Little Fibs, Big Lies, and a Sub-Zero Heart

RE: The Kennedy/Foxx debate last night in Ashe County...

An Opening Note on Small Lies
At one point last night, in response to a general question about agricultural issues, Virginia Foxx threw away a line that opened a huge window on her character. She said that she and Tom were really "farmers," both at heart and in practice, and that she had picked and cooked fresh green beans and potatoes the day before. "And they were delicious."

No doubt she's a serviceable cook, but any local gardener instantly recognized the lie. There are zero "fresh green beans" out in any garden at this time of year. There are dried bean husks hanging on leafless bushes.

If she's willing to lie about something that inconsequential, she's willing to lie about the big stuff. For example:

Her "no" votes in Congress. It's a total misconception, she said, that I vote "no" on everything. I've only voted "no" 40% of the time and "yes," 60% of the time.

That qualifies as a big statistical lie. The only way she could squeeze out a 60% "yes" voting record is to count all the "filler" resolutions (like the one "honoring" the Christmas tree industry) and the courthouse-naming bills -- the non-controversial, pro-forma stuff.

But on 451 key, substantive votes catalogued by Project Vote Smart, she performed as follows:

Voted yes 129 times
Voted no 322 times

That fantasy figure of 60% was her favorite number last night: She also said that 60% of the country are "conservative." Just like her. "They agree with me," she said. But at least 60% of that audience last night was 100% in disagreement with her.

Where did she get that statistic? The obvious answer: she made it up. The highest figures we can find of voters' self-identifying as "conservative" is in a 2009 Gallup poll, which found as many as 40% of respondents describing themselves as either "conservative" (31%) or "very conservative" (9%), the highest percentage in any year since 2004, according to Gallup. And one might legitimately ask of that 40%, especially in the 5th Congressional District of North Carolina, whether they agree that they are "conservative" like Virginia Foxx.

Would they have voted to deny federal aid to the victims of Katrina, for just one example. Would they have voted against reforming the rapacity of credit card companies? Would they have voted no on "expressing support of the goals and ideals of the National School Lunch Program"? Would they have voted no on the "Elder Abuse Victims Act"? Would they have voted no on student loans (not student give-aways ... student loans)?

It's doubtful that the self-professed "conservatism" of Foxx's 5th District constituents is in synch with Foxx's hard-heartedness. In fact, on every vote mentioned in the previous paragraph -- and on many others like them -- the majority of her fellow "conservatives" in the Republican Party voted "YES!" Foxx is in a class all to herself when it comes to "NO!"

But then she was raised super-poor
She doesn't want anyone to forget that fact. By my count last night, she mentioned three separate times how poor she was growing up. What she didn't mention was how rich she is now and how positively GROSS it is for such a wealthy, formerly poor woman to have such harsh attitudes toward the non-wealthy and such solicitous regard for the super-rich ... i.e., bankers and corporate honchos.

Only her love of The Lord exceeds her love of money
She also paraded God, the Baptist version, as a third party in her corporate shilling. That's not just GROSS. It's ... weak.

Empty Seats
The Military Officers Association provided each candidate six seats for family and friends in the front row of the Ashe Civic Center last night. Billy Kennedy's seats were full. Foxx's were empty. No husband. No daughter. No grandchildren.

The lack of human connection signaled by that emptiness is almost sad.