Foxx Is Fragile

 

If I put myself in front of my constituents, it ain’t going to be pretty.

--Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer, explaining the fear among Republicans in Congress about facing the voting public

Virginia Foxx knows ugly. She held a famous "listening tour" in Boone during her first term in Congress (2006). She went to a local restaurant (limited seating, natch) and wanted to hear from Chamber of Commerce types and elected officials, but the general public also showed up and crowded into that restaurant, so much so that the worried MC announced that this wasn't in fact a "town hall" at all but a listening tour for important community people to tell Congresswoman Foxx their dreams and druthers, but that Congresswoman Foxx might take a few questions from the audience at the end. The end came. Didn't go well.

She ain't been back in a public setting like that since.

I know of only one genuine town hall she's ever held, in Statesville in Iredell County in 2010 when Billy Kennedy was running against her. Several of us went down to Statesville to attend. It was a very polite crowd in a large space, but she answered only written questions from the audience, passed to her by aides. We all suspected heavy screening by the aides. During that 2010 campaign she also consented to a legendary debate with Billy Kennedy in Ashe County. So in several ways, 2010 has to be judged her most "out" year ever. She hasn't exposed herself to the public like that since. Oh she gets in front of plenty of cameras, but those are controlled occasions -- whenever Trump signs something Congressional Republicans are proud of.

In 2009, Congresswoman Foxx delayed her speaking role at a Masonic Picnic until after the Mocksville police dispersed approximately 30 protestors. After her speech, this happened (and has become a piece of folklore in Davie County). From an eye witness: "When a woman walked up to her afterwards, and introduced herself as the chairperson of the Democratic Party of Davie County, Virginia backed away so abruptly she ALMOST -- but saved by a trusty Veteran -- fell off the stage."

Foxx is fragile. As a fox, she'd be in a glass menagerie.

She's known on Capitol Hill for "the Foxx sprint," literally running away from questions and microphones. She's only brave (and remarkably obnoxious) when she's part of a mob:

Trump's Soldiers in Cities -- Violates a Law the Right Used To Love

The Posse Comitatus Act was passed in the US Congress in 1876 (and signed into law by Rutherford B. Hayes), reportedly to quell the brute force that Union soldiers were sometimes using on former Confederates to force the acceptance of former slaves as citizens. Alarming reports had been made. The Congress, dominated by Republicans, took action. The Act severely limited the involvement of US military in law enforcement.

Posse Comitatus is fancy Latin. Posse means force. Comitatus is often translated as "county" but refers to something deeper, an ancient respect for any local company of citizens who have formed a government. In other words, the Posse Comitatus Act declared that the legal license to force obedience to the rules lies with the locals and nobody else. Hence, the Sheriff's posse of many a Western. Certainly not the US Army, whose enlisted members at the time the law was passed thought they had every reason under God's blue sky to get rough with the defeated (and already humiliated) rebels.

Posse Comitatus became a thing among some far-Right groups/militias in the late 20th Century, an elaborate rationale for localized white supremacist resistance to integration and other Federal laws that intrude on reality. Some Southern sheriffs took the attitude that their right to use force was supreme over what any fucking woke Federal law said.

Reporter Brian Kerem:

The MAGA minions are becoming alarmed at the president’s flagrant violation of the Posse Comitatus law, which is supposed to keep the government from using the military as police officers. The law was a direct result of the Civil War, and it was originally proposed by, wait for it…Republicans....

The difference between Trump’s second and first administrations is seen best in this one issue. In his first term, Trump didn’t know what the Posse Comitatus Act even was. That’s a fact. CQ Roll Call’s John T. Bennett and I were the two reporters who asked about Trump's violating it. The president had no idea it existed, and his staff referred to it as “that Hakuna Matata thing.” Now Trump and his people know what it is — and they don’t care.

In a press conference sponsored by the Vet Voice Foundation, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton said that Trump’s use of the military is “not just a distraction” but will do “long-term generational harm to the military and civil liberties.”

Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose, who represented New York’s 11th congressional district and once served in the National Guard, outlined it this way: “The mission is the problem here, not only because of the undue power domestically that it’s giving the president of the United States…it is to scare the hell out of millions of people, principally those who disagree with him, as well as his political opponents. That’s what’s going on here. That’s why it’s being done in such a public, brazen manner.”

 

Nostalgia For What Never Was

 

Trump Crosses a New Line in the Sand -- Sending the Gestapo After His Enemies

 

Carter Wrenn, former political guru to the late Senator Jesse Helms, rose up to oppose Trump's latest gross abuse of power -- siccing law enforcement on people he has a grudge against

Last Thursday night, turning on the news, I watched [John Bolton] being interviewed on TV, explaining why he thought Trump was wrong about Putin. The next morning I got a surprise: When I turned on the TV I watched FBI agents raiding John’s home in Bethesda, Maryland.

In a nutshell: John Bolton disagreed with Trump. And the FBI raided John Bolton’s home. That was political retribution pure and simple.

Because they are Trump supporters most of my Republican friends saw nothing wrong with raiding an honest man’s house. But turning the FBI into a political weapon is an abuse of power. And it’s a mistake to ignore that Trump crossed a line in the sand when he did that to punish someone who disagreed with him.

Moe Davis Drops Out

 

Moe Davis

And he broke some furniture as he exited.

In a wickedly ironic post on Facebook at 11:29 last Saturday night, Democratic primary candidate for the NC 11 seat, Col. Moe Davis, gave up his candidacy for Congress: "Tonight, I concede to John Ager."

John Ager? Davis was supposedly running next March in the primary against Jamie Ager, John's son, but Davis had an important point to make: That Jamie is nothing but a nepo baby of Western North Carolina Democratic royalty, a descendant of the late Jamie Clark, who founded Hickory Nut Gap Farms near Fairview in Buncombe County, very near the Henderson County Line, and who served a few terms in both the North Carolina General Assembly and in the US Congress. Jamie Clark begot through his daughter a grandson, John Ager (served four terms in the NCHouse), whom Moe Davis was supposedly conceding to, and who begot Jamie Ager (running for the US Congress now) and Eric Ager (serving in the NCHouse now). A genuine dynasty, but what does that matter if Jamie Ager can win? I like his chances.

But Moe Davis's point is logical, and Jamie Ager's entry into the race does look an awful lot like a coronation -- especially if you ignore the respect that family has earned in a wide neighborhood in both Buncombe and Henderson and if you also discount the recruitment efforts of high-ranking Democratic Party officials in those two counties who wanted Jamie Ager simply because they thought he had a legitimate shot at unseating fast-food purveyor Chuck Edwards. After Moe Davis's failed bid to take the seat in 2020, his relationship with the Party took a nosedive, and the style and substance of his midnight Facebook post tells you a great deal about why.

It's a shame, too. But when the fighting spirit I admire in any Democrat becomes a habit of tone-deafness and hurtful back-biting, the base is gonna skedaddle from you, because that don't play well in Western North Carolina.

Taylorsville Pastor Arrested in Peaceful Protest at US Capitol

 

Rev. Joel Simpson

Rev. Joel Simpson, pastor of First United Methodist Church down the mountain in Taylorsville, was arrested in the first of a new round of "Moral Mondays" at the U.S. Capitol in May 2025 while protesting the proposed Republican-led federal budget. He was one of five clergymen detained. Simpson and other clergy members also protested a later version of the budget, dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," in June 2025. He and the protestors described the legislation as "immoral" and "deadly" due to deep cuts to social programs. About the budget, Pastor Simpson told the Hickory Daily Record he was concerned about the cuts to Medicaid, which he said would "devastate" communities like Alexander County. (AI summary) More recently, The Daily Record headlined a Simpson op-ed in which he criticized the record of Congresswoman Virginia Arbuthnot Foxx: "Taylorsville pastor: 'This federal budget is not just a failure of values; it is a death sentence.' "

Pastor Simpson interviewed with The United Methodist Insight soon after his arrest in May, and he clearly knows what he's talking about. Simpson said:

The Taylorsville House is a memory care facility that currently has 44 residents in Alexander County. If Medicaid funds are cut, Taylorsville House and other care facilities in our community such as Valley Nursing and Rehab (which also has members of my church) will be in trouble....

Even with Medicaid, 9% of people don’t have health insurance at all in Alexander County. That’s over 3,000 people.

The impact doesn’t stop there, however. Food assistance is also at risk of being cut, with the House budget resolution calling on $230 billion in cuts over 10 years for the Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

14% of Alexander County is a part of the food stamps program SNAP. This is a little over 5,000 people and it’s still not enough support. Last year, the Christian Crisis Center food pantry in Taylorsville gave almost 15,000 people food and served almost 6,000 families. This was only one of many food pantries in our county. People will be deeply impacted by these cuts.

 

Otherwise what I know about Joel Simpson, I got from the Taylorsville church website: 

Joel Simpson has been preaching at First United Methodist since April 2018, with his first “official” Sunday as Pastor on June 3. He grew up in Morganton, and most recently served as Associate Pastor at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Cornelius. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from UNC Charlotte, and completed seminary at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.

In my dusty part of Texas growing up, the Methodists were always the most liberal. Lord love 'em!

According to LinkedIn, "He blogs regularly at substack.com/@joelsimpson, Red Letter Christians, and the Western NC Conference of The United Methodist Church." He's apparently known locally for a regular Wednesday morning video chat via Facebook. In those videos he speaks very carefully and clearly as a way of warding off the Devil and never mentioning Trump by name.

The Man Who Burned the Flag

 

This happened yesterday:

Matt Van Swol

@matt_vanswol

#BREAKING: It has been revealed that the man who set fire to an American flag outside of the White House, is a Western North Carolina resident, army combat veteran, and Bronze Star recipient Jay Carey. He said he burned the flag to "protest President Donald Trump..."

Jay Carey has an interesting career in politics. In September 2021, while he was an active candidate in the Democratic primary for the congressional seat of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, Carey took the photograph that revealed a sheath knife hidden on Cawthorn's wheelchair during his appearance before the Henderson County School Board. Going armed in public became a reoccurring theme of young Cawthorn's brief stint in public office.

In March 2025, Carey got escorted out of a Chuck Edwards town hall for yelling at the congressman: 

"You have nothing to say but lies .... I'm a veteran. You don't give a f--k about me!" Carey is a 20+ year Army veteran who served in the tank corps in Desert Storm and also in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He won a bronze star for his service. He and his wife lost their home in Hurricane Helene.

Now he's in DeeCee actually burning the flag on the sidewalk in front of the White House. The video is on Twitter (https://x.com/matt_vanswol/status/1960353460412358877). He said he set the fire because “it was my right as a citizen … under the First Amendment to protest in whatever way I see fit without hurting anybody.” Carey was fired up (so to speak) by the executive order signed by Jethro that directs federal agencies to “vigorously prosecute” anyone who desecrates the flag. Carey said, “Just to let them know that I was a retired disabled combat veteran who did not believe that it was the president’s right to restrict our First Amendment rights.”

Good for him. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that burning the flag is symbolic speech protected under the First Amendment. 'Course the current crop of Republican Supremes have a different source of light now, and who knows how far they're willing to let Jethro forage.

Jamie Ager -- Strong Arms

As a first-time candidate, Ager needs a primary. If he can’t get through it, he shouldn’t be the nominee, but if he does, he’ll get the practice he needs to face Edwards.

--Thomas Mills

Jamie Ager

Thomas Mills wrote yesterday that the Democratic primary in CD 11 will be the race to watch. Jamie Ager, whom I wrote about the other day based on a lengthy profile piece on him by Cory Vaillancourt, has suddenly emerged as campaign royalty and the frontrunner over main competitor Moe Davis (there are some other also-rans). I started writing about Moe Davis during his first run for Congress in the 11th District in 2020 (also contributed to his campaign). I liked Moe Davis's pugnacious spirit and his willingness to call a spade by its common name. He was a fighter with a career behind him of prosecuting terrorists and of pushing back when higher ups tried to interfere with his independence.

Davis turned that fighting spirit into a political brand when he teamed up with another pugnacious Democrat, David Wheeler, who once upon a time not long ago (2018) mounted a campaign against Ralph Hise for the NC Senate. Moe Davis and David Wheeler roll together, or at least in tandum. Wheeler specializes in raising instant dust, like when he invaded the premises of the notorious cult church Word of Faith in Rutherford County with the suggestion that Hise had improperly enabled its unconscionable power in the local ecosystem, and Wheeler went on to found American Muckrakers PAC dedicated primarily to publishing every piece of available dirt on snot-nosed Madison Cawthorn, the former congressman from CD11. Moe Davis was very much a part of that PAC's activities and its benefactor, as he was running against Cawthorn, and he had no qualms about going negative. (Davis lost the election to Cawthorn in 2020 by 12 points). Cawthorn then went down in the 2022 Republican primary, and the Wheeler-Davis vendetta was likely a factor in his crash. Wheeler subsequently turned his muckraking on Colorado's Lauren Boebert and ended up suing her for defamation. That case wound up in a Watauga County courtroom with local Republican lawyer Nathan Miller representing Boebert. Wheeler's suit got tossed without prejudice for being filed in western North Carolina instead of in Colorado.

More recently, Wheeler made himself a pariah among many Democrats for pursuing a Democratic primary run for Commissioner of Insurance against Natasha Marcus, who had lost her NC Senate seat to gerrymandering and whom Gov. Cooper had anointed to run for the Council of State seat. Wheeler lost the primary and Marcus lost the fall election.

Wheeler has made himself into a sort of professional trouble-maker who seems to enjoy smashing the furniture just for the sound of smashing furniture. There's definitely a place for professional trouble-makers, especially in the Age of Trump, but Wheeler's arrogance and obnoxiousness -- especially when those character traits are aimed at fellow Democrats -- can get exhausting. That oppositional style is crude ore, unrefined, especially when contrasted with the satiric incisiveness of a Gavin Newsom.

David Wheeler and Moe Davis are now teamed up for a weekly podcast, MUCK YOU! (with all caps and the exclamation point) in which they indulge their instincts and druthers and have guests on to discuss the times. 

All of that just to say that Jamie Ager brings a clear contrast to the Wheeler-Davis manner. He projects the kind of calm thoughtfulness and consideration that comes from years of navigating among fellow farmers in a culture that values community connections and non-confrontation. He strikes me as an honest man with Democratic instincts. He won't insult his critics, and he might just win one or two over to his side. Reticence doesn't have to signal weakness. The bottomline: He fits the 11th Congressional District, while it's been pretty well demonstrated that the Wheeler-Davis style doesn't.