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Many candidates in many primaries across the nation have written statements after their defeats. I may be the first to use a title like this. In more than 750 columns I’ve been unstinting in praise of able achievements and honest politicians, (Yes, there are some of each.) And I have been merciless against incompetence and stupidity. I owe the same integrity in discussing myself. My third and last run for public office ended this Tuesday. It was not a pretty sight. In a three-way contest for the Republican nomination for Congress from the 11th District of North Carolina, I ran...

RALEIGH, N.C. — All four members of North Carolina's House delegation challenged in Tuesday's primary breezed to easy victories.... Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower won a race between three Republicans in the 11th District, and will face Rep. Heath Shuler as the GOP tries to unseat the only freshman in the state's delegation to the U.S. House. Mumpower narrowly defeated former Henderson County GOP chairman Spence Campbell, 48 percent to 42 percent with all precincts reporting. Highlands attorney John Armor had 10 percent.

John Armor is a student of history. He knows where the country has been and where he would like to take it in the future. As a Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District, Armor has the chance to make an impact. Armor is running against Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower and former Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Spence Campbell in the Republican primary. Raised in the Baltimore area, Armor attended Yale University, where he earned degrees in political science and English. He took a job at an advertising agency shortly after graduation but wanted a new challenge. He enrolled...

Change is a common word in politics today. Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower, a Republican candidate for Congress in the 11th District, said he would stand firm behind his principles and not compromise for the sake of change. "Our founding fathers were not go along, get along type of guys," Mumpower said at the Henderson County Republican Men's Club on Wednesday. "They effected change. How did they do it? They challenged wrongs. They refused to participate in the system. That is a bunch of nonsense that you have to go up there or go to Asheville City Council and jump...

The three Republican candidates for the 11th Congressional District agreed on the need for tax reform, the need for broad change in Congress and their own conservative credentials during a debate at the Opportunity House today. In a straw poll taken at the forum, Campbell narrowly edged Mumpower, 24 votes to 23 while John Armor had 20. In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Republican Men’s Club members Fred Smith won with 37 followed by Pat McCrory with 17. Bob Orr had 7 and Bill Graham had 2. Highlands attorney John Armor, retired Army Col. Spence Campbell of Hendersonville and Asheville City...

"Armor wants to reform Medicare and Medicaid, and he opposes universal health care and congressional earmarks. In Iraq, he favors a continued presence in the country but not “actively fighting for a long period of time.” On the infamous “Road to Nowhere” in Swain County, he favors following the lead of county officials, who’ve opted for a cash settlement from the federal government rather than having the road built. He said he believes the major issues facing Western North Carolina come down to four words: “That’s jobs, jobs, jobs and education.” Tourism is relatively healthy, he said, but agriculture and...

First up, yesterday's radio debate on WWNC 570 AM in Asheville has been turned into video by FR's own Thunder Pig. The video playlist is here. Thank you Thunder Pig! Next up is the response of John's campaign to the incredibly slanderous news releases that have been put out by Carl Mumpower's campaign. Desperate Psychologist Explodes in 11th District Congressional Race It is not very often that any candidate for office puts out a news release which quotes at great length from a release by an opposing candidate. There are exceptions to every rule, and this one has to do...

John Armor, an attorney for a conservative alternative to the ACLU, is outraged the legal group has launched a multi-million dollar campaign in an effort to provide private council for illegal enemy combatants who are facing military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) says the ACLU is at it again, this time spending $8.5 million and teaming up with the criminal defense Lawyers and former Clinton attorney general Janet Reno to lend a helping hand to terrorists, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. Armor, legal counsel to the ACRU, says the...

John Armor, Spence Campbell and Carl Mumpower will debate live on-air on WWNC 570-AM Asheville. Calls will be taken! WHEN: Tuesday, April 15, from 3PM to 5PM. WHERE: WWNC 570-AM in Asheville, 'Take A Stand' hosted by Matt Mittan - Listen via live streaming audio here

FLAT ROCK -- Signs reading "Mumpower for Congress" lined the entrance to the St. John in the Wilderness Parish Hall. They were a major point of contention prior to a debate Thursday. Carl Mumpower, who is a Republican candidate for Congress, and Flat Rock Mayor Bob Staton got into a war of words over the use of campaign signs at the debate. Organizers wanted to limit the size of political material on church grounds. Mumpower objected, saying the request amounted to a change in the rules and created a "rigged game." Staton fired back and called Mumpower an "arrogant a**."...

Both the Asheville Citizen-Times and the Hendersonville Times-News have articles, today (11 April), about the congressional candidates debate yesterday in the town of Flat Rock. Both articles have their facts wrong about the Carl Mumpower flap concerning signage at the debate. The candidates present for that debate of Republican candidates for Congress were Carl Mumpower from Asheville, Spence Campbell from Henderson County, and John Armor from Macon County. Mumpower had first withdrawn from the debate in a huff, and made various accusations against the debate organizers and other candidates. Then, he apparently realized that his behavior was not "winning friends...

FLAT ROCK -- Hours after Flat Rock's mayor called him an "arrogant a--" who didn't deserve his vote, congressional candidate Carl Mumpower on Tuesday afternoon reversed himself and agreed to participate in a candidate forum sponsored by the Village Council. Mumpower and organizers of the debate had engaged in a low-volume war of words since last week when Mumpower objected to restrictions on electioneering by candidates. By Tuesday afternoon Flat Rock mayor Bob Staton was fed up. "In my three decades of practicing law in our Nation's Capitol, I encountered my share of arrogant a--es, but none could hold a...

Carl Mumpower plans to stay home. The Republican 11th Congressional District candidate recently got into an argument about rules for a debate in Flat Rock, which is scheduled for April 10. Mumpower voiced concerns about rules that were established to limit the size of promotional material at the event. The Times-News was forwarded a chain of emails between Mumpower and the moderator of the debate. The Asheville City Council Member's email chains are notorious in Asheville. In the past, he has scolded the Asheville police chief for not enforcing drug laws and a local business leader for allegedly hiring illegal...

A few items today; one, a press release from April 1 (below) that I forgot to post because I have rocks in my head, and a pair of videos. The first link is to video of a URTV studio debate held last Thursday, March 27, in Asheville. Video requires flash and runs about 90 minutes. The second video is a YouTube clip of John on the 'To the Point' radio show from September 26, 2007, discussing the MoveOn "BetrayUs" ad and campaign finance.

Courtesy of FR's own Thunder Pig, great video of Saturday's debate in Franklin, North Carolina. Following the debate, FR'd own John Armor took over half the votes in the straw poll: 1. 32 John Armor 2. 19 Carl Mumpower 3. 11 Spence Campbell Part I - Opening statements Part II - One word to describe the North Carolina Mental Health System and what can be done to fix it Part III - Unfunded state mandates; The sanctity of human life Part IV - Iraq, FISA and national security Part V - Homeland Security, hometown security, and illegal immigration Part VI...

Mumpower Campaign Heads for Self-Destruct Mode The Mumpower Campaign put out a News Release, misdated as March 28, which congratulated John Armor for winning the straw poll at the Macon County Convention, held on 29 March in Franklin. What Carl Mumpower failed to do was figure out why this occurred. "Long ago, at the beginning of my career as a lawyer, I did trial work. I made a point of talking with jurors after the case was over and they were released, to find out what motivated their decisions," said Mr. Armor. "I did the same thing at the Macon...

Candidates for the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District slammed Rep. Heath Shuler for comments he made at a speech this week in Hendersonville. Shuler, D-Waynesville, spoke to the Rotary Club on Tuesday and claimed Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain was blocking his immigration bill from getting a vote on the House floor. Former Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Spence Campbell, who is seeking the right to face Shuler in the November general election, did not believe Shuler's version of the story. "Who is he kidding? His motivation in saying this is purely political and designed to try...

A Republican candidate for Congress in the 11th district told the Times-News on Tuesday that he foresees the United States having a presence in Iraq for an indeterminate amount of time. Highlands attorney John Armor said the troop surge in Iraq is working. He believes the country can start to withdraw troops "in a few years" and only needs to maintain a "tripwire" level of troops in the country, similar to Germany during the Cold War. "You keep tripwire troops," Armor said. "It used to be until the Soviet Union fell that we kept troops in Europe not so much...

Here are the results of the Macon County GOP Straw Poll, taken after the spirited discussion forum: 1. 32 John Armor 2. 19 Carl Mumpower 3. 11 Spence Campbell In the NC Gubernatorial Straw Poll , the results were: 1. 34 Fred Smith 2. 5 Bob Orr 3. 3 Bill Graham 4. 1 Pat McCrory I will have video up later, so keep checking back. The Congressional Debate was the most spirited yet. John Armor Wins Macon Straw Poll

NEWS RELEASE Heath Shuler Shows Why He Doesn't Belong in Congress BlueRidgeNow, the website of the Hendersonville Times-News, reported on March 26 on an appearance by Rep. Heath Shuler at a Rotary Club meeting in that city, but missed the deeper story that was present. According to the story, Heath Shuler blamed Senator John McCain, a Republican who is not serving in the House, as "blocking" Shuler's SAVE Act which would impose tighter controls on illegal immigration from getting a vote in the House. The Times-News had noted in an editorial on 20 March that "48 Democrats had co-sponsored the...

The latest spate of articles accusing the Bush Administration of trampling the US Constitution in prosecuting the War in Iraq have quoted Bruce Fein, cited variously as a “conservative lawyer” and “a deputy attorney general in the Reagan Administration.” He is not being quoted because he is a reliable source but because he says what the opponents of the war want said. Factual inquiry stops there. On 5 August, John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor of The San Francisco Chronicle penned the latest anti-war tirade about President Bush’s July 17 Executive Order freezing the assets of certain persons who are aiding...

John Armor, the legal counsel to the American Civil Rights Union, says the ACLU continues to demonstrate its preference for an American defeat in the war on terror by attempting to limit the U.S. government from obtaining information from military prisoners. The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed suit seeking a court order that it be given uncensored transcripts of military hearings for 14 of the "high value" terrorist detainees. John Armor of the American Civil Rights Union -- a conservative alternative to the ACLU -- argues that would be the same as if, in World War II, someone had...

The Supreme Court of the United States has decided to take on the DC v. Heller case, and one of our candidates for Congress recently discussed the case with Jerry Agar, and you can listen in below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE6hAVzJyJU Its always good to see someone from this area get recognized nationally. John Armor is running for Congress in the NC-11 district. Here are two of the places I have been frequenting to keep up with this very important case, SCOTUSblog, and The Volokh Conspiracy, although the Bench Memo and the blogfather have been following it as well.

Mumpower Misunderstands FISA Issues, Misquotes Ben Franklin Carl Mumpower, Republican candidate for Congress from the 11th District, has put out a press release saying that the efforts in the US House to extend the FISA Act “demonstrate sharp differences between him and the other candidates.” He is right, but has the wrong conclusion, based on a gross misunderstanding of the subject. FISA stands for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The ACLU (the American Civil Liberties Union) is using American civil courts in an effort to gut-shoot the government’s efforts to stay ahead of the terrorists seeking to kill Americans in America....

Mumpower Accuses Shuler, Armor, and Campbell of Pandering on FISA 11th District Republican Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower has taken the offensive in challenging candidates Heath Shuler, John Armor, and Spence Campbell for their shared position in support of FISA immunity and the warrantless wiretapping of American Citizens. "The speed with which my colleagues bunched together speaks either to a clear disregard for the United States Constitution or the need to pander to voters' fears," said Mumpower. "In either case, we have a trio of strange bedfellows - unified behind a bill that dodges the real problems, supports big-government, and tramples...

Carl Mumpower, a Republican candidate for Congress, has broken ranks with his party and opposes legislation to protect telecommunications companies that helped in the government's warrantless spying program. "Bad things grow in the dark and government at all levels is trying to turn out the lights," he said. Congress passed the Protect America Act, which was signed by President Bush, expanding the ability of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation to get wiretaps without the approval of the courts. The law expired and Congress and Bush have battled over a new version of the bill, called the...

John Armor, who is challenging Dr. Carl Mumpower and Spence Campbell in the 11th Congressional District GOP primary, has a little story: "I knew Nancy Pelosi when her name was D'Alesandro, and she was the daughter of one Baltimore Mayor and the sister of another. "The D'Alesandro Machine in that City, then, was as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Under no circumstances would I ever vote to make someone as politically defective as Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And that is just the first great difference between me and Heath Shuler." Armor also told Katy's...

Senator Hillary Clinton, among others, has begun using “swiftboating” as a verb. Her use is courtesy of the New York Times. Now, with extreme and unintended irony, the Times has sought to “swiftboat” Senator John McCain, and has been swiftboated in return by its own ombudsman, To sort all that out, we go back to the beginning, so the original swiftboaters don’t get “swiftboated” in the bargain. Does that make sense? I thought not. Hang on and it will all become clear. The original swiftboaters were crews of Swift Boats in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. These were small, fast...

Two years ago, the campaign for the 11th District Congressional seat in North Carolina was worse than a circus. Answers to questions were along the lines of, “My granddaddy raised me with mountain values,” or, “My opponent is a scumbag,” with little in between. Last night, the Black Republicans of Western North Carolina and the Buncombe County Republican Party hosted a debate for Congressional hopefuls John Armor, Spence Campbell, and Dr. Carl Mumpower. Armor wowed the crowd with his photographic memory, quoting from his pocket Constitution and giving examples of how history ought not to repeat itself. He even called...

Many of you who read these columns know I ran for Congress in 2006. It was in the primary against a 16-year incumbent named Charles Taylor. Given just that information, you’re not surprised that I lost, getting just 20% of the vote. I was not surprised, either. But 2008 is a different kettle of fish. I was right, by the way, about the end of Taylor’s career. I said he was at the end of the line. He was. He got beaten soundly by a Democrat whose claim to fame was that he once played football. Heath Shuler’s the name....

The 11th Congressional District Republican field has gotten a bit more crowded. John Armor, a Highlands lawyer who challenged incumbent Charles Taylor in the 2006 Republican primary, says he is gearing up for another run, this time against two others, but so far not Taylor. "We are going to have a knock-down, drag-down fight all the way to the general election," Armor said. Former Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Spence Campbell and Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower are also seeking the Republican nomination. Former NFL player Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, beat Taylor in 2006 and has already announced his intention to...

Because the Hamdan case was not up on my favorite research site at Cornell Law School early this morning, I read the press coverage first and the decisions afterward. The press has only a superficial understanding of the case, and missed the most important aspect of the decision. The case is Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, No. No. 05–184, June 29, 2006. Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-184.ZS.html The Christian Science Monitor gets the facial decision correctly: The court ruled 5-to-3 Thursday that Mr. Bush acted outside his authority when he ordered Al Qaeda suspects to stand trial before these specially organized military commissions. The ruling...

This is the Fifth and Final - for now - Report on the Campaign for the 11th District in NC. The eight-term Congressman, Charles Taylor, has defeated me for the nomination of the Republican Party. However, Mr. Taylor's career as a Member of Congress is now over. That paradoxical conclusion is not a matter of my opinion. It is based on observations of lifelong residents in western Carolina who've been active in politics most of their adult lives. Consider the parameters of this race: Charles Taylor is a long term incumbent who worked his way up the ladder to a...

This will be my first, and last, post on FreeRepublic for a very long time. I am an unabashed Liberal. However, I want to assure the mods that I am not here to do any trolling. In fact, I just wanted to say a few nice words about Freeper John Armor. (aka April 25, 2006 "Congressman Billybob.") If you live in NC District 11 and are a Republican, please vote for John Armor in this weeks primary race. As a yellow-dog Democrat, I will never vote for Armor; but he is a man of integrity and will not accept bribes....

Dear Chancellor John Bardo, I have a bone to pick with you. So does the US Constitution. And so do those who believe that universities should be open communities, allowing a diverse views to be expressed – in academic language. My public declaration of my candidacy for Congress from the 11th District here in Western Carolina was on 3 March. I’d contacted the Director of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at your university, Western Carolina, about using that Center for my first press conference. I offered to pay full rate for the use of the facilities. I had several...

Folks, Two of my campaign appearances since the 1st Report are unique and deserve mention here. One was with a group of left-wing Democrats, who refer to themselves as "progressives." The invited me to see if I would dare join them, for two hours of pointed questions. I accepted, and the comments posted on the Internet as a result made it clear that they intend to see me defeated, come November. But they also included comments that I am "honest" and a "man of obvious integrity." When even your political opponents speak of you that way, that is a very...

An Open Letter to the Press in Western Carolina From: John Armor, Candidate for Congress, 11th District Date: 16 March 2006 re: certain comments by Deborah Potter on behalf of Congressman Charles Taylor Ladies and Gentlemen, Below is an exact and complete copy of an e-mail that Charles Taylor's Press Secretary, Deborah Potter, sent to Don Yelton, a friend of mine. (For those who don't know me, I'm a lawyer and author who lives in Macon County, and I'm running against Taylor in the Republican primary.) The Potter e-mail refers to me as "Armor and his bunch of left-wing radicals...

You reply, “Of course not, they’re both long dead.” But this may actually happen, with different participants. The seven Lincoln-Douglas debates in Illinois in 1858 set the pattern that live debates are the best way for Americans to judge among candidates. Just one person in D.C. represents solely Western Carolina: your 11th District Congressman. You deserve a debate among the candidates. The official candidates for the 11th (alphabetically) are: John Armor, Michael Morgan, Heath Shuler, and Charles Taylor. Normally, civic organizations don’t invite candidates to speak, to avoid favoring one over the others. But, there’s a non-partisan opportunity here. Get...

I am running. For Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina in 2006. Here’s why: Many times I’ve urged my readers to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. This is one of the most beautiful places in the nation, and the world. Millions of people agree; the Great Smokies are the third most popular park destination in the US. There is a power, a majesty, a soothing effect, in the mountains, the forests, the streams, the waterfalls. There is truth in the Bible verse, carved in the oak altar of First Presbyterian Church, Highlands, North Carolina, “I...

Harriet Miers has now withdrawn as a nominee for the Supreme Court. No one of the attacks against her would have been sufficient to cause withdrawal. Instead, she suffered the death of a thousand cuts. Who will be the new nominee, and how will she answer the inevitable attacks against her? Yes, “her.” I expect the President to nominate another woman to replace Justice O’Connor, whose resignation is conditional on confirmation of her replacement. Here’s my prediction of the new nominee’s opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee: We have now had, in short...

Dateline, 17 September, 2005, National Capitol It is self-evident that this new constitution is fatally flawed. It is unlikely to be ratified. And even if it is, it will fail in practice. Begin with ratification. One province is so opposed that it refused to take part in the drafting. The governors of two provinces refused to sign the document and are committed to its defeat. There is a hotbed of opposition in another province. One of the leaders there walked out of the drafting, and returned home to lead the effort to defeat the constitution, taking a majority of his...

Enough has come out about the failure of the 9/11 Commission to include critical information about Mohammed Atta and other 9/11 attackers, to suggest a new Commission to investigate the original Commission. The cure may not be that drastic, but it is that important. In short, a special Army intelligence operation known as “Able Danger” identified Atta and four of his accomplices, and identified Al-Qaeda cells in Hamburg and Brooklyn and elsewhere, a year before the 9/11 attacks. They offered then to share that information with law enforcement agencies including the FBI. Those offers were cut off by Clinton Administration...

I shouldn’t repeat myself, but every rule has exceptions. The Minutemen’s efforts on the US-Mexican border have proved the accuracy of my column on 20 November, 2003. “Double Crossing at the Rio Grande” can be found hereThe gist was that the cure for the alien tide from Mexico is to change the incentives so that Mexico will control its own side of the border with its own troops. Here’s how: Total the cost to local, state and federal governments for finding, rounding up, jailing and expelling Mexican illegals. Divide that cost by the total number of truck crossings of the...

I am sick up to here with all these opera (plural of opus) from people who are quitting FreeRepublic. So, I'm stating it up front. I have quit quitting. I've quit quitting marriage. I've quit quitting civic organizations. And I've quit quitting on-line discussion groups. So, you're always gonna have Congressman Billybob to kick around. You'll know that I am officially "OUTTA HERE" when Felicity Fahrquar comes online to invite you all to an old-fashioned, cyber Irish wake. Don't try to change my mind. I won't take yes for an answer. That's my final answer. I've had it. (And by...

Let’s Roll! By Judson Cox A few months ago, I announced plans to start a conservative, state wide newspaper in my home state of North Carolina. The outpouring of support was overwhelming. The North Carolina Conservative is now a reality! First of all, we would like to thank our contributors: Charlie Daniels, Dr. Fred Decker, John Plecnik, Rep. John Rhodes, Sen. Fern Shubert, Jason Lewis, Mark Ruscoe, John Armor, Chris Adamo, Al Klemm, Megan Fox, Linda Fryer, Lilly Nelson, Karen Pittman, Lee Ellis, Robert Parks, Frank Salvato, Nancy Salvato, Barbara Stock, Dave Swanson, Resa Kirkland, Mike Nevin, Howard Nemerov, Angela...

I heard three men speak this week with apparent passion about subjects of great interest. Each of them was trying to be accepted as honest and clear in his speech. Two of them are obvious: George Bush and John Kerry, who took part in the first Presidential Debate of 2004 in Miami on Thursday. Almost all of you either saw the debate, read the transcripts afterward, or saw coverage of it. But to my view, the most honest, the most effective speaker, was the third man, Lemony Snicket, who appeared at a book signing at a Barnes and Noble north...

“Whoa,” I hear you cry. “Why should I read anything about a ‘Pukin Dog’?” This is an honorable name, the nickname of a squadron of Navy fighter pilots who flew combat in Vietnam. Now it is the screen name of a man who flew for that unit in Central Europe. He’s currently a pilot for a major American airline. Both he and his airline will remain anonymous, because he thinks some might take offense at his words. I’ll respect his confidence. Besides, on the Internet it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is. The only questions are:...

It was a bittersweet pleasure to go on-air Friday for two hours with my friend Jerry Agar, WPTF afternoon drivetime, from Raleigh to most of North Carolina and parts of states north and south of there. This was our last sit-down, since Jerry is moving to KMBZ in Kansas City, a larger market that wants a quick, intelligent voice from the conservative side of the spectrum. We spent 45 minutes of our time talking about the Swift Boat controversy involving John Kerry. The phones lit up, and so did the computer screen with e-mails. Both the calls and the e-mails...

My name is John Armor. I’m a civil rights attorney who has practiced in the Supreme Court since 1972, a good run of 32 years mostly in First Amendment cases. Now I have resigned from the Bar of that Court. I state my reasons here, and urge others to join me in that decision. “About 220,000” attorneys are in the Bar of the Supreme Court. The Court Clerk has no exact count, just this estimate. Since the Court only hears about 190 cases a year, obviously most of those lawyers have never set foot in that Court to present a...