This Fast-Food King Serves Only Nothingburgers to Western North Carolina

 

Congressman Chuck Edwards

This unsigned editorial in the Smoky Mountain News pretty much blew me away, so I'm copying the whole thing here. Congressman Chuck Edwards has been taking sustained fire over his failure to deliver adequately on Trump promises of Federal disaster help for the Western counties in his Congressional district 11. He's taking on water, and more eyes are on the prospects that Democrat Jamie Ager might actually beat him in November if the 2026 Blue Wave actually hits our shores.

Western North Carolina pulled into the congressional drive-thru after Hurricane Helene, placed a large order and waited. And waited. And waited.

What Rep. Chuck Edwards finally handed his constituents was an empty paper bag containing a rather large nothingburger — heavy on branding, light on substance and nowhere near the $60 billion recovery order his storm-famished district actually placed.

Sure, Congress served up a whopping $100 billion continuing resolution/disaster relief bill in December 2024 — Edwards claimed authorship — but for some damn reason, the meat of it wasn’t designated for Edwards’ constituents. Estimates put North Carolina’s piece of the pie at between $9 billion and $15 billion. In fast food terms, that’s like asking for a 10-piece McNuggets but only getting one.

Days ago on social media, Edwards claimed he was “fighting for Western North Carolina” and bragged about the $6.5 billion he says he’s dished out; not exactly a supersized Big Mac meal with large fry — more like a few stray ketchup packets, leaving people who’ve lost their livelihoods and homes asking, “Where’s the beef?”

In Swannanoa and within sight of some of those damaged homes, Edwards famously gave Trump a McDonald’s fry cook pin — a fitting gesture from a congressman who owns multiple franchises and seems more comfortable serving up symbolism than substance.

In the end, Edwards has delivered a master class in empty calories. Big branding. Greasy fealty. Zero nutrition. Western North Carolina ordered disaster relief and got a Happy Meal toy and a few napkins instead.

While somebody should congratulate Edwards on his award by offering him a steaming hot beverage from the McCafe menu, technically, no one can — because coffee is for closers.

Chuck Edwards town hall, Asheville, March 2025

 

The Knock on Michael Whatley

 

Republican US Senate candidate Michael Whatley, looking to inherit Thom Tillis's seat with the full blessing of Jethro, made the mistake of getting himself designated Trump's czar for Hurricane Helene recovery, because that role has devolved sharply. Whatley has been largely missing in action since that momentous day last January 24th in Asheville when Trump named him "recovery czar." 

So feckless has Whatley been, and so absent from the recovery zone, that some in the mountains -- and not just Democrats, mind you! -- have publicly beat the drum for his resignation. According to the Smoky Mountain News, more than 120 people from 17 counties across the Helene-impacted region signed a letter demanding Whatley be removed from his position. “Michael Whatley has failed us and forgotten about us,” the letter states. “We have spoken out for months, because we simply cannot stay silent and let his failure continue to hurt our communities. Both Democrats and Republicans have called out the sluggish response. It’s clear that Whatley just isn’t up to the task.” 

Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee, quipped to reporter Cory Vaillancourt,  “It’s kind of funny to say ‘step down,’ because I never saw him step up." Ackiss said that "Helene recovery should be a non-partisan issue and that Whatley’s attempt to blame Democrats isn’t reflective of Appalachian values."

"This is a human issue. I have friends on both sides of the aisle, although I’m a Republican. When catastrophes happen, I don’t care what party you’re in — we help the people on the ground,” said Ackiss, who claims 10 generations of roots in the region. “To me, it was completely disappointing to see Michael Whatley and many others who espouse themselves to be Republicans not step up and help the people....”

Whatley's attitude is that the Trump government has done all right, has done enough, and he doesn't hesitate to deflect criticism onto his boss -- “What [my critics] are trying to say is that the president has not done a good job in terms of recovery, and therefore I’ve not done a good job. The fact is, $6.5 billion in relief [is what] we’ve brought into North Carolina since President Trump was sworn in” -- which is an actual drop in the bucket against the $60 billion in estimated damage and loss.

$20 billion to bail out Argentina cattle barons, but Kristi Noem's mandate at FEMA is to squeeze the American beet until it bleeds. In the case of the Appalachians, it's Trump's own voters hurt the most. Go figure.

What Did Whatley-the-Feckless NOT Do?

 

Hurricane Recovery Czar Michael Whatley

Trump designated former NC GOP Chair Michael Whatley as Hurricane Helene "recovery czar" back on January 24th, when Trump was in Western North Carolina trying to act like he cared about the devastation from the flooding while also suggesting that we just get rid of FEMA. Whatley is now running for Thom Tillis's Senate seat. He has been noticeably absent -- not to mention totally feckless -- in any management or coordination of hurricane relief. To date only $5 billion in Federal aid has arrived to recover some of the $60 billion in damage to roads and bridges, businesses, and private residences.

Cory Vaillancourt reports that Whatley essentially sneaked into Western North Carolina on Sept. 22 at a closed-door FEMA Review Council meeting in Fletcher, where a leaked agenda listed him as a subcommittee co-chair and former National GOP chair — "not as the recovery czar Trump tapped to head up widely-panned recovery efforts."

Vaillancourt reports that the FEMA review council meeting in Fletcher was not open to the press or the public, and The Smoky Mountain News received no notice of Whatley’s visit. Whatley "seems to be backing away from responsibility as he ramps up his Senate campaign against former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper."

The frustration with Whatley is evident in a petition circulated by WNC residents demanding Whatley’s removal from the FEMA Review Council.

The petition says, “We need a fresh set of eyes to galvanize the recovery and the flow of funding. Whatley’s absence and lack of accountability have become an obstacle rather than a solution.” ...

Whatley’s visit to Fletcher seemed carefully calibrated to minimize political exposure. No public town halls were scheduled, and requests for comment by Smoky Mountain News have gone unanswered for weeks.

The leaked agenda that identified Whatley only as a former party chair reflects his shifting political priorities. As recovery czar, he has not been the face of the recovery, nor has he taken ownership of the slow pace of reimbursements. As a Senate candidate, however, he has every incentive to avoid being tied to unmet promises.

 

A Genuine Hero Joins the NC11 Republican Primary for Congress

 

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene caused $60 billion in damage across North Carolina, most local governments still haven’t received anywhere near the amount of money they’ve been promised by the federal government, with estimates coming in at less than 10%.

--Cory Vaillancourt, Smoky Mountain News

Adam Smith, getting a B12 shot in his backside in October 2024, inside the
Harley Davidson dealership operations HDQs for Savage Freedom
Photo Khadejeh Nikouyeh for the NandO

Congressman Chuck Edwards from Flat Rock, who took over Mark Meadows' old House seat after beating Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary, has drawn his own primary challenger -- a big man with a huge reputation, Adam Smith, a former Green Beret and a local hero all around Swannanoa and throughout Buncombe County and now well beyond. He organized on-the-ground and in-the-air relief operations following Hurricane Helene, eventually named and capitalized it as the non-profit Savage Freedom Operations, with helicopters delivering supplies to people cut off by landslides and washed-out roads. It grew quickly into a large-scale relief effort operating out of a Harley-Davidson parking lot in Swannanoa, where Smith built a make-shift heliport. Smith eventually recruited a couple thousand more volunteers who were willing and capable of performing all sorts of work -- rebuilding private bridges, restoring roads, clearing debris. Adam Smith was their leader, their organizer, their trouble-shooter. He obviously knows how to get stuff done. Which makes like a formidable guy for Chuck Edwards to beat next March. (Take a look at his website.)

The Savage Freedom origin story has all kinds of cinematic appeal. When Hurricane Helene struck Western NC, Adam Smith's own wife and three-year-old daughter were up visiting friends on the Broad River outside Asheville -- in a house not more than 30 yards from the river. “I legitimately didn’t think there was any hope,” Smith said, but he was determined and resourceful like a Green Beret. With buddies who flew helicopters. And get them out he did.

What began as a mission to save his family quickly expanded when he realized the full scale of the disaster. Witnessing countless others trapped and desperate for help, Smith was joined by fellow veterans, volunteers, and resources under the banner of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations.

In the days that followed, the team grew into an agile, grassroots force—dubbed the “Redneck Air Force”—flying critical supplies into cut-off communities, conducting search-and-rescue missions, and restoring communication with STARLINK systems. Savage Ops became the lifeline for those forgotten by traditional disaster response, cementing its role as a symbol of resilience, ingenuity, and community-driven action. (Savage Freedom website)

"Savage Freedom’s response to Helene was the largest grassroots relief effort in the region, with thousands of volunteers, hundreds of air sorties, millions of pounds of supplies and nearly $700,000 raised in a month" (Vaillancourt).

When Trump was in Swannanoa following the storm to promise stuff he had no intention of delivering and to mime how concerned he was with the plight of people, Adam Smith got to introduce him at the podium and just incidentally lay the philosophical groundwork for challenging MAGA trooper Chuck Edwards next year and implicitly ding what Trump 2.0 was about to do via DOGE and presidential ExecOrders to not only disaster relief in Western NC but to all sorts of other agencies the people rely on. Smith said to Trump, “The biggest fear that Western North Carolina is sitting on right now ... is being forgotten. To have you here and have an opportunity to have this conversation at a national level will keep Western North Carolina on the map and not leave the communities holding the bag on the back end of this.”

Chuck Edwards

Holding the bag is exactly what's happened to the western mtns. The statistics in the headnote to this post don't even mention that the $110 billion relief bill passed by Congress last December -- much ballyhooed by Congressman Edwards, who claimed to have written it specifically for his district -- will dole out a paltry $15 billion to NC11 (at most -- $9 billion is more likely). Governor Stein recently begged the Trump people for some $13.5 billion -- quick! Quick ain't happening.

So Adam Smith is running against Edwards' handling of the disaster and his absence from accountability. Vaillancourt did a lengthy interview with Smith for the Smoky Mountain News. Smith comes across as a level-headed straight shooter, not a MAGAtron robot with a predictable hard line. He's clearly intelligent and offered Vaillancourt an interesting national bond idea for lowering the national debt. Of course he supports Trump on tariffs (really?) and immigration, but I don't see him parroting Trump like the rest of that tribe are pleased to do, slavishly without thinking, just as reflex.

Sadist

 

Last Friday, what's left of Trump's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) slammed the door in North Carolina's face, saying that Gov. Josh Stein's request for an extension of 100% of the federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene were "not warranted."

The president and his henchmen have swept away so much that was good about the Federal government. They did so with relish, with obvious joy at the destruction. The man himself always gloats when he causes others much pain. Take his Oval Office ambushes of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Cyril Ramaphosa, meant to inflict the maximum of embarrassment and discomfort and actual anguish. That's what he loves: the embarrassment and discomfort and actual anguish of others.

We call that sadism, the delight in the pain that can be induced in others. I have little capacity for understanding why a man this twisted has become the idol of millions, worshipped not for his good deeds but for the size of other people's misery. Until we vote. Until we vote.

Until we vote I go to my garden and bury my hands in soil. On my knees I take care of plants. But don't be fooled by my kneeling posture, because I am only bending to nurture, not bending to the sadist, this evil, incredibly evil man. I am praying to all the earth gods and the sky gods to give me and every other resister in this nation the resolve to stand when the time comes and vote against every person who holds allegiance to that man by belonging to the same sadist party.

I know no other way to salvage any goodness in this world.

This Is What Ray Pickett and the Rest of the NCGOP Will Cut in Half

 

The GOP in the General Assembly Once Again Shrug-Off Hurricane Helene

 

Gov. Stein in Boone recently.
Noah Williford, The Appalachian

Just happening in North Carolina: For the second time in three months the Republican bastards in the General Assembly (the new team of Berger/Hall) have proposed much less -- about half of what Western North Carolina needs for recovery from Hurricane Helene and half of what Governor Stein requested for our devastated region -- Berger/Hall say $500 million should be enough, instead of the requested and badly needed $1 billion.

To recap the first General Assembly diss of our ravaged counties, here's Thomas Mills:

In December, when Roy Cooper was still governor, the legislature went back into session, supposedly to address the needs of hurricane victims. Instead, they used the time to strip power from Democrats who won seats on the Council of State in November. They shuffled money around from existing funds but refused to allocate additional resources to the region.

As Republican Representative Mark Pless told The Assembly at the time, “The disaster portion of it doesn’t do anything …. [I]t was just moving money from one account to another without actually appropriating it for anything.”

Stein's request included grants to businesses wiped away or severely damaged by Helene, but Berger/Hall's bill prohibits grants to businesses. Bastards. I know of at least one thriving landscaping business in western Watauga that was totally wiped out -- greenhouses, equipment, plants, the whole livelihood. FEMA does not give disaster money to businesses. It's up to the state. And those Republican SOBs think they can get away with turning their backs on some 30 majorly Republican counties they consider "theirs."  

At least Gov. Stein engineered a public-private fund of some $30 million to help businesses specifically, but that's a mere drop in the bucket. A small Kubota front-end loader, back-end digger will run you over $80,000.

Ray Pickett and Hurricane Relief

 

Rep. Ray Pickett

Newly installed Speaker of the NC House, Destin Hall, notable lawyer of Caldwell County and olympic gerrymanderer (who moved Watauga's Blue Ridge Precinct out of Ray Pickett's Dist. 93 and gave it to himself in Dist. 87, where those Blue Ridge progressives wouldn't be much of an annoyance in that otherwise blood-red district) -- but I digress. That squirt Destin Hall appears to be moving fast to funnel actual dollar bills toward the victims of Hurricane Helene -- to make up in some sense for the passage of S 382 back last November, which masqueraded as a hurricane relief bill but was actually a naked power-grab. Just announced yesterday, Hall has appointed a "Select Committee on Hurricane Helene Recovery" to make recommendations, write legislation, lay the groundwork -- quickly -- for specific appropriations.

To the Select Committee, Hall appointed the three mountain guys who initially raised hell over S 382 for the fakeout in its title -- "Hurricane Relief" -- because it offered zero relief. Those guys quickly folded and voted for the bill in the veto override, but not before (probably) getting some promises for their own districts. There must have been strategy in their caving, or else they're just bully-bait. I prefer my politicians cynical rather than craven.

Hall also appointed Ray Pickett to the Select Committee, who without any visible protest -- no indignant speaking up for constituents wiped out by flood, no symbolic no vote -- rather voted for S 382 at first sight. Voted for the same bill the three other guys had rightly called a notorious fraud. Those guys likely made a bargain or got a promise or leveraged their yes votes on the veto-override for specific economic relief to their constituents. What did Watauga and Ashe counties get for Ray Pickett's complicity? 

Josh Stein Turns First to Hurricane-Ravaged Western NC

 

Thursday, on his first full day in the office of governor, Josh Stein came to downtown Asheville and signed five executive orders to shore up, expand, and facilitate more aid to citizens wiped out or badly damaged by that notorious Lady of the Night Helene.

His Executive Order # 1 wiped away red tape for the immediate purchase of up to 1,000 "transportable temporary housing units" by the Department of Public Safety for deployment in the disaster counties.

Stein also gave power to the Division of Emergency Management to contract with certified vendors to repair private residential structures and roads, one of the greatest needs in the mountains.

Additional orders created the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), a dedicated recovery office, and established a Division of Community Revitalization within the Department of Commerce to address housing needs and "community resilience."

These Mtn Republicans Abandoned Their Constituents

 

There have been three pieces of law aimed (more or less) at hurricane recovery passed by the Republican super-majorities in the NC state Senate and House. 

1. A “first step” relief bill passed the General Assembly just two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated much of Western North Carolina. It provided around $270 million in aid, mostly to state agencies.

2. Two weeks after that, a second relief bill added around $600 million in new aid. Notably, "the bill did not include any direct grants to affected businesses that were underwater with COVID-era SBA loans" -- businesses unable to raise cash because of property loss and the cancellation of the Fall tourist season. (Cory Vaillancourt)

l to r, Gillespie, Clampitt, Pless

The pressure for more relief from the state's House and Senate quickly built. The state’s budget director Kristin Walker estimated $53.6 billion in damages across 39 federally declared disaster counties. Gov. Cooper proposed taking $3.9 billion from the “Rainy Day Fund,” including $475 million in grants for small businesses that were (and still are) drowning. Cooper was ignored. 

Instead, the bosses in the General Assembly came up with the massive garbage of S 382, "Disaster Relief 3/Budget/Various Law Changes," which contained only a promise of future appropriations for hurricane relief but no actual money, while its real purpose was to take away power from the governor and other state-wide Council of State members after they were elected but not yet in office. The rainy day fund stayed sacrosanct and very dry. So Gov. Cooper vetoed the monstrocity. Budget Director Kristin Walker had testified in a House hearing just prior to the veto-override vote in the House that the state had $9.1 billion "unappropriated in reserves across a variety of accounts," and that Gov. Cooper's suggestion of $3.9 billion for hurricane relief would still leave a very comfortable $5.5 billion in reserve.

No dice. The NCGOP wanted to cripple Democrats more than it wanted to help its own citizens.

We've written here about the three Republican House members who initially defied their caucus and voted against S 382 and who almost immediately a few days later reversed themselves and voted to ignore the pleas of their constituents. Reps. Mike Clampitt, Karl Gillespie, and Mark Pless abandoned their supposed principles and voted to make the sham disaster relief bill an official slap in the face for their drowned counties.

They're not the only Republicans representing Western North Carolina in the House. At least three other of those guys happily voted yes on the first passage of S 382, for whatever self-serving rationalizations they made for not actually appropriating any new direct aid for their counties:

Jake Johnson (Dist. 113). Youngest Republican in Raleigh and Majority Deputy Whip. Rather than working to get more direct money appropriated for Helene relief, whippersnapper Johnson took the opportunity to criticize the Cooper admin's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for -- get this -- enforcing river set-backs for rebuilding disappeared infrastructure: "Where a lot of the rebuilding is going to have to be done — and a lot of the cleanup, obviously, is near the river — one thing we need to look at is, you know, at least temporarily suspending some of the [regulations], how close you can work to a river and making sure that, you know, they're not cracking down on that," Johnson told Fox News Digital.

Ray Pickett

Ray Pickett (Dist. 93). Putting his "followship" skills on full display, Pickett echoed Johnson, tagged along with Johnson's opportunistic attack on DEQ, though his "me too" and "I was just going to say that too" came without any mention of "a specific policy he was most concerned about but said he was [vaguely] worried about DEQ's permitting and approvals process in general .... I absolutely share those concerns," Pickett told Fox News Digital. "I see it with some of our infrastructure that's going to have to be replaced. DEQ … has not always been the quickest agency we have." This was all tough-guy posturing against an environmental agency that had not, in fact, been any impediment at all to recovery but had rather been on the scene in the West since the middle of the flood.

Dudley Greene (Dist. 85). New in the House, representing hard-hit Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, and McDowell counties. He's mere furniture and does as he's told by the bosses.

Elon Musk To Western NC: "Drop Dead!"

 

One oligarch to rule them all

The co-president-elect Elon Musk has threatened any Republican who votes for the funding bill to keep the government functioning past Friday, a bill that contains $100 billion in desperately needed hurricane relief for Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and other places wrecked by Helene.

Musk, sometimes boosting false claims on X, the social media site he owns, trashed the [compromise bill negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson which contains emergency hurricane aid] in an hours-long tirade, calling it “terrible,” “criminal,” “outrageous,” “horrible,” “unconscionable,” “crazy” and, ultimately, “an insane crime.”[WashPost]

 

Big Question: Why Did Rep. Ray Pickett Vote for S 382?

 

Rep. Ray Pickett

While three other mountain Republicans from Western North Carolina sensibly voted against the so-called "Disaster Relief" bill, which provided zero relief but crippled the offices that Democrats won in the statewide election, Rep. Ray Pickett voted for it. Why? S 382 offers rather actual real neglect for hurricane victims.

How much money [was appropriated in S 382] for the NC victims of the Hurricane Helene?

Zero.

No rental assistance.

No small business support.

No direct assistance to families.

Instead, 117 pages of the 131 page “Disaster Relief 3” bill is far less about hurricane relief and far more of an overhaul to move executive branch power away from recently elected Democrats to Republicans....

Here’s what the bill really does:

The Governor would no longer have the ability to appoint people to the State Board of Elections or Utility Commission.

The Lt. Governor would no longer chair the energy crisis committee or the Energy Policy Council which would also be eliminated.

The Attorney General would lose the ability to intervene in lawsuits to protect consumers and prohibits the AG from taking a position not authorized by the Republican majority.

And lastly, the bill would prevent the State Superintendent of public instruction from appealing decisions by a state board that reviews charter school applications. (Tales of an Educated Debutante)

Gov. Roy Cooper angrily vetoed S 382 yesterday and attached this message:

“This legislation is a sham. It does not send money to Western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh. This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers. Instead of giving small business grants to disaster counties it strikes a cruel blow by blocking the extension of better unemployment benefits for people who have lost jobs because of natural disasters. Finally, it plays politics by taking away two judges elected by the people and adding two judges appointed by the legislature, taking away authority from the Lieutenant Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction and more.”

So, in other words, Ray Pickett will have another chance to vote like his fellow mountain Republicans did the first time -- when the bill comes back to the House for veto-override.

Please tell Ray Pickett that we'll be watching his vote on S 382.

Ray Pickett's office: 919-733-7727

Ray Pickett's email: Ray.Pickett@ncleg.gov

3 Mountain Republicans Could Stop the Newest Power Grab

 

You know what power grab we're referencing in the title, right?

Reps. Gillespie, Clampitt, and Pless (l to r)

Three mountain Republican Reps in the NC House voted with all the Democrats against the so-called "Disaster Relief Bill" last Wednesday -- Mike Clampitt (Dist. 119, Jackson, Swain, Transylvania), Karl Gillespie (Dist. 120, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon), and Mark Pless (Dist. 118, Haywood, Madison). The bill in question, S 382, "Disaster Relief and Various Law Changes," passed any way, of course, without these three, but the kicker is that any one of them could provide the veto-affirming vote when S 382 inevitably comes back with Cooper's VETO stamped on it, as it surely will. 

Why would Clampitt, Gillespie, and Pless go against their caucas? It's largely speculation, but the reason for those noes seems logical: S 382 offered almost nothing in the way of actual hurricane relief. It was just cover for sneaking in a sweeping power grab, reducing the powers of newly elected Democrats just before they take office. The bill is actually kind of an insult to hurricane victims since it offers little or no cash relief to devastated businesses and homes. Only 20 pages of the 130-page bill even touched on Hurricane Helene, while the rest accomplished the most callous and naked overturning of election results by depriving newly elected Democrats to statewide Council of States offices the duties they ran for and were elected to perform. Phil Berger was in a big hurry to pass S 382 because he's about to lose his super-majority in the House for overturning vetoes. 

In other words, Phil Berger and Ralph Hise (who's lead author on S 382) and the rest of the bastards are using the plight of disaster-stunned citizens as a stalking horse for doing real damage to constitutional norms and the separation of powers. 

So it's an effing big deal that Reps. Clampitt, Gillespie, and Pless bucked their caucus. And shouldn't they, for the insult this bill represents to their districts? And come to think of it, where the hell was Ray Pickett? Pickett was quite visible in Watauga and Ashe during the immediate aftermath of Helene, a helpful (or at least helpful-seeming) high elected official who had contacts up the ladder to get help. He surely knows that S 382 does not come close to helping right now the unresolved disaster in the western counties.

If even one of the three reps. votes to uphold the Cooper veto, then this power grab dies a stumbling death.

Prediction: The three will have their arms twisted sufficiently or be bought off somehow, someway. The newly elevated Speaker-to-be Destin Hall of Lenoir has too much riding on his first legislative crisis of leadership. He can't seem weak.