Archive for Charles Taylor
Wednesday Potpourri
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There’s exciting doings all over the place, and this Councilman/Counselor can’t find time to properly blog about it all. Â Who wants to pay me to do this stuff full time?
The irascible ThunderPig reports that Dan Eichenbaum (R-Tetley), founder of the area’s 9/12 group, won another straw poll of Republicans, this time in Cherokee County. Dr. Dan hopes to face Heath Shuler this November.
Speaking of Heath Shuler, he closed the deal on the North Shore Road. That means Swain County will receive $52 million in compensation for a road never completed. Â Somehow Charles Taylor, who was an Appropriations Committee member for years, couldn’t ever get it done. Kudos, Congressman Shuler.
In other Congressional race news, Virginia Foxx, the woman who always has one eye on the kookier wing of the GOP, has drawn a challenger in NC-05. “Billy Kennedy, a Watauga County talk radio host and community leader, will formally announce his candidacy on February 8 for the U.S. House of Representatives, 5th District of North Carolina. The “Billy Kennedy Caravan†will stretch from Boone to Raleigh that day, with stops in Wilkesboro and Winston-Salem.”
Ellie Johnston attended the Copenhagen climate conference and has a thorough narrative of her experience there. Excerpt:
The Return of Ol’ Lumpy – Charles Taylor on WCQS
Posted by: | CommentsThe notoriously press-wary Disgraced Former Congressman Charles Taylor was interviewed (by phone – why leave your mansion on the hill when you don’t have to?) by WCQS‘ Steve Plever, where he sounds as if the last eight and a half years never happened and quotes Ronald Reagan as if the last thirty years never happened. You can normally listen to WCQS’ local stories here, but until they fix the typo in the M3U file, click below to listen.
Interesting timing on Taylor’s part, granting an interview where he states that he hasn’t “thought about the election as a candidate” shortly after Congressman Heath Shuler emphatically denied that he was running for Senate. If this does indicate a political comeback on his part, at least bitching about Nancy Pelosi and Shuler’s voting “for the unis… to, uh… have, um, dictoral elections without… the right… the right of, a, a… ballot…” is a safe and non-controversial way to do it.
Bellamy Bringing the Broadband?
Posted by: | CommentsHunter Goosmann, the management mastermind behind the ERC’s regional broadband service, twittered a link to stimulus money dedicated to expanding broadband access:
Schedule and Milestones
Procurement for Grants Program Assistance Services March – June 2009
Award Contract for Grants Program Support June 2009
Preparation for Initial Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2009
Publish Notice of Funds Availability June 2009*
Initial Proposal Processing and Review Sept – Dec. 2009
Initial Grant Awards Made December 2009
Second Solicitation for Proposals Oct – Dec 2009
Third Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2010
All Awards to Be Made September 2010
Milestone Completion Date Award Contract for Grants Program Support 06/30/2009 Initial Grant Awards Made 12/31/2009 All Awards to Be Made 09/30/2010
Mayor Bellamy’s had her eye on it. Mtn. X:
The push to expand broadband Internet access in and around Asheville may be building steam, thanks to federal stimulus money. Mayor Terry Bellamy is meeting with state representatives and looking for ways to use money made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help make it happen.
In April, Bellamy was invited to attend Innovation Generation, a policy summit in Washington, D.C., whose guest list featured industry leaders, federal representatives and other mayors, touting broadband’s importance in leveling the field in education, technology and industry. Cheaper than laying new cables and other infrastructure, it also has a broader reach.
Bloggui
Posted by: | CommentsJust a note to let y’all know that I’ve not been much in the mood for blogging. Â It’s my occasional attack of bloggui, and it comes around every several months. Â Maybe Doug, Arratik, or Uptown will roll in to keep this virtual page fresh. Â Or maybe not. Â Either way, I’ll try to keep some fresh threads up for you until the blog bug bites me in the ass yet again. Â It always does.
Is it correct that Carl Mumpower wasn’t invited to Charles Taylor’s annual Christmas dinner?
NC-11 GOP: Names emerge amid weasel words
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Catching up with items that have been sitting in my RSS feeds since Election Day, I got the impression that the 2010 NC-11 congressional primary race has already begun.
I found a story from last week on the Hendersonville Times-News’ website (like I said, I’m way behind) that, among other things, details the local Republican Party’s efforts to regroup and look toward 2010. Toward the end of the article, a group of potential candidates are thrown at the wall; it’s up to the voters (and the potential candidates, of course) to see what sticks.
Some names being discussed as potential Republican candidates to oppose Shuler in 2010 are Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey, state Sen. Tom Apodaca, Henderson County District Attorney Jeff Hunt, former Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Spence Campbell and former Henderson County Sheriff George Erwin.
Many of these names will be familiar to regular readers, and an article that appeared on the T-N’s website this morning expanded on the idea of a possible George Erwin candidacy:
Erwin said a lot of Republican activists and friends have contacted him since the election, encouraging him to run for Congress in two years.
“They really want me to run and seek the seat,” Erwin said. “I am seriously looking at it, but have not made a decision.”
[...]
“If I get in, I am in to win,” Erwin said.
And, of course, one more name was tossed off in the previously mentioned article:
Also, some Republicans say it is not out of the question that former Congressman Charles Taylor would try for a re-match against Shuler.
[S]ome Republicans? Umm…
Weasel words are usually expressed with deliberate imprecision with the intention to mislead the listeners or readers into believing statements for which sources are not readily available.
[...]
The expression weasel word derives from the egg-eating habits of weasels. An egg that a weasel has sucked will look intact to the casual observer, while actually being empty. Similarly, words or claims that turn out to be empty upon analysis are known as “weasel words”. The expression first appeared in Stewart Chaplin’s short story Stained Glass Political Platform (published in 1900 in The Century Magazine), in which they were referred to as “words that suck the life out of the words next to them, just as a weasel sucks the egg and leaves the shell.”
One specific example of weasel words: “Some people…”
Not only does this mean nothing on the surface, but in this case it seems to indicate some sort of projection of wishful thinking. When the article’s author asserts that some Republicans say that a Shuler-Taylor rematch wouldn’t be out of the question, neither would the reader’s assumption that the author has his fingers crossed.
Well, so do I. Not only would this make 2010 one of the most entertaining off-year election seasons to date, it would be ridiculously easy to cover. All we’d have to do is link to our archives. Whether any viable Democratic primary challengers will emerge in the next several months remains to be seen.
Taylor Was, As We Expected, Wrong
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“A vote for Heath Shuler is a vote for Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco liberalismâ€
“Rookie Heath Shuler is following the playbook of San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi”
From ads run by disgraced former Congressman Charles Taylor.
Asheville Citizen-Times, Jan. 14, 2008: Rep. Heath Shuler ranked in the top 15 maverick Democrats in the House, according to an analysis published Monday.
The Waynesville Democrat supported President Bush 19 percent in major economic, defense and domestic-policy votes, according to CQ, a political trade publication. Shuler was 11th out of 232 House Democrats in his votes supporting Bush.
Attention 11th District Republicans. We know you’re having a hard time figuring out how to attack Heath Shuler. We know you’ve seen his approval ratings and that you’re going to grasp at whatever you can. Pretending that he’s a Nancy Pelosi acolyte isn’t going to fool anyone. If 11th District Progressives could get a Pelosi acolyte, we’d take one. But we’re aware that anyone further to the left of Heath Shuler would be trotted out of the running faster than Clyde Michael Morgan.
Shuler’s Chief of Staff said this in response to Speaker Pelosi’s “plan to make the House campus more environmentally friendly and socially progressive”:
“If we are really worried about people’s health, why are we still selling triple espressos, double bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream?†asked Hayden Rogers, chief of staff for Rep. Heath Shuler, a Democrat … “We all make serious decisions every day with real consequences, yet adults on the Hill are not allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to buy tobacco.”
Aside from whether Hayden needs to be smoking, it’s pretty clear that this isn’t a guy who’s going to tow Nancy Pelosi’s line or carry her water.
A National Review article points out:
“Republicans will need more than help at the top of the ticket to prevail. They need to be able to make the case that the Democratic congressmen are voting with their liberal leaders rather than their moderate districts. So far, the red-district congressmen are not making that easy.”
[...]
“Shuler, Ellsworth, and Donnelly all voted for an increased minimum wage, but that’s popular in their districts, as it is everywhere. Voting to raise income taxes would be unpopular, but they have not done so.”
Misguided attacks from Republicans will fall on reality-based ears like seeds strewn on a stony ground. Shuler’s no liberal, no matter how much I might wish he were.
11th District Republican Party Asunder
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It’s been a torturous time for North Carolina’s 11th District Republicans since disgraced former Congressman Charles Taylor’s ignominious defeat in 2006. Wacky Chad Nesbitt tried to take over the Buncombe Party, forcing the end of a libertarian coup. The Henderson County webmaster resigned very publicly. A chorus of voices rose up to criticize The Lump for playing coy over whether he would run again for the Congressional seat. Taylor himself, safely bunkered at his Transylvania compound, was silent as the grave for over a year. Strong potential candidates like Jeff Hunt and Tom Apodaca withdrew their names from consideration in part because of Taylor’s intransigence.
Today there are three candidates in the running for the Republican nomination: An intellectual libertarian, a rigid ideologue, and a squishy Party man. The head of the redundantly named Henderson Republican Men’s Club wants to see more of the Party apparatus get involved in putting the candidates out before the public in the same way they did in late November.
The GOP’s district Chair, Stephen Duncan, isn’t too interested in making that sort of thing happen,
“”There are individuals who feel there are different ways of doing things,” Duncan said.
He said Stanley is doing good work in Henderson County, a Republican stronghold, but he said some of the methods might not work in other counties in the district.
“They are all marching forward in ways that they think can help the district,” Duncan said.”
Get that? The GOP District Chair says that “methods” like public debates “might not work in other counties”. Which counties might those be? It looks to me as though the District Chair is having no success in coordinating his county chairs, even so far as to help their Republican candidates raise name recognition. With the 2008 11th District Republican Party Convention approaching, I’m looking forward to seeing the Republican infighting become even more public.
Looks like Shuler will be coasting to re-election.
Jeff Hunt Rumor Surfaces in Print
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Scrutiny Hooligans broke the story that Jeff Hunt was considering a run for Heath Shuler’s Congressional seat in 2008. As Charles Taylor neither shat nor got off his pot for months, both Hunt and the other erstwhile challenger, Tom Apodaca, decided they couldn’t wait around for the inert Taylor. They both jumped ship, but an article in yesterday’s Hendersonville Times-News suggests that Hunt and Apodaca are having second thoughts.
“There is also the chance that the Republican primary field in 11th Congressional District is not finalized. Some have speculated that District Attorney Jeff Hunt or state Sen. Tom Apodaca might jump into the race with Taylor bowing out.
“I think it will be a big question if either of them throw their names into the hat,” Armor said.”
If I were Hunt, I’d definitely jump into the race. The less-than-stellar trio running now would likely wilt under his massive fundraising possibilities. Hunt is a part of the Charles Taylor political machine and could ask him to call in hundreds of favors accumulated over his 16 disgraceful years in Congress.
With quotes like these in the HT-N, it seems impossible we won’t get more choices:
“It think it is helpful for him [Taylor] to have made a decision,” Mumpower said. “It cleared some of the fog. And fog can distract from a campaign.”
[...]
“Armor said he is the most experienced candidate and has worked at all three levels of government. He said he was confident he could defeat Shuler in a face-to-face debate.“I will beat Heath Shuler like a rented mule,” Armor said.
[...]
“”I am coming at this a political unknown,” Campbell said. “My gut feeling is people are responding to my message.”
For those of you keeping score:
- Mumpower = fog
- Armor = mule
- Campbell = gut
Apodaca never really made any serious noises about running, so I’m doubting the likelihood of either of them jumping in, assuming instead that this question from the reporter is just an example of operating from news that is so four months ago.
It’s good to stay on top of this sort of thing though. One never knows when a protege will flip-flop and invent a Taylor 2.0 machine to create a new generation of bad advertisements and smears. Otherwise we’ll settle for watching fog, mule, or gut vie for the privilege of getting his ass handed to him by Deputy Whip Largely.
And There Was Much Rejoicing
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All indications had disgraced former Representative Charles Taylor withdrawing from the race. He was soundly defeated by Shuler last November. Months ago he shut down the traditional fundraising arm of his operation. No one has been calling on him to run again. The rank-and-file Republican Party members have publicly expressed their frustration over Taylor’s unwillingness to declare his intentions.
I’m sure there’s a little context missing, but I’m also sure you can invent the questions that elicited this response from Taylor to AC-T journalist, Clarke Morrison:
“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?†[Taylor] said. “I’ve got my own agenda now. I’ve got lots of business I have to look after. I may take a look at it the future.â€
There have been lots of Republicans who wish Taylor would have told them his “agenda” months ago. Both Tom Apodaca and Jeff Hunt looked at running but couldn’t wait on Taylor to get off his lumpy throne. The two recognized that, with Taylor’s coquettish strategy of waiting to see if Shuler would flame out or get recruited for a Senate run, they wouldn’t be able to raise the money necessary to effectively challenge Big Heath.
Scrutiny Hooligans are glad to see that Charles has finally decided to end his evasive, diffident, cynical non-candidacy in favor of all that “business” he has to “look after”. Whether he’s in Russia clearcutting forests or in Brevard managing the Bi-Lo, we wish Charles Taylor a peaceful retirement into western North Carolina history. In honor of the occasion, and with the knowledge that it may arguably be the last time I’ll can use them topically – Here are “Desperation” and “Peanut Butter Charlie Time”:
The Return of the Lump??!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s a good thing that at least one of the ScruHoo crew are sticking around town this weekend, monitoring RSS feeds in between brining turkey breasts and other holiday prepwork, not to mention occasional Wii breaks… the inimitable Ashvegas has the scoop on the possible return of an all-too-familiar face:
It appears that former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor might be prepared to break his silence over whether he’ll run again next year for the 11th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, who upset Taylor in last year’s elections.
Taylor announced today that his annual fund-raising holiday dinner would be held Dec. 8 at the Grove Park Inn at 7 p.m. The announcement also notes that Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have been invited to speak. Taylor’s folks say Huckabee has accepted and Thompson is a good possibility. That’s some serious star power.
The last several months, Taylor has angered some members of his own party by not yet announcing his intentions earlier. Several other Republican candidates have stepped in to fill the perceived void. Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower, former Henderson County GOP official Spence Campbell and lawyer John Armor have all said they’re running for the GOP nomination and the chance to take on Shuler.
Charles Taylor, you complete us! Like Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes, like Mr. Pibb to Dr. Pepper, like Wo Fat to Steve McGarrett (look it up), maybe we need the additional dramatic element of an arch-nemesis to make things a little more exciting around here! (Okay, my wife just told me that I’m being silly and that I should probably go to bed…)
Anyway, click here to check out the rest of Ash’s post. He’s standing by his prediction that Taylor will run again. We’re not so sure over here, for several reasons that I would love to get into but can’t right now because I’ve been awake since 4:30 this morning and Mr. Sandman is currently beating the crap out of me. Time will tell. The kibble that we have on Taylor has made its own gravy by now, and we’ll have no problem serving it up again if necessary.
