Demolition of Historic House Rankles Watauga Commish Primary

 

Turner House before demolition

Eric Plaag, the chair of Boone's Historic Preservation Commission, president of the Watauga County Historical Society, and a noted authority on historic preservation, has published "An Open Letter to County Commissioner Carrington Pertalion," taking her to task for misrepresenting the events leading up to the bulldozing of the Oscar and Suma Hardin House (a.k.a., "the Turner House") for a parking lot.

Plaag quotes Pertalion's answers to a questionnaire from PamsPicks.net and argues that they are either a mistaken recitation of what led the County Commission to order the burning of the house, or a deliberate obfuscation. Plaag maintains that the county flouted open meeting laws in making its decision to destroy the landmark.

Based on Pertalion's responses to her questionnaire, PamsPicks.net endorsed Pertalion's opponent, Angela Laws King, in the Democratic primary now underway (which will be concluded on May 17th).

Surry County GOP Tries To Bully Elections Official

 

William Keith Senter, chair of the Surry County Republican Party, reportedly threatened the local elections administrator over Trumpist conspiracy theories of election fraud (in a county that Trump carried in 2020 with over 75% of the vote -- no, really). Senter "told elections director Michella Huff that he would ensure she lost her job if she refused his demand to access the county's vote tabulators .... Senter was 'aggressive, threatening, and hostile,' in two meetings with Huff, the state elections board said, citing witness accounts."

(Chair of the Surry Republicans? Their website lists William Keith Senter as the vice-chair, but whatever.)

Senter was evidently egged on in his efforts by "a prominent pro-Trump election conspiracist, Douglas Frank," an Ohio math teacher, who came to Surry County to help Senter intimidate the local elections office. Senter and Frank claimed “there was a 'chip' in the voting machines that pinged a cellular phone tower on Nov. 3, 2020, and somehow influenced election results," the state election board said, calling the claim “fabricated disinformation.”

"Somehow influenced."

How come these bullies never influence any consequences for themselves?

The Right-Wing Attempt To Take Over the School Board

 

It's happening all over North Carolina let alone the rest of the nation -- the Trumpist movement to take over school boards and hound out "cultural diversity" or diversity of any kind (among other things). It's happening in Watauga County, which is why the School Board primary on May 17 is so crucial (early voting starts on Thursday of this week).

What follows is borrowed from PamsPicks.net (with permission), an extensive write-up of the issues now boiling inside public education and information on the insurgent right-wing candidates running against the school board incumbents in Watauga. PamsPicks uses lots of embedded links, and I haven't checked all of them to see that they're working, but you can always go to the link above if having trouble.

. . . . . . .

“Where they burn books, at the end they also burn people”
― Heinrich Heine

Welcome to this year’s School Board Culture Wars, where radicalized adults have whipped themselves into a frenzy first over their children’s being required to mask in classrooms during a pandemic and onward now into an assault on LGBTQ+, communities of color, local teachers, school administrators, and anyone else they view as “the other.”

The “non-others” believe they can only define and uplift their own human value by defining and destroying the human value of others. They promote deadly conspiracy theories and sling arrows at anything science-based. They’ve declared wholesale war on public schools. They use social media and fear-mongering to push for laws to ban books that run counter to their righteous view of the world and want to censor teachers or fire them if they dare to push back.

The “non-others” call those who will not walk their straight line and adhere to their world view “woke” as if being culturally “asleep” is far superior (or at least more convenient to their cause). They are co-opted and riled up by dark money, rich donors, and advocacy groups like No Left Turn. They shake with fear and anger about indoctrination from classic books like “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,”and “Of Mice and Men” — in fact any and all books about the stories and lives of “the others.”

“We have culture war battles over school closures, mask mandates, education about race and LGBTQ issues. You’ve got discussions around masks, age-appropriate books, transgender bathrooms, and it drives out discussions about hiring teachers, attracting talent, expending capital investments on infrastructure. We’re distracted from the real issues going on.”

We’ve been here before.

In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan freaked out because they believed recent immigrants to the United states were threatening “traditional American values” by their very presence. It opposed labor unions, immigration, and foreign entanglements such as the League of Nations. But the KKK was especially hostile to blacks, Catholics, and Jewish people.

The Klan exerted significant influence and policed their communities, including local schools:

“They might object to a theater showing “immoral” pictures or warn an alleged wife beater to desist or pressure a school committee to crack down on a 'liberal' teacher or ban a particular book. Those who joined the Loyalty Leagues and Defense Societies used that position to bully immigrants or censure liberal ministers or get rid of teachers or ban books or movies.”

The John Birch Society followed suit in the 1950s, deciding that if they couldn’t win on the national level to rid the world of so-called Communists, they would go grassroots, including by disrupting school board meetings.

So now here we are again. School board outbursts ending in chaos and threats. School board members in Virginia receiving death threats and protesters in San Diego County pushing their way into a school board meeting and declaring themselves the newly-elected board. Last Fall, nine titles were removed from the libraries of four high schools in Utah’s Canyons School District. Just last year, the Texas Senate voted to remove the requirement in a competing House bill for public school teachers to teach that the Ku Klux Klan is “morally wrong.”

In fact, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom identified 330 incidents of book censorship last fall alone, mostly books about LGBTQ people and race and racism.

The arguments about CRT appear on the surface to take new ground but are specious, and “mirror a 1920s-era assault on teaching evolution in US universities.“ Ramping up that argument while simultaneously advocating for getting back to the basics of “reading, writing and arithmetic,” Florida’s education commissioner just announced that roughly 7 in 10 of the math textbooks that were submitted for students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade would no longer meet State requirements. And Florida Governor DeSantis has taken on Disney because they wouldn’t sign on to his “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which seeks to ban discussion of gender and sexuality among young students.

Watauga County Schools find themselves in the Culture Wars Crosshairs this election season too.

There are 7 candidates running for Watauga County Board of Education in this primary. You may vote for 3.

Three candidates are incumbents (Childers, Fenwick, Ashcraft) and have years of experience in working with Watauga schools both professionally and on a volunteer basis. All three answered the Pam’s Picks questionnaire in full, and all three presented informed and reasoned answers to diverse questions. All three cited their pride that Watauga County schools rank at the top of the heap statewide in student performance and academics. When asked what they thought about banning books about LGBTQ+ lives and/or history books that address racism from the schools, all three cited strong procedures that are already in place to screen proper reading for different ages and that if a parent wishes to excuse his or her child from reading a book that is personally objectionable, a designated alternative is offered.
You can read their responses to the questionnaire in their entirety and unedited here:

Gary Childers

Jay Fenwick

Marshall Ashcraft

The other four candidates (Cole, Cutlip, Hanifan, Kerley) did not respond to the Pam’s Picks questionnaire, but I hunted down what was available about their platforms and have excerpted them below. You can read complete Watauga Board of Education candidate profiles HERE.

According to his website, Cole’s priorities are to fight against “pornography” in High School level books, teachers’ indoctrination of students, “medical freedom,” to insist that local officials release funding for safety that he alleges is being withheld for political reasons, to stop bullying, and for all of us to come together around these issues.

Cutlip has no platform I can find except a flyer that touts “Back to Basics,” Parents’ rights, traditional values, and transparency.



Hanifan makes no bones about her platform and has, in fact, presented her full platform in her “Mama Bear Manual.” She aspires to protect children from harmful (and frequently disguised) indoctrination and school curriculum. She asserts that Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, various LGBT Activist groups, and Equality NC (among others) are “pumping” harmful curriculum into school children. She believes that teachers are trained to discuss and promote sexual orientation and gender identity. She warns that the terms used in CRT (Critical Race Theory) like “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” might lead to “students lobbying for things like unionization of workers, transgender rights, or taking part in Black Lives Matter protests.”

And check this out, under “Examples of CRT in Watauga Schools,” wherein Hanifan accuses a Watauga teacher of using “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth as “a woke propaganda tool,” a newly hired school librarian of “pushing her personal ideas and agenda relating to her personal background and identity, and allegations of majority racism, genocides, etc.,” and a Watauga High School Social Studies teacher of “teaching of blatantly racist and sexist propaganda.”

Kerley’s Facebook page was all I could find about his campaign, and reveals very little of a platform. Once prompted by questions from a reader, however, he said he was aware of “hot topics” about COVID, CRT and Gender identify (sic). In short, he does not favor mask mandates, is “still trying to fully understand CRT,” and says he will fight to ensure that school bathrooms are clearly marked as to gender and that he will fight to keep them that way.

So there you have it. Don’t forget to vote. And be sure to take an “Other” with you.

Copyright 2022 - pamspicks.net

A Battle of Democratic Stars in the NC Senate Primary for District 23

 

The North Carolina Senate District 23 is rated by NCFREE as D+8, so whoever wins the May 17th primary will likely be a new face in that body. The seat covers Orange, Caswell, and Person counties and is currently held by Valerie Foushee, who's leaving it to run for Congress in David Price's old district (and that presents its own interesting primary). The primary for the Senate seat offers an already rising male star in the NC House vs. an accomplished woman who's become a media star in a wholly different field.

Graig Meyer

He's currently a member of the NC House from Hillsborough, representing Orange and Caswell counties. He was first appointed to Valerie Foushee's old House seat in 2013 when she got appointed to the NC Senate, and he's been reelected four times. Prior to joining the House, he spent 16 years working in public schools on initiatives designed to promote educational equity. He became a co-founder and principal consultant with The Equity Collaborative, LLC. 

Wikipedia says "he's the son of two politically engaged social workers, was raised in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of Wooster, before going on to acquire a master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago." He has five young children of his own, and he's been serially recognized for legislative leadership: by Equality NC as Legislator of the Year, by the League of Conservation Voters with their Rising Star award, and by the Young Democrats of North Carolina with their Legislator of the Year award.

He's expert in public education issues, and an extensive interview with him in newsoforange.com details how his work in schools led to his seeking a seat in the General Assembly and the myriad issues he's successfully worked on, and worked across the aisle to achieve, especially during the crisis of the COVID shutdown. He understands what students and their parents went through: "The stress load is high. Anxiety with the change is really, really hard. The mental health on this is going to be something we’ve never done or seen, probably since WWII.”

He's been endorsed by SEANC, the powerful state employees PAC, which won't please everyone since that group also endorses Republicans.

Jamie DeMent Holcomb 

She's already famous in some circles as just DeMent, the name she used when she published her first cookbook, The Farmhouse Chef: Recipes and Stories from my Carolina Farm, which came out in Fall 2017 from UNC Press. Her second book, Canning in the Modern Kitchen came out in August 2018 from Rodale Books, a division of Penguin Random House. She is an occasional guest lecturer at UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, Duke University, and teaches cooking classes around the country. She was recently named one of North Carolina’s “Outstanding Women in Business” for 2016 and was in the 2017 “40 Under 40” class by the Triangle Business Journal and has had featured articles and recipes in many local, regional, and national publications. She is also a regular contributor to cooking segments on the Hallmark Channel Home & Family show.

She's North Carolina's own Martha Stewart!

After completing her degree in Southern History and African American Studies at the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill in 2001, she became a legislative aid for Representative Brad Miller on Capitol Hill, then became a Director of Special Projects for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences where she supported fundraising efforts for the Nature Research Center. DeMent left the Museum in 2007 to join her husband, Richard Holcomb, at Coon Rock Farm, out of which grew other small businesses. She runs Bella Bean Organics, an online farmers’ market that features products grown and produced in North Carolina, and she's been a partner and executive chef in two farm-to-table restaurants — Zely & Ritz in Raleigh and Piedmont in Durham.

Not enough? She's also the managing partner of the North Carolina Venture Capital Fund, which seeks to invest in early stage NC startups.

She's been endorsed by Lillian's List. 

What's Behind the NC DemSenate Primary in Asheville?

 

Julie Mayfield

I paid much attention to Julie Mayfield in 2019. She was one of the Democrats who was running for Terry Van Duyn's NC Senate seat (SD49). Van Duyn was leaving to run for lieutenant governor in the 2020 Democratic primary. Mayfield, a noted environmental activist (MountainTrue) and Asheville City Council member, had amassed a legacy of community organizing and eleemosynary defense of the defenseless, so she won the 2020 primary and subsequently easily sailed to election to the NC Senate. SD49 leans heavily Democratic (61.4% Democrat, according to Dave's Redistricting; D+8 according to NC FREE), so whoever wins this primary likely takes the seat. The District takes in half of Buncombe County, the half with Asheville.

So what's up with Julie Mayfield's first term that she's drawn not one but two primary challengers, two women, one young and white, Taylon Breeden; the other Black and a newly elected Asheville city councilwoman, Sandra Kilgore, who takes a surprising position on the removal of the city's memorial to white supremacist Zebulon Baird Vance. But why kick out Mayfield? Because of a particular vote? An unpopular position? No tea or coffee for visitors in her outer office?

I profiled Mayfield in June 2019: "[She] got her law degree from Emory University in 1996, which apparently fueled an inherent gene for pro bono and public good advocacy. She directed the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law where she represented environmental groups, civic associations, and individuals in public interest environmental law cases. From 2003 to early 2008, she was Vice President and General Counsel for the Georgia Conservancy. She arrived in Asheville in 2008 and by 2011 she was appointed by Governor Bev Perdue to the Mountain Resources Commission, where she served until the legislature dissolved the Commission in 2013. She also served on the North Carolina Conservation Network board for six years, chairing it for two."

Hell, she even prides herself on being a "non-theist."

In trying to understand the undercurrents behind this primary, I stumbled on a truly revelatory Facebook livestream of a joint appearance/interview with Lauren Stein. It's archived on YouTube as "NC Senate 49 Forum," and it was well worth its long running time (even though for the first 20 minutes, it's a comedy of errors as Julie Mayfield attempts to conquer the technology and join the livestream. When she finally gets on, however, she brings clarity, informed common sense, and further confirmation that she's waaay qualified to be representing Buncombe in Raleigh).

Taylon Breeden

Taylon Breeden is obviously Mayfield's chief rival in this election. She's a champion for the working class and one sharp tack. She began to remind me of AOC for her charm mixed liberally with progressive grit and a bracing bluntness. I'd describe her as a left populist, and there's nothing muffled about her vision of what's gone wrong for working people. I found her compellingly informed on the details of legislation, particularly the legalization of hemp farming. She owns a hemp extraction lab and company, Simply Extract, which produces CBD oil. She recently opened a new business in downtown Asheville, The Pot Stirred, which features beverages infused with CBD and mushrooms — categorized as Buzzed Brews and Herbal Potions -- and a rotating menu of CBD and Stay Glazed Donuts. But don't let that joking airiness about the devil herb mislead you. There's nothing joking nor airy about her policy sharpness and determination to shake things up.

Breeden's most aggressive challenge to Mayfield involves "transparency" in that she has alleged that Mayfield, along with many other Democrats in Raleigh, have let themselves get stuck in Duke Energy's "back pocket," a charge that Mayfield vigorously defended (and I believe her). Like the Bernie bros I have known, Breeden has no use for "incrementalism," working for the small things you can get when you're in the vast minority as Democrats are in the General Assembly. But Mayfield has shown herself capable, particularly in being one of four Democrats who helped negotiate and make better the governor's landmark Clean Energy Plan, which he signed last October, the first such law passed by a majority Republican legislature in the South.

Sandra Kilgore

Somewhat outclassed and out-gunned in the "NC Senate 49 Forum" was Sandra Kilgore. Forum host Lauren Stein (who's as well informed, as blunt in her questioning as you could hope any national broadcaster might be -- but usually isn't) asked Kilgore what she was doing running for higher office barely a year into her first term on the Asheville City Council, a question Kilgore wasn't ready for. While Mayfield and Breeden were armed with facts and details, Kilgore waded safely in the shallow water of vague generalities (often "glittering").

The one thing that stands out about Kilgore was her opposition to the removal of the Vance obelisk from Pack Square. She wanted it "repurposed" rather than torn down, since it copies what was actually an ancient Egyptian symbol of the 
sun god Ra. Kilgore wrote on mountainx.com, "That makes the architectural form 13,000 years old. It symbolized the concept of duality and balance. Obelisks are thought to represent good energy and dispel negative forces."

Asheville’s obelisk itself does not represent the Confederacy. Many of the Confederate statues removed thus far were made in the image of Confederate soldiers, not stand-alone obelisks. Asheville is known to be a city of the arts, and the monument represents one of Asheville’s oldest art structures in downtown Asheville.

The Vance obelisk was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, the supervising architect of the Biltmore House, and was modeled on the Washington Monument, and to Kilgore (to me too) worth saving as an Asheville landmark with no visible connection to white supremacy (like a bronze Confederate soldier gripping a gun). Kilgore evidently felt that the fury about white supremacy after the killing of George Floyd divided her community unnecessarily, and she observed that white elites were often the source of telling the Black community how it ought to feel about the monument.

Kilgore's position is perhaps too nuanced and sophisticated for many liberals, but I was both surprised and enlightened by her taking that stand. She's a poised presence, and though she seemed out of her depth in the forum, her cosmopolitan vibe comes from a career as an international traveler, a flight attendant for British Airways. It's hard to rattle an experienced flight attendant. Since returning to Asheville (where she grew up) to take care of aging parents, she's opened her own real estate business catering especially to the Black community.

Mayfield can win this primary, though Breeden is going to have a following, and whatever happens, I believe Asheville is well stocked with coming powerful political women. Breeden and Kilgore both have much to offer, and I could hope that they'll stay leaders in the community. Anyway, after watching Lauren Stein's Facebook forum, Asheville seems even luckier to me for its abundance of intellectual talent. 

The DemPrimary in NC74 -- Cultural Diversity at Work

 

House District 74 takes in a hunk of western Forsyth County bordering Yadkin and Davie (Clemmons, Lewisville, part of Winston-Salem). It has a slight Republican lean -- 51.2% to 46.4% Democratic -- which ought to mean it's worth competing for. The district is represented by Republican Jeff Zenger, who is running for reelection. The two Democrats competing to oppose him represent the diversity in the Democratic Party.

Sean Lew

He's been in practice as a lawyer for two decades in a general practice that has emphasized helping small businesses with their legal problems (he's insistent that his first name be pronounced "seen"). 

This stands out in his biography: "In his professional life, Sean has worked hard to increase civil access to justice among North Carolinians unable to afford legal services and has served as a mentor to a generation of attorneys and law students performing pro bono legal work. In 2007, he received the inaugural "Citizen Lawyer" Award for exemplary public service activities from the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA). In 2021, he received the NCBA's William Thorp Pro Bono Service Award which recognizes attorneys who have provided exceptional pro bono legal assistance to low-income individuals in the state.

Carla Catalan Day

Her website tells a much fuller autobiography (including a tribute to her abuelita, with a photo). She's the child of Mexican immigrants who settled in Forsyth in the 1990s. As an undergraduate at Western Carolina University, she was active in many multicultural orgs and became a spokesperson on cultural differences, prejudice, and racism. She studied public health and graduated with a B.S. in 2008 after holding an internship in the Indian Health Service, working in Arizona.

She married her college sweetheart, who was in training to become a police officer, and she worked in public health as a maternal child health educator, joining the board of the Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition of Forsyth County. In 2012, she transferred to the Environmental Health section of the Forsyth health department and became a health inspector, inspecting day care centers, schools, foster homes, group homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and restaurants.

The rise of Donald Trump propelled her into Democratic Party activism. After giving birth to their first child, "Carla realized that our current culture says it values families, but in reality doesn’t. There is a saying that goes, 'We expect women to work like they don’t have children, and raise children as if they don’t work.' Carla quit her job in 2017 because of childcare issues and a workplace that could not adjust to her new priority - her family." She started her own environmental health consulting business.

 

Virginia Foxx's Republican Rival, Not Ready for PrimeTime

 

Michael Ackerman, Virginia Foxx's 2022 primary challenger, sent the letter below -- with its "very strange request" -- to Democratic Party activists in the 5th CD:

I hope you all are doing well. I have a very strange request. I know you and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum on most issues, and I respect that. You know I am in a primary battle with Virginia Foxx. She is an establishment Republican that is deep entrenched into the DC swamp. Now that the new Congressional 5th District includes your County I wanted to humbly ask if you would consider voting for me in the primary on May 17. I am also asking if you would talk with some of your Democratic or Unaffiliated friends to consider voting for me in the primary.

NC as I am sure you know has an open primary, which means anyone can vote in the primary. The Democratic Party only has only one person running for Congress in the 5th District, so there is no Democratic Primary. Mrs. Foxx is corrupt and uses her position to increase her personal wealth. This is not an unsubstantiated statement. She is part of the Political Elite that is the main problem in politics in our nation.

Like I said I know we disagree on many issues, but hopefully I have proven to you that regardless of where we stand I am willing to talk and listen. I respect you as a person and support your right to believe in what you do. Thank you for considering this.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Ackerman

Candidate US House of Representatives

NC as I am sure you know has an open primary. 

Well, not quite. It's an "open" primary for those registered "Unaffiliated," who may request either a Republican or a Democratic ballot. It most assuredly is not open for registered Republicans and registered Democrats (let alone Democratic Party officers, to whom this letter went), who must vote the ballot of their party. Ackerman might have asked -- hilariously -- for his target Democrats to change their registration to "Unaffiliated" to vote for him. They would have to make that change by April 22nd. No one can change his party affiliation during Early Voting, which begins on April 28th.

Ackerman is well known to the Watauga County School Board as the anti-masker who made threats of lawsuits and other retaliations. He didn't have his facts straight then, either.

The DemPrimary in HD103: Can Democrats Keep What Rachel Hunt Won in 2018?

 

NC House District 103 in Mecklenburg County (Matthews and Mint Hill) was won in the 2018 Blue Wave by former Gov. Jim Hunt's daughter Rachel, and she won reelection there in 2020. This year she's leaving the seat to run for the NC Senate in an overlapping district. This district has also been redrawn to improve Democratic prospects. Dave's Redistricting rates it 49.9% Democratic v. 47.6% Republican. The Republican in the race, Bill Brawley, was the former incumbent whom Rachel Hunt beat in 2018 (and again in 2020). He's determined to get back to Raleigh this year and thinks a Red Wave will get him there.

These two Democratic women are vying to be the spoiler who disappoints Bill Brawley again.

Laura Budd

She's a lawyer who was recruited by Rachel Hunt. She holds her law degree from Wake Forest School of Law and is the managing partner at Weaver Budd law firm, specializing in business litigation and contract law. She says she hopes to attract moderate voters.

From her announcement: "In addition to practicing law, Budd has an extensive history of community involvement. She currently serves as the President of Matthews Athletic & Recreation Association, Vice-President of the Piedmont Gymnastics Club, and [is] involved with the Matthews Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Troop 39 as well as the North Carolina and Mecklenburg County Bar Associations."

She's been endorsed by Lillian's List and targeted for contributions.

Ann Harlan

She ran unsuccessfully for the overlapping NC Senate seat in 2018. I took note of her then. I was a little dismissive in April of 2018, and unfortunately I see little reason to amend my opinion now:

"[Senate] District 39 has a higher-than-average level of educated voters. Will they take to Ann Harlan, the single working mother of five (four of them adopted through the foster parent program) but also an academic egghead -- I mean no disrespect -- who holds a doctorate from Michigan State University and teaches college-level sociology and social work.

"Will Democratic voters take to her? Dunno (but the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg endorsed her). At the moment she has a severely under-developed web presence and little presentation of personality. Her campaign seems curiously up-tight and buttoned down. Too buttoned down."

Is Katie Dean Rising in the DemPrimary for CD11?

 

I've had kind of a crush on Katie Dean since I first watched her campaign video (YouTube), and not the kind of crush old white men are known for, but a political crush, because I thought she "fit" the 11th Congressional District better than the other candidates and that her candidacy could catch fire and roll over all expectations and win.

I wanted to interview her a month ago and proposed an email exchange, but I never heard back from her. Either the message didn't get through, or my being cut out of the 11th CD -- after being led astray into false hope by a map that drew Watauga into Maddy Cawthorn's district -- so my opinion didn't matter any more. Plus who the hell is this guy at WataugaWatch anyway?

I wanted to probe Dean's working-class perspective, what her knee-jerks sound like, and whether there was any good reason I couldn't support her as a "moderate" Democrat. I've done it before, plenty. Though I like radicals, I'll vote for any Democrat over most Republicans because party does mean something most of the time. The Republican Party is a horror show. The Democratic Party is a trainwreck -- going off the rails trying to accomplish something idealistic. Take your pick. I have.

Anyway, and though I can't vote for Katie Dean or anyone else in the 11th, I'm watching her apparent rise (maybe?). People I respect and who have run as Democrats for public office have endorsed Dean -- Moe Davis, who ran for the 11th in 2020 (I contributed to his campaign) and David Wheeler who ran for the NC Senate in 2018 against mastodon Ralph Hise and wasn't afraid to take a lance to that immense mammal. Wheeler lost. But he has some street-fighter in him, and so does Moe Davis, and I approve of that. Together Davis and Wheeler have come out strong for Katie Dean under the aegis of FireMadison.com, a social media gadfly that has never for a second let up on Cawthorn.

Davis and Wheeler make the argument that Heath Shuler ought to have taught us something, for Heath Shuler was the last Democrat to win the district and he was a moderate notorious moderate with a conservative streak that outraged the activists in Asheville. Outraged me too. But he was better than Mark Meadows turned out to be, so party does matter and I ain't no purist.

Katie Dean is the only working-class gal running, with auto grease under her fingertips -- owns a successful auto repair business, can put a timing belt on a GMC. It's that and the obvious intelligence of an accomplished woman who studied how to design municipal infrastructure and has a degree in environmental engineering and who once declined anesthetic for repairing a broken collar bone because she couldn't afford insurance -- all that would make me vote for her too.