Debate Night: The Undercard

By Atticus Finch Jr.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012, will probably be remembered as the presidential town hall slugfest in which Mitt Romney revealed his little black binder of women AND challenged President Obama on the Libyan consulate tragedy only to be spanked by moderator Candy Crowley. All I could think of was the Saturday Night Live regular “Emily Litella” saying “Never mind!”

The presidential race was actually the last debate of the night. Earlier in Raleigh the candidates for NC governor also squared off.

And here in Watauga County, this little bird found a discreet spot to watch a local debate hosted by the ASU Student Government Association in collaboration with ASU College Democrats and Young Republicans. Watauga County had its own slugfest Tuesday night at 7pm at the Broyhill Center.

First up was Elisabeth Motsinger, running for U.S. Congress in NC's 5th district. Mrs. Motsinger shadow-boxed her empty podium opponent, answering politely all questions while her opponent was uncharacteristically silent. Motsinger said economic recovery must trump debt reduction and that "focusing on small business is the key, not big business pretending to be small business."

Candidates for NC House district 93 then squared off. Incumbent Jonathan Jordan took a page from Bill O'Reilly's "rumble" with Jon Stewart by bringing visual aid placards with fancy bar charts. If the audience was feeling any Oooooohs and Aaaaaahs over Jordan’s graphic skills, it politely suppressed them. Former House representative Cullie Tarleton struck a blow when he summarized Jordan's budgetary approach "in five words: cuts, cuts and more cuts." Jordan raised the Boone water intake issue, of course, but he resisted reading from Tarleton's 2009 House Bill 1101 this time and instead blamed the Town of Boone. Tarleton quickly pointed out that "the Republican leadership stopped Jordan's attempt to undermine the project."

NC Senate candidates Roy Carter and Dan Soucek provided the greatest contrast. Mr. Soucek was poised and smarmy in his delivery. He explained that he introduced Senate Bill 949 to eliminate Boone's ETJ in order to create a dialogue about this issue. (Oh. That was your intention! Next time, consider a phone call.) Mr. Carter animatedly argued for education saying we're losing our best and brightest by cutting the Teacher Fellows program. Interesting turns of phrases also heard: "voodoo budgeting” (Carter’s accusation), "someway somehow is not a plan" (Soucek’s rejoinder).

Last up were the six candidates running for three Watauga County commissioner seats. Six questions spread across the three races made for a (very) brief opportunity for these candidates.

Last week at the Farm Bureau forum, Tommy Adams claimed "personal property rights" is what his campaign is all about, but tonight I don't think I heard that term even once. Ah yes, the audience of ASU students doesn't own property. So instead he continued to push the business park idea for the old WHS site as the economic solution for the county. (Even as multiple offers have now been tendered, and one accepted.)

This little bird apologizes for becoming mesmerized by Adams' comment on voter fraud and a State Bureau of Investigation case file in Boone in 2005. It was in 2005 that the Templetons tried to take over the Boone Town Council. It’s my understanding that it was Tommy Adams himself who was the object of that investigation. He was accused of trying to help the Templetons by inducing ASU students who were not residents of the town to claim they were and vote for the Templeton slate. Which made it more than slightly amazing that Mr. Adams would raise the issue as an accusation against Democrats.

Republican incumbent commissioner Vince Gable, running against John Welch, again reminded us of what a great job he has done ensuring our county debt is well managed and not a problem. Since fear of debt is a Republican staple, no one gasped. In the last race, Perry Yates said, "I agree with Virginia [Roseman]" and Virginia Roseman said, "I agree with Mr. Yates."

Remainder of debate summed up this way: no gaffes, no home runs. Actually after watching Romney later in the evening, I have to say that no gaffe is a home run.

Winston-Salem Journal Endorses Elisabeth Motsinger

Elisabeth Motsinger

Wow.

The way the editors characterize Madam Foxx seems well earned (and, no, we didn't ghost-write that paragraph).

Foxx Sings Kum-Ba-Ya

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and her Democratic challenger Elisabeth Motsinger met for a head-to-head candidate forum on some of the newest real estate in the NC 5th District, at Catawba College in Salisbury. According to the account in the Salisbury Post, Foxx stubbornly maintained that "members of Congress get along better than portrayed by the media."

"The idea that members of the U.S. House of Representatives constantly bicker is a myth, especially on a personal level, Foxx said."

You can decide for yourself why Foxx would insist on a version of reality so at odds with ... well, reality. Does she need for people to believe that she's actually what she often pretends to be, a sweet little old dumpling who only takes extra biscuits from the buffet "because they'd just go to waste."

She certainly doesn't want people to know the truth, that she is herself one of the most poisonously partisan of all the right-wing ideologues in Congress. Here are a few things that Virginia Foxx has said, most of them in the halls of Congress:

“And for my colleagues across the aisle who say this is a misogynist bill, nobody has ever fought more for the rights of women than I have. But 50 percent of the unborn babies that are being aborted are females, so the misogyny comes for those who promote the killing of unborn babies. That's where the misogyny comes in, Madam Speaker.” In debate in the U.S. House over a Republican bill, Protect Life Act, which would allow hospitals to deny treatment to pregnant women, 13 Oct. 2011 

“It’s unconscionable that we have 45 million people in this country getting food stamps. That’s a result of the policies of our Democratic friends across the aisle.” On the floor of the U.S. House in debate over a Republican plan to cut spending to food assistance programs in the Department of Agriculture (H.R.2112), 14 June 2011 

“We’re talking about four years,” Foxx said. “If we don’t take this country back from the leftists who are running it now, we will lose our country.” To the Iredell County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner, Feb. 6, 2010 

“...we [Republican members of Congress] were the people who passed the civil rights bills back in the ’60s without very much help from our colleagues across the aisle.” November 19, 2009, on the floor of the U.S. House 

A Republican health care plan would "make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government." July 28, 2009, on the floor of the U.S. Congress 

“I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that [health reform] bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.” November 2, 2009, on the floor of the U.S. House

The Cynicism of the Well-Timed Tear

"A highly partisan bill," with lethal errors in it, grinds to a halt on the U.S. House floor, and Madam Virginia Foxx tries to guilt-trip the other side into a suicidal unanimous consent agreement by ... yes, crying. And invoking the Aurora, Colorado, Batman slayings for political advantage.

That's two strikes, you phony. One more, and the Tea Party will probably find a medium-sized chalk bluff to carve your face on.

About the ill-fated law that Madam Foxx was pushing, former New York Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert said, "It would be difficult to exaggerate the sweep and destructiveness of the House bill," pointing out that its restrictions would prevent the government from helping out the housing market, consumers or the financial markets.

About Mrs. Foxx's cynical and calculated use of the Aurora massacre, her opponent in the November elections, Elisabeth Motsinger of Winston-Salem, issued a statement:

Winston-Salem, NC) Rep. Virginia Foxx took to the House floor today and invoked the tragedy in Aurora Colorado while arguing for the need to pass HRes. 738. Foxx said, “Life is too precious to waste, and the House should hurry up and pass the regulatory bill.” Rep. Foxx was hoping to pass the bill by using the House Rule of “unanimous consent” to quickly rush the bill to passage late in the evening.... 

“Using a painful national tragedy to push for excessively partisan legislation, as was attempted today by my opponent, exemplifies the reason that Americans are so fed up with members of Congress. We should pray for those who are suffering and use this as an opportunity to unify as compassionate Americans.”

Once the Dust Settled...

Here are the filings for office in local and district races, as they stood at the close of the filing period at noon today:

U.S.House, Dist. 5
Elisabeth Motsinger, Forsyth Co. School Board member, D
Bruce G. Peller, Forsyth Co. dentist, D

Virginia A. Foxx, incumbent R

[There will be a Democratic primary May 8th]

State Senate, Dist. 45
Roy J. Carter (Ashe County), D

Dan Soucek, incumbent R
George S. Robinson (Caldwell County), R

[Soucek has a primary May 8th]

State House, Dist. 93
Cullie Tarleton, D

Jonathan Jordan, incumbent R

Watauga County Commission, Dist. 1
Virginia Roseman, D

Tim Wilson, R

Watauga County Commission, Dist. 2
John Welch, school board member, D

Vince Gable, incumbent R

Watauga County Commission, Dist. 3
Billy Kennedy, D

Tommy Adams, Tea Party R

Watauga County Board of Education
Jay Fenwick, D
Barbara Kinsey, D
Brenda Reese, D
Deborah Greene, Tea Party U
Ron Henries, R
Fred Oliver, R
Brandon Petrea, R

[There will be a primary for Sch. Bd. May 8th]

There Will Be an NC-5 Democratic Primary

Another candidate has filed with the FEC to run in a Democratic primary in the North Carolina 5th Congressional District, Elisabeth Motsinger, a school board member in Forsyth County.

Treva Johnson was the first announced candidate.