North Carolina Gets a New Governor

The winning margin is razor thin -- 2,281,851 for Roy Cooper v. 2,276,850 for Pat McCrory -- but there are some 100,000+ provisional ballots still to be counted, including 500 in Watauga County, so we expect that margin to grow wider with Cooper still on top. Plus the narrowness of the win will trigger an automatic recount in all 100 counties.

Everyone will be watching the opening of the provisional ballots and the recount, perhaps no one with more self-interest than Bill Aceto, chair of the Watauga Board of Elections. We believe his four-year reign over ballot access in Watauga is over.

The four-year reign of Four Eggers as county attorney is certainly over, as Larry Turnbow defeated David Blust for the County Commission. Control of the commission passes to the Democratic team of John Welch, Billy Kennedy, and Larry Turnbow, so Eggers will be history as county attorney.

There may have been a red tide in North Carolina but not so much in Watauga.

Congratulations to Mr. Trump for winning the presidency, the first man in history to win the office without serving a single day in any elected office nor a single day in the military. Those who have felt unjustly stymied from expressing racist attitudes will now feel free. And we'll look forward to Mr. Trump's mid-term election in 2018.

The Rise & Fall of a Scenic Highway

April 3, 2000

Watauga County Commission votes unanimously to make the Doc & Merle Watson Hwy (construction just beginning) a scenic hwy, an essentially cosmetic designation (county-designated "scenic" roads carried fewer restrictions than did state-designated "scenic" roads), but the county's designation did prohibit billboards and off-premise signs on the roadway. The push for scenic designation is coming mainly from the business community, led by John Cooper of the Mast Store. The Committee of 100, an economic development arm of county government, and prominent members of the Chamber of Commerce also support scenic designation. On the other side of the argument -- against any restrictions on advertizing and therefore opposed to scenic designation  -- are business leaders Joe Miller (Boone Drug, Cheap Joe's) and Brad Moretz (Ski Mountain), among others.

Early 2002

Attitude on Commish has shifted strongly against scenic designation, partly as reaction to Widespread Panic that "zoning" is coming to Watauga! Democratic Commissioners Sue Sweeting and Pat Wilkie become bumper-sticker targets of "No Zoners." A "scenic byway" that restricts business -- in any shape, form, or fashion -- has become anathama.

June 18, 2002

Watauga County Commission votes not to seek scenic byway designation from the state for the Doc & Merle Watson Hwy.  Two of three Dems on the Commish (Sue Sweeting and Pat Wilkie) vote for scenic designation; third Dem and Chair of the Commish at that time, Jimmy Hodges, votes with the two Repubs to defeat.

Sept. 17, 2002

[lifted from Co Commish official minutes]

SCENIC HIGHWAY DISCUSSION

            Mr. Joe Furman apologized for an omission in information given to the Board in 2000 when the Doc and Merle Watson Highway was designated as a scenic highway. County Attorney Hedrick stated that a scenic highway is designated locally and that a scenic byway is designated by the State. The County Attorney stated that the Watauga County Board of Commissioners designated the Doc and Merle Watson Highway as a scenic highway in 2000 and that designation legally stands.

            Per Board instructions, six citizens were scheduled to speak for 5 minutes each; 3 in favor of the designation and 3 opposed to the designation.

            Mr. Brad Moretz, Ms. Lila Phillips, and Ms. Deborah Greene spoke in opposition to the scenic highway designation and requested that Board rescind the resolution from 2000 designating the Doc and Merle Watson Highway as scenic.

            Mr. Phil Minor, Ms. Susan Phipps, and Ms. Velma Burnley spoke in support of keeping the scenic highway designation.

            No Board action was required and none was taken.

Oct. 3, 2002

The Partnership for Watauga's Future, a coalition of business/environmental activists, stages a "community walk" on a section of the still unfinished Doc & Merle Watson Hwy. Hundreds show up and walk about two miles. Doc Watson himself shows up with his brother. Watson also signs the petition to keep the road "scenic."

June 2003

Watauga County Commish reaffirms its opposition to the state about scenic byway designation. All five commissioners are voting in lock-step: Republicans James Coffey, Keith Honeycutt, David Blust, Allen Trivette, and Democrat Jimmy Hodges. But local representative on the state Board of Transportation, Caldwell County's Sam Erby, privately favors scenic designation (not a well kept secret).

July 25, 2003

Despite the preferences of Co Commissioners and the vociferousness of "no zoners," led by Deborah Greene, the NC Dept. of Transportation schedules a public hearing on scenic byway designation for Aug. 20, 2003, at the Broyhill Inn.

August 20, 2003

Hundreds of people show up for public hearing, with slightly over 100 of them signing up to speak, on both sides (though only 15% of speakers opposed scenic designation). The crowd as a whole leans decidedly toward scenic byway designation. State Senator Virginia Foxx tries to grandstand for the "no-zoners" and is shut down by the moderator. (She'll go on to run successfully for Congress in 2004.)

December 4, 2003

Despite opposition from Watauga Co. Commish and many citizens, the NC Bd of Transportation votes in favor of scenic byway designation.

[13 years pass]

April 5, 2016

Watauga Co Commish votes 3-2 along party lines not to challenge the Watauga Bd of Adjustment's decision that the Johnny Hampton family had every right under God's blue heaven to sell a "polluting industry license" to Maymead. Jimmy Hodges, now chair of the Commish and now a registered Republican, votes with fellow Republicans David Blust and Perry Yates not to defend the scenic integrity of the Doc & Merle Watson Hwy. Democratic commissioners John Welch and Billy Kennedy vote to appeal the BOA decision.

Today

The air quality license for the planned Maymead asphalt plant on the Doc & Merle Watson Scenic Byway is on hold until Maymead fixes environmental violations at their existing plant in Boone. 

Welcome to your future, Doc & Merle Watson!

Will the Watauga County Commission Do Anything About the Proposed Maymead Asphalt Plant?

The Watauga County Commission won't do anything to protect the citizens from another asphalt plant if they listen to their attorney, that's for sure.

The attorney representing Eggers Eggers Eggers & Eggers was very discouraging when Commissioner John Welch asked what the procedures were for instituting a moratorium, which is what the majority of the speakers at the public hearing tonight begged the commissioners to pass. Oh it's very difficult, it's very hard, it has to pass rigorous tests, EggersEggersEggersEggers belly-ached, but every specific "test" to warrant a moratorium that EggersEtc. mentioned seemed like a snap to me, especially the presence of an "immediate threat."

What is the proposed Maymead asphalt plant on the Doc & Merle Watson Scenic Byway if not an immediate threat?

Commission Chair Jimmy Hodges said that his fellow commissioners would be considering their options as they went into closed session with their -- ahem! -- attorney, the ineffable Republican agglomeration of EggersEggersSquared. Everyone left the commissioners' meeting at that point, for their closed session. I didn't wait around for them to come out of closed session, and neither did any members of the press. Maybe someone is posted as a guard of the public trust there and will let the rest of us know if the Eggers' brand held the commissioners in check and if they might have stumbled into actually doing something for the rest of us.

Jimmy Hodges, as always now, is the swing vote. The other two Republicans were noticeable silent after the public hearing, though you could see Mr. David Blust's body language and Mr. Perry Yates's facial expression as not-prepared-to-take-action "tells." Mr. Hodges, on the other hand (along with the two Democrats, John Welch and Billy Kennedy), was at least mouthing sympathy and understanding for the plight of residents and school children at two elementary schools near where Maymead intends -- by its own estimate -- to spew 62.32 tons yearly of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. (Several people during the public hearing said they didn't believe Maymead's estimate for their own pollution -- why would they have any incentive to be honest under NC's current trust-the-polluter regime? -- and neither do I. Those estimates of air pollution are quite simply public jokes worthy of public ridicule.)

Anyway ... Jimmy Hodges, he's the man with the power to do something. Will he? Dunno. He has a history of voting for moratoria on asphalt plants back in the 1990s when he was first on the County Commission. But, of course, he's become a registered Republican since that time, and it's the ironclad Republican doctrine that private land ownership trumps public health, private investment by the neighbors, and the moral dictates of God Himself.

Meanwhile in Watauga: Not Quite 'The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius,' But Closer Than We Were

The second day of the budget workshops clinched the impression that the Watauga County Commission (still 3-2, Republican advantage) has gone decidedly moderate since the departure of former Chair Nathan Miller. Under new board Chair Jimmy Hodges (a former Democrat, ahem), there's a whole new tone of expansive progressivism. Or maybe we should hedge our bets and borrow presidential candidate Jeb Bush's term for the campaign he intends to run: "an inclusive conservatism."

I knew we were in very different post-Nathan Miller territory when Democratic Commissioner Billy Kennedy pushed yesterday, on the final afternoon of the budget workshops, for a $10,000 grant for the Hospitality House. If you'll recall, under the Nathan Miller Regime, funding for most non-profits was either greatly reduced or zeroed out. The Hospitality House was a particular target for zeroing out, and for the last few budget cycles it got nothing from the county while providing social services that would otherwise fall on the county to provide.

$10,000, Commissioner Kennedy proposed, and Chair Jimmy Hodges said, "I'm okay with it." That comment was not lost of the other two Republicans, Blust and Yates, who now appear out-numbered on that issue. Jimmy Hodges has become the unpredictable swing vote on the Commission.

What happened in the discussion yesterday is by no means final or official. It was a "penciling in" of an amount for the County Manager and his finance team to juggle in coming up with a final budget that will be voted on later this spring. So we'll see if Mr. Hodges continues to be "okay with it."

Other Issues
County Manager Deron Geoque plans a modest cost-of-living increase for county employees ("but not for county commissioners!" Perry Yates almost shouted. He didn't like the perception of a salary increase for elected commissioners).

Matt Vincent, head of the Tourism Development Authority, said he wanted the county to take over maintenance of capital improvements, like greenways and bike trails, because the fear of maintenance costs was preventing the Tea Party element (my words, not Mr. Vincent's) on the TDA from initiating grant applications for more capital improvements. Commissioner David Blust, who's always complained about maintenance costs, remained conspicuously quiet at that moment.

The Republican majority on the commission expressed love for Horn in the West and unified hostility toward the restoration of the Appalachian Theater in downtown Boone. Commissioner Kennedy was urging his fellow commissioners to give equal support to both the Horn and the theater as community-building venues for the performance arts, but Boone-hatred is still pretty much the modus operandi of county Republicans. "Not enough parking," Yates groused, and Chairman Hodges focused on "bars" downtown and "intoxicated people" as reasons the theater will never succeed. But the commission agreed to invite the people in charge of the theater restoration to a meeting soon to 'splain themselves and (presumably) beg for money.

Night of the Knucklehead

Last night was Nathan Miller's last meeting as a voting member and Chair of the Watauga County Commission. We found out that he had some unfinished grudges.

The Watauga County Planning Commission presented its recommendations for a 90-day moratorium on certain development in the Boone extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) while the Commission grapples with what regs will best serve the residents there.

The motion to hold a public hearing on a 90-day moratorium -- a public hearing only -- eventually passed 4-1, with Miller casting the lone nay vote. Miller made it abundantly clear that he didn't want any special protections for the former ETJ, so he didn't see any point in a public hearing.

Miller declared that the recent election was the only "referendum" that mattered on Sen. Dan Soucek and Rep. Jonathan Jordan's law in Raleigh denying Boone its ETJ. The people reelected Soucek and Jordan … so there! The people therefore obviously supported the Soucek/Jordan action against Boone, according to Miller.

The fact that Jordan didn't carry Watauga County at all and Soucek only won Watauga by 213 votes would appear to undercut Mr. Miller's "referendum" argument. Commissioner Billy Kennedy pointed out that he got more votes in Watauga than either Soucek or Jordan, so by Miller's curious logic, the county might be a good deal more progressive than Miller wants to believe.

Commissioner John Welch was also not buying Miller's argument. Welch pointed out that this was a low-turnout election, so trying to claim a mandate for wide-open, wild-west, steep-slope & high density building -- an issue that actually wasn't on the ballot anywhere -- was misguided.

The Planning Commission had held three community meetings in the ETJ area, seeking citizen imput about what planning regs would most protect their homes and quality of life. Miller and fellow Republican commissioners David Blust and Perry Yates made a belly-aching show of grief that only 125 citizens -- out of more than 3,000 (probably) who live in the ETJ -- came out to those community meetings, proving -- evidently -- the people don't care what now happens in the ETJ.

Welch directed a question to Watauga Planning Director Joe Furman: "What percentage would you say, of those who attended those meetings, were in favor of keeping the existing development rules in the ETJ?"

"Fully 80%," Furman answered.

Welch turned to Miller. If you want to base assumptions on low turnouts, he said, why isn't that 80% as important as the election results?

There was something like a shouting match after that, with David Blust smugly declaring to Billy Kennedy that he had only won his reelection in tiny little Boone and hadn't won otherwise in the vast Watauga County landmass. Meaning, we have to assume, that in Blust's eyes a vote in Beaver Dam is worth two in Boone, or some such nonsense as that. Otherwise, we think the "one person one vote" principle still rules our democracy.

(While we're all trying to make hay out of election numbers, I really must point out that Mr. Blust won his two-year term on the Commission by a margin of 360 votes, in the whole vast landmass of Watauga County.)

Anyway, there will be a public hearing at 6 p.m. on December 16 on whether the county will adopt a 90-day moratorium on certain development (only the specific items governed by the county's existing High Impact Land Use Ordinance) until the Planning Commission can study and write an ordinance governing the former ETJ. By December 16 there will be a new man presiding as chair of the County Commission … though not necessarily a new political philosophy. It's still a 3-2 Republican majority on the commission, with no significant history of differing very much from "Millerism."

What's Going On Here?

Last night at the end of the Watauga County Commission meeting, Commissioner Billy Kennedy turned to county attorney Stacy C. Eggers IV ("Four") and said that a constituent had inquired whether the Town of Beech Mountain was now working in Raleigh to go around, or somehow overrule, the vote of the County Commission denying a new water intake on the Watauga River. Mr. Eggers is attorney for both the Town of Beech Mountain and the County of Watauga, and he was intimately involved in drafting the original resolution that would have granted the Town of Beech Mountain access to the Watauga River.

The reaction on the dais to Mr. Kennedy's question was akin to introducing red hot pokers to several backsides.

For his part, Mr. Eggers retreated behind the client-attorney wall of silence, and Mr. Kennedy pressed his point that this dual role of Mr. Eggers presents a problem in his eyes. Mr. Eggers commented that if the possibility of a conflict of interest arose, he would certainly inform his bosses on the County Commission and recuse himself.

Does that answer fly? Given Mr. Eggers' blatant conflict of interest in running the Watauga County Board of Elections from behind the scenes, through the instrumentality of his younger brother Luke, while also serving as legal counsel to the BOE, suggests that Mr. Eggers would not necessarily recognize a conflict of interest if he were standing knee-deep in one.

Commission Chair Nathan Miller scolded Kennedy for even asking his question, and Commissioner Perry Yates piled on, along with David Blust, all of them shocked -- shocked! -- that Kennedy would even suggest, imply, insinuate, or allude to a conflict of interest on Mr. Eggers' part.

The Republicans on the Commission looked mighty defensive.

Governmental Chaos

The 2013-2014 county budget was scheduled for a vote on the County Commission this morning. It was first on the agenda. But the three Republican commissioners came into the room and began tearing up major parts of it and redistributing the money in a highly irregular manner that quickly devolved into its own species of FUBAR.

It was as clear as the nose on Nathan Miller's face that the three Republicans had met in private and that they had a "plan," such as it was, to suddenly take away $50,000 from mental health funding and give $13,300 of that amount to a small handful of their favored non-profits ("We're picking winners and losers," said Nathan Miller later on, in perhaps the truest words spoken all morning) and some $36,700 more to the Sheriff's department.

Commissioner David Blust was the designated front man for the budget changes. He read through his suggested changes to non-profit funding ... Foscoe Community Center, $5,000; Western Youth Network, $1,500; Mountain Alliance, $10,000; the Hunger Coalition, $8,500; Green Valley Community Park, $8,000....

When Blust reached Green Valley Community Park, the meeting took a purely bizarre turn, as the three Republican commissioners voted to open up a "limited" public hearing for just the Green Valley Park board and Wahoo Adventures to air their blood match against each other (don't ask. Suffice it to say that the procedure was not "regular order"). Others were not allowed to speak, even though big sections of the budget were being rewritten before the public's disbelieving eyes. The two Democratic commissioners kept objecting to the process, to no avail. Commissioner Welch in particular kept urging that another public work session on the budget was clearly needed. The Republicans weren't listening to that. They had a plan.

The five non-profits that Blust named (above) got additional crumbs. Nothing for Hospitality House. Nothing for a host of other non-profits, though Commissioner Welch made a motion to restore the original $17,000 that the County Manager had designated for non-profits. Motion failed 3-2, naturally.

Once the Republicans had voted their "winners and losers" among the non-profits, Commissioner Yates, who is like a wind-sock that takes a breeze without warning from any direction, suddenly began yammering that he had gotten calls from citizens who objected to taxpayer money going to non-profits, and Commissioner Yates thought he agreed with that sentiment, not noticing that he had just five minutes earlier voted to reward five non-profits with additional money while denying it to a bunch of others.

Commissioner Billy Kennedy offered the only summation that was possible on the morning's charade: "We're not doing right."

Final vote on the much-amended budget ... three Republicans in favor, two Democrats opposed.

If this is good government, not to mention good money management, I have a hat that's beginning to look mighty delicious.

Nathan Miller Plays the Grinch, and Perry Yates Gets Lost in the Weeds

The Republican three-man majority on the Watauga County Commission voted tonight to dissolve the board of the Department of Social Services (DSS) and to seize the power for themselves of hiring and firing the DSS director, just ahead of current director Jim Atkinson’s planned retirement early in 2014.

Nathan Miller gets his way ... again.

Meanwhile, fellow Republican Perry Yates got wrapped around the axle of his own visible desire to appear moderate. He wanted to change Mr. Miller’s motion to allow the current Board of Directors of DSS to remain in place as a board that “continues to run DSS,” even after Mr. Miller pointed out to him that the DSS Board does not run the department. Their only duty is the hiring and firing of the director. So Yates ended up voting for Mr. Miller’s bare-knuckles takeover of the department while continuing to express vague longings that the current board – all wonderful people, to be sure, cooed Mr. Yates – be kept on in some undefined and totally unstatutory “advisory” capacity.

Perhaps they could come in once a week and water the houseplants.

No one spoke at the public hearing in favor of Mr. Miller’s resolution. No one. Several spoke eloquently and knowledgeably about how the DSS Board has functioned without politics and independently for at least 40 years. Mr. Miller’s resolution, by placing the County Commish in the driver’s seat, inevitably injects politics into the investigation of child abuse and a host of other societal ills.

One speaker against Mr. Miller’s resolution, who described herself as a Christian, a licensed social worker, and a Republican, said, “I hope you don’t do this thing .... This opens the door for corruption .... What if DSS needs to investigate a family member of a county commissioner down the road? ... This opens up all sorts of ethical and legal issues for the continued independence of the department.”

Another speaker asked, “Why has this even come up ... sticking your hand into a department run by professionals?”

Chairman Miller, visibly feeling the heat and noticeably more combative because of it, answered, I’m the one that asked for this. I serve as a county commissioner on the DSS board. This has nothing to do with staff or the current director. This is a county department. We don’t have separate boards for other county agencies that hire and fire directors of those agencies or departments. We [county commission] can’t hire or fire the director, and if you as citizens have complaints against the director, we can’t do anything about it. But as county commissioners, you can fire us in the next election. My motion is for future problems that might arise. Our elected board of commissioners should answer to the people and take the future heat for any director of DSS.

Current DSS Director Jim Atkinson replied that the county commission already has total – complete – control over the department’s budget. “What more do you want?”

Commissioner John Welch, one of the two Democrats on the commission, asked rhetorically, “How many directors of DSS have we had in the last 40 years? Two. Who selected them? The board of DSS. Mr. Miller has made reference to the problems that arose when another board – the School Board – chose a Superintendent who later had to be fired. Who chose that Superintendent? I’ll tell you. It was five elected officials.” At which the crowd in the commissioner’s boardroom erupted in laughter and applause. The laughter was at Chairman Miller's expense. The applause was all for John Welch. Meanwhile, the pen that Chairman Miller was holding, had it been a small animal, would have died at that moment from his white-knuckled grip.

Commissioner Billy Kennedy, the other Democrat on the commission, said, “We already have control through the budget. I don’t know why we’re doing this, rather than for someone’s top-down...” --but he didn’t finish that thought. Every person in the audience likely finished it for him: “Rather than for someone’s top-down management style.”

Mr. Miller is a man who likes power and intends to have it.

The vote was 3-2, and the DSS Board is dissolved. We’re sure those knowledgeable and dedicated people will all want to hang around while Mr. County Attorney tries to draft some language for what an “advisory board” with zero power might do while Mr. Miller steers the department his own way.

How Did Watauga County Vote?

NC delegation at the Nat'l Dems Convention in Charlotte

Inquiring minds at the Raleigh News and Observer wanted to know "How Will Watauga County Vote?" (see "Burning Question # 6"), so here 'tis ... after this word from Your Enabler:

Raleigh News and Observer reported first thing this a.m. that voters were turning out state-wide "in droves." Seemed to be happening in Watauga too. Then it started to snow. Hmmm.

Wilmington Star News reported heavy early turnout in New Hanover County: "We're going to break some records here."

Watauga: Final Numbers

U.S. President
Romney 14,124
Obama 13,371
Johnson 673
Write-in 202

U.S. House Dist 5
Motsinger 13,743
Foxx 13,647

N.C. Senate
Soucek 13,583
Carter 13,138

N.C. House
Tarleton 14,036
Jordan 12,894

Watauga County Commission
District 1
Yates 13,859
Roseman 12,693

District 2
Welch 14,126
Gable 12,285

District 3
Kennedy 13,698
Adams 13,022

Watauga County Board of Education
Kinsey 10,882
Reese 10,800
Henries 10,629
Fenwick 10,527
Greene 7,742
Oliver 6,978


Some Local Early Voting Numbers from Watauga (includes mail-in absentee ballots and one-stop early voting):

Obama 8,643
Romney 7,472

US Congress 5th Dist.
Motsinger 8,750
Foxx 7,241

NC Senate Race
Carter 8,439
Soucek 7,207

NC House Race
Tarleton 8,879
Jordan 6,843

Watauga Co. Commish Race
Roseman 8,152
Yates 7,381

Watauga Co. Commish Race
Welch 8,869
Gable 6,632

Watauga Co. Commish Race
Kennedy 8,693
Adams 6,995

Watauga County School Board
Fenwick 6,409
Greene 4,199
Henries 5,905
Kinsey 6,785
Reese 6,701
Oliver 3,899

Foxx Is "Not Cool"

Zach Galifianakis posted on Facebook about our most notorious Congresswoman from North Carolina:

"Hi, NC. Just a reminder of who Virginia Foxx is. She is not cool and no relation to Redd Foxx. Vote Billy Kennedy."

Dear Zack:

It's Kind of a Funny Story. Madam Foxx's Due Date is November 2nd. Until then we're Up In the Air. On November 3rd we expect to have The Hangover to end all hangovers.

And thanks!

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.

The Kennedy/Foxx Debate Tonight

This will not be a recap of what was, really, one of the liveliest and most revealing political face-offs we've ever witnessed.

A fuller recounting of the evening will have to wait until tomorrow ... if it happens at all (we've got other ducklings to stomp, people!).

But one thing happened, post-debate, that demands some comment: just minutes after the thing concluded around 8:30 p.m. this evening, and certainly by 9 p.m., here comes an e-mail blast from Virginia Foxx crowing about how she won the whole thing. Reading it, we started chuckling and then we were laughing out loud.

Because, clearly, although there was standing-room only in the Ashe Civic Center tonight, Virginia Foxx herself was not there.

Is this standard practice among politicians? To write the press release before the event even happens, declare victory, and trust the dumb electorate never will catch on that you're far more gifted at fiction -- fantasy, even -- than at the truth.

Winston-Salem Journal Endorses Billy Kennedy

In this morning's edition:

"U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It's time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he'll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He's the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District."

The endorsement goes on at some length cataloguing Foxx's "wild statements" and her penny-wise-pound-foolish dunder-headedness about the economy ... in failing to support the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act:

Foxx has said she'd normally support such a measure, but not in the current economic times. But the parkway, a major cash cow of the state's tourism industry, brings in more money in a single year -- $2.1 billion dollars, through 17 million visitors -- than the cost of the entire act.

And the editorial board makes this very astute observation about the U.S. Congress going forward, should the Republicans take control:

She's positioned herself so far to the right that, even if her party regains a majority in the House with this election, it's doubtful that she'd gain any power.

The Winston-Salem Journal (you may have forgotten) declined to endorse Roy Carter for Congress in 2008, for "lack of enthusiasm." We're glad to see that they've gotten their enthusiasm back for dumping The Madam overboard.

The Sharp Differences Between Kennedy & Foxx

Nowhere clearer than in these responses to questions posed by the Reidsville Review.

Billy Kennedy Live-Blogging at PHB Monday

Fifth District Congressional candidate Billy Kennedy will be live-blogging at Pam's House Blend this coming Monday, 8 p.m.

"Think Crazy"

Gotta see this! BlueAmericaPAC, an independent group, has taken a keen interest in the 5th District race between Billy Kennedy and Madame Foxx. They chose only three "crazy, cruel, and ignorant" things she's done, out of hundreds they could have picked.

"Billy Kennedy, the Gentleman Farmer"

That's the title on an article out yesterday in Yes Weekly, profiling Watauga's own antidote to Congresswoman Virginia Foxx. We're taken with the opening analogy:

If you close your eyes, Billy Kennedy could easily be confused with Jefferson Smith, the character played by Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra's 1939 classic film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

In the movie, the naive and idealistic Smith is appointed to the US Senate by a governor that kowtows to the state's top political boss. Smith runs into political corruption when he tries to advance a bill to create a national boys camp, and becomes discouraged. One of the most famous scenes in the film portrays Smith's marathon filibuster on the Senate floor. Jimmy Stewart's performance is the stuff of Hollywood legend, but his profound words are what stay with us forever.

Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for the US House District 5 seat, spoke with the same kind of idealism and conviction as Jefferson Smith during his address to the 5th Congressional District Democratic Party Annual Convention in Statesville on May 15. Kennedy talked about his personal philosophy and ethos, one that he learned from his parents -- an ethos based on the Golden Rule. He spoke of his love of farming, building houses and crafting furniture. He said his daily life connects him to the land, which has led him to become an environmentalist. Kennedy talked about his desire to leave his farm to his children someday, and to leave it better than he found it.

Unlike most politicians, Kennedy appeared comfortable in his own skin. He was approachable, engaging and genuine. More importantly, Kennedy was sincere in everything he said. He spoke off the cuff for more than 15 minutes, only referring to his notes at the end of his remarks. How refreshing it was to see a candidate that wasn't extensively rehearsed, a candidate who didn't repeat the same talking points at every single public appearance. The audience clearly appreciated Kennedy's sincerity. The candidate received two standing ovations during the event....

Read the whole thing at the link above.

Billy Kennedy Matching Foxx $-for-$ in the 1st Q of 2010

Federal Elections Commission reports are in for the 1st Quarter of 2010 (January 1 - March 31), and Billy Kennedy took in over $100,000 to Foxx's $102,000. Wha???

Take a look at the FEC filing documents for yourself: Here's Foxx's. And here's Billy Kennedy's.

This is huge news. To our knowledge, no Democratic candidate in the NC-5 has ever shown this kind of fundraising prowess ... especially not against The Madam.

Furthermore, the Kennedy campaign is reporting that most of their money is coming from small donors, over 900 of them. Most of Foxx's money is coming from big Special Interests, including the American Bankers' Association, the National Association of Health Underwriters, and the National Association of Realtors PAC.

For a two-term professional politician like Virginia Foxx, this is a major embarrassment and proof of vunerability.

Foxx Votes Against Workers (Again!)

The U.S. Congress busted the Republican impasse in the Senate yesterday (Jim Bunning, anyone? ... among other obstructionists) and voted to extend unemployment benefits for those thrown out of work in the first year of the George W. Bush Recession. Three Republican Senators voted for the bill and 49 Republicans in the U.S. House voted for it.

Virginia Foxx voted against it. I know ... HUGE surprise.

Why should she care about people out of work and grasping at any life raft on the tossing sea? Her net worth has done nothing but go up since she was elected to Congress. Congress critters are allowed to report the "range of worth" of their assets and not exact amounts, so Foxx's financial disclosure forms reveal a very wide and capacious berth for her personal wealth.

In 2004 she reported assets totaling from $2,377,042 to $5,369,000.

In 2008, after two full terms in Congress and a whole lot of kvetching about how hard she works for such little pay and bragging about how poor she used to be, she reported assets totaling from $2,637,053 to $8,982,000. (All figures publicly available at Open Secrets.)

She's getting filthy rich while the unemployed get a few more months of unemployment benefits, but to hear her tell it, the unemployed, purely by virtue of having their grubby little hands out, are simply RUINING the Republic for the likes of her and her rich, richer, richest friends.

HOLD THE PHONE, JETHRO!
Just noticed that U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry was one of the 49 Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote for the extension of unemployment benefits. OMG!

ADDENDUM
Congressional candidate Billy Kennedy issued a statement about Foxx's vote this morning, which is quoted in full over at Down With Tyranny:

"Virginia Foxx continued her assault on working families in the fifth district with a vote against the continuation of unemployment benefits. With unemployment now reaching as high as 15% in many counties of the 5th district, Foxx shows how callous and indifferent she is to her constituents. You see, Foxx doesn't have to sit around the kitchen table trying to figure out whether to pay the electric bill or the mortgage because she is the richest North Carolina representative in the House. While the people of the 5th district try to figure a way to keep their homes out of foreclosure, Foxx continues to accumulate her extensive real estate holdings. Virginia Foxx, in other words, is making a killing off her incumbent political position while blaming her constituents for financial woes they are experiencing through no fault of their own. Foxx's message to those in distress in the 5th district: 'tough luck.' "

Billy Kennedy Live-Chat at dKos

Right now!

P.S.
Here's the direct link.