Free Republic

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...

I live in western North Carolina, an area of the country in which there never has been, and never will be, a shooting like the one this week at Virginia Tech. There are plenty of guns in western Carolina. There are two universities and a college, where potential victims like those at Tech, can be found by the thousands. But, we have a different culture, here. To my experience, more than half of all households in Carolina own multiple guns. More than a quarter of all the local trucks and vans on our highways are carrying guns, mostly handguns. And...

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...

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...