Free Republic

Most of you know her as Nancy Pelosi. When I first met my one-time neighbor, she was daughter to one Mayor of Baltimore, Tommy D’Alesandro, Jr., and sister to Tommy, III, who’d later become Mayor. Some of the stories about her, as she prepares to become Speaker of the House, have mentioned her past, but not honestly. At most, the glowing stories refer to the Baltimore City politics she grew up in as “rough and tumble.” Politics there and then were much more than rough and tumble. They were crooked as a dog’s hind leg. I know. I grew up...

On 23 April I had a routine colonoscopy, and found out that I had cancer. I knew then I’d have to write this column once I knew the outcome. I had 25 days of chemotherapy, simultaneous with radiation therapy, followed by surgery on 11 August. The pathology reports came back yesterday. They were, as my surgeon said, ‘the best possible, given the circumstances.” They were clean margins and clean lymph nodes. The margins are the areas all around the site of the surgery. The lymph nodes are where cancer usually spreads first, from its original site. In laymen’s terms, I...

Thanks to FReeper libbylu Congressman Billybob has died. ACRU Mourns the Passing of John Armor John Armor”John was a great American, a dear friend and a champion of liberty,” says Susan Carleson, CEO and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Union. “He will be sorely missed.” On August 20, 2010, ACRU Senior Legal Counsel John Armor passed away in a North Carolina hospital, following cancer surgery. He had appeared to be in full recovery, so his death was a shock to family and friends. Armor, a graduate of Yale University and the University of Maryland School of Law, had a...

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...