Heath Shuler has a good looking wife, though.
Posted on 05/11/2006 7:27:50 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
I haven’t written my regular column for a long time, but my excuse is rock solid. I’ve been too busy to write
Three absolutely extraordinary things happened in the last week – well, stretch that – a week and a half. One I’ll save for another column, because it deserves its own space and details need to be filled in. The others are election night on 2 May, and 4 - 8 May, which was spent in Bermuda.
Start, of course, with politics. Going into the Republican primary against eight-term incumbent, Charles Taylor, I knew my own campaign was limited. Better than anyone else, I knew how few dollars I had, how few volunteers, and how limited my outreach was in the two months since I declared. I can admit this now: I was worried that my results might be in single digits, which would have been a gross embarrassment, and would have buried me as a serious contender for anything above Dog Catcher.
Instead, as we sat down to read the returns by the State Board of Elections, the first results at 8:08 p.m. showed me drawing 23.6% of the vote. I thought that was either an error, or it came from a county where I was doing unusually well. Neither was the case.
The unofficial totals show Taylor receiving 80% to my 20% of 33,932 votes cast. The local and national press called that “easily handling” or “trouncing.” As usual, the press are clueless. Political veterans in the District had told me “if you draw 20%, Charlie Taylor is finished.”
Here’s why the veterans are right, and the reporters wrong. The 11th District in NC is 41% Democrats, 36% Republicans, and 23% “Declines” (those claiming no party membership). At the national level, the District consistently votes Republican for House, Senate and President, because many of its Democrats are like Zell Miller – highly conservative. But a Republican who alienates one-fifth of his base is in deep trouble.
It is clear that Taylor is doing that. In his home County – Transylvania – I drew 22%. There is still more bad news yet to come out about Charles Taylor. It is still possible he may be forced to drop out, and I will be in the running to replace him. More details on this are on my website.
The third great adventure this week was our trip to Bermuda. The daughter of lifelong friends, John and Pam Corckran, just got married in that island nation. No, it was not a matter of splashy excess to hold the wedding there. The bride’s mother is Bermudan, and so is the groom. The wedding was held in a church whose first building was erected in 1623, as I recall. The reception was held at the beach. The weather was perfect.
There was even one detail I’ve never seen at any other wedding. An impressive fireworks display. There was no warning. Burst charges simply started going off above the tent. The bride’s father said it was his idea. He wanted fireworks, but everyone got to enjoy them.
And then there was Bermuda itself. I’d been there once before, a quarter century ago. I still remember a Bermudan bobby, resplendent in his British-style uniform, telling me to keep my shirt buttoned over my bathing suit when I wasn’t on the beach itself. Then, I thought Bermuda was a bit too stuffy.
But now, I’ve been to many resort locations. Bermuda is the class of the field. It’s like sailing first class but paying ordinary fares. Well, maybe a touch above ordinary. The people of Bermuda have exceptional warmth. They really do go out of their way to make every visitor feel welcome. And, of course the nearly universal British accent kicks things up a notch.
I offer this flat-out recommendation: Whether you are thinking about a honeymoon, or you simply want to spend a few days surrounded by beauty and luxury, and having the cares of the workaday world melt away like a morning mist in August, Bermuda offers what you seek. Michelle and I guarantee that your “interpersonal relationships,” as a family newspaper would put it, will benefit greatly. We will go back to the precise place we stayed on this trip, even though we picked it just for convenience to the wedding events on the north end of the island.
E-mail me if you are seriously interested in detailed recommendations. Mind you, none of what I’ve said was prompted by the Bermuda Tourism Council. Nor was any of it affected by the TV interview of us that Channel 11, the NBC affiliate, shot and broadcast on the second day we were there. But that’s part of the other story, which will wait a bit.
About the Author: John Armor still might be a candidate for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
Heath Shuler? Is that what happened to him? I remember he was the quarterback for the Washington Redskins.
He sucked though.
Heath Shuler has a good looking wife, though.
OH. I keep getting confused about Bermuda because I know the triangle starts here right off our coast. Anyway, I think we'll take a trip there one day.
susie
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