foxx.

Riveting factoid: "...of the 80 counties in the state in which Bush and Cheney won a majority in 2004, only nine did so by a greater margin than Iredell's 36 percent margin: 68 percent red to 32 percent blue. Four of those nine counties -- Alexander, Davie, Wilkes and Yadkin -- share a border with Iredell" ... and are in the Fifth Congressional District. A fifth county of those reddest nine is Surry, also in the Fifth District.

To some politicians who might consider challenging The Madam, that gnarl of conservatism in the NC-5 seems impenetrable. But they might also notice something decidedly bluer stirring in Ashe, Wilkes, and Alexander, and those seeds are in Iredell too, if not entirely rooted yet.

Plus The Madam is as brittle and cracked and hollow as a used carnival kewpie doll. She's afraid to come forward and face the voters in an open forum.