WataugaWatch

The Smell Test

2008-05-09T08:26:00.002-05:00

We appreciate postings by Watauga County economic development officer Joe Furman on the thread down-column ("Raising Eyebrows"), trying to clarify the announced scheme to bail out Tweetsie Railroad with county funds ... explanations that prompt more questions.

Our skepticism about corporate welfare still stands.

Our biggest question today: since the non-profits that provide valuable services to Watauga County (child-care, stray animal rescue, family crisis assistance, etc.) are required (aren't they?) to provide financial statements to the County Commission when requesting modest grants, and these financial statements become part of the public record (do they not?), has Tweetsie Railroad been asked for financial disclosure, and if so, is that report available for public inspection?

Otherwise, the fragrance this deal gives off is something short of roses.

Patrick McHenry's Next Big Challenge

2008-05-08T09:11:00.002-05:00

Daniel Johnson, the victorious 10th District Democratic congressional candidate, gets star treatment in today's Hickory Daily Record, and for good reason. Decorated military hero, a rising professional, and a proven fund-raiser. "Johnson is viewed as having the background, character and charisma to attract voters," writes Andrew Mackie.

What more could you ask for, other than a congressional district with a little more partisan balance, but Johnson has an admirable history of playing the hand he's dealt, and playing it well.

Meanwhile, the incumbent congressman is looking a little like unrefrigerated meat.

Raising Eyebrows

2008-05-07T13:50:00.005-05:00

We've generally viewed governmental subsidies of corporations along with governmental bail-outs and governmental inducements granted to private business interests with a skeptical eye.

So the recent headline in the Watauga Democrat, "County and Tweetsie may go into special partnership," got our undivided attention.

What we see there is that "the county would buy land to support the theme park in exchange for a long-term commitment to keep the business operating" (a projected pay-out of $3.15 million of county money) and "the county would also provide marketing money over the next six years" ($150,000).

The $3.15 million might be viewed as a legitimate investment with potential for eventual earnings (though the land deal is complicated by token rental charges of one buck a year to Tweetsie for six years, to be followed by rental "at market prices" until Tweetsie can maybe buy the property, which might amount to a few too many ifs, ands, and buts). The $150,000 for marketing would be an outright "grant" to the Tweetsie owners.

The County Commission has scheduled a public hearing on May 20 about this corporate welfare. Seems like many questions should be asked.

Gender Solidarity

2008-05-07T13:14:00.003-05:00

This post on Under the Dome goes a long way toward explaining the Diane Hamby numbers in the NC-5 Democratic congressional primary yesterday.

1. Hillary Clinton drew many women to the polls yesterday who had medium to low information about any other races on the Democratic ballot.

2. Many of those women went through the ballot marking the candidates who could be identified by gender.

3. Dome finds the drop-off in votes in state-wide races where no woman was running highly significant.

Watauga, Purple in a Sea of Pink

2008-05-07T12:54:00.003-05:00

That's little ole Watauga County (and Buncombe further south) colored Obama purple, floating in that wash of Clinton pink (or is it salmon?).

Thought you might get a kick out of seeing what a sore thumb Watauga is.

Winners, Losers, and Big Losers

2008-05-07T09:28:00.005-05:00

Say it once and don't say it again: it was a very big night for the Barack Obama campaign, a disastrous night for Hillary. And can we put aside the supposed black/white gulf, when lily-white Watauga County went for Obama by a greater percentage than the rest of the state? This despite the stumping of Bubba through our neck of the woods. Buncombe County, which hosted visits by all three Clintons, went for Obama by over 54%. So much for the "Clinton magic" in western North Carolina (and in rural America generally).

Other Big Winners
Walter Dalton, who won outright in a four-way race for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Gov. Just about everyone was predicting a run-off.

Pat McCrory, who won outright in the Republican primary for NC Gov. Beverly Perdue has now a far tougher row to hoe.

The 40+ NC mayors, including Boone's own Loretta Clawson, who endorsed Barack Obama.

Losers
Republican Appeals Court Judge John Tyson, who was knocked out in this primary by two Democratic candidates, who will now have to face each other in November: Kristin Ruth and the grandson of Sen. Sam Ervin.

Poor Fred Smith, whom we were rooting for, who proved (once again?) that free barbecue can't compete with expensive political consultants.

Congressman Patrick McHenry, who though he beat back the challenge from fellow Republican Lance Sigmon, appears to be damaged goods and must now face a gen-you-wine military hero in Democrat Daniel Johnson come November. Sigmon said prior to yesterday that he would never endorse McHenry.

Jerry Butler. What's the deal with Jerry Butler? Why did his home county of Watauga not vote for him in his win in the Republican primary for the NC-45 state senate race? Inquiring minds want to know what the home-town Republican voters were thinking.

Big Losers
Linda Daves and the North Carolina GOP. Their big negative ad against Obama -- the "eeek, a scary black man" TV spot -- did not work in a state where it might predictably have had some effect. Not only have the state Republicans looked craven and desperate to a national audience; they've also effectively slammed the door on reaching out to under-30 voters, who (1) can't countenance the theatrical incompetence of the Bush administration and (2) have apparently grown more mature than their tiresomely racist elders in the South.

Some Watauga Numbers

2008-05-06T21:33:00.003-05:00

On the Democratic side, Obama won his match-up with Clinton in early voting, where some 3,185 votes were cast (including mail-in absentees), 1,974 of those for Obama to 1,174 for Clinton. That winning margin for Obama could not be overcome in precinct voting today, even though 11 of 20 precincts today went for Clinton.

Generally speaking, Clinton was strongest in the more rural parts of the county but not everywhere. For example, Elk and North Fork tipped to Obama. Watauga precinct (Foscoe and Valle Crucis) went for Obama. The three Boone precincts and New River 1 went for Obama. Blowing Rock and Blue Ridge turned in dead-even ties between Clinton and Obama.

Fifth Dist. congressional candidate Roy Carter carried Watauga by some 1,300 votes but appears to be slightly behind Diane Hamby district-wide (as of this writing).

U.S. senatorial candidate Jim Neal had an impressive showing in Watauga (2,291 votes), though he lost to Kay Hagan by a thousand votes in the county and to Hagan state-wide by a huge margin. Watauga was probably one of his best counties, perhaps because he made two visits here prior to the voting.

Likewise, Dan Besse came in second to Walter Dalton in Watauga. Good showing for Besse here, while he was losing the rest of the state.

On the Republican side, the most astounding local numbers were local dentist Jerry Butler's loss of his own county to Alexander Co. resident Dwight Shook in the State Senate Dist. 45 primary. Shades of Virginia Foxx! Butler can't carry his own county but wins the district and will be facing incumbent Senator Steve Goss this fall.

Oh, and Ron Paul didn't win the Republican presidential primary, though with 367 Watauga votes, he did out-poll "No Preference."

A total of 2,660 Republican ballots were cast, to 7,081 Democratic ballots. That may turn out to be the most significant bellwether of the night.

Watauga Goes for Obama

2008-05-06T20:16:00.000-05:00

Final numbers for Watauga:

Clinton 3,645
Obama 4,570

Watauga County's Newest Commissioner

2008-05-06T19:29:00.004-05:00

By winning the Democratic Primary, looks like Tim Futrelle, 33, will be Watauga's newest (and youngest) county commissioner. The only numbers in the race we've seen so far are the early voting numbers, which Futrelle won by an overwhelming margin.

At half the age of most of our commissioners, Futrelle will certainly bring a fresh new perspective to county government.

By not contesting the seat in the fall election, the Republicans simply threw in the towel, and prematurely.

Signs

2008-05-06T12:27:00.002-05:00

Word from several Watauga County precincts this a.m. says that the Republicans are AWOL. No poll-greeters spotted for any Republican candidates, not even Paularoids (though, clearly, from the count of yard signs alone, Ron Paul is in the lead for the Republican presidential nomination. Apparently, true Paularoids are expecting a Big Uprising at the Republican National Convention this summer that will reject John McCain and sweep Ron Paul into the nomination. BTW, we want whatever it is they're smoking).

The most active Democratic campaigns locally -- from an unscientific count of poll-greeters working key precincts this morning -- would be the Bev Perdue campaign, Team Roy Carter, the Tim Futrelle committee, and both the Clinton and the Obama campaigns.

Turn-out has been steady though not in the overwhelming numbers we've seen reported from other parts of the state.

Cass Ballenger ... Befuddled?

2008-05-06T09:36:00.003-05:00

Former Republican Congressman Cass Ballenger of the NC-10 has evidently now endorsed BOTH incumbent Congressman Patrick McHenry AND his primary challenger Lance Sigmon ... at least that's the most sense we can make out of this Hickory Daily Record article.

Reporter Andrew Mackie dangles this further bait on his blog about the charges and counter-charges flying about who or what Ballenger has endorsed: "The past three days rate among the strangest in my journalism career. I'm afraid ethical restraints and a multitude of off-the-record discussions keep me from elaborating."

"Cass-gate." Oh my.

But, really, don't tell us you have dirt to dish and then don't dish it.

The strangest paragraph in the Daily Record story: "In his taped message, Ballenger mentions he voted for McHenry, but changed his allegiance after new information came to light. No one in either camp would go on the record about what information Ballenger was referring to in the message."

Most insiders with knowledge of the big wheels that turn the NCGOP expect McHenry to win this primary ... which, after all, might be the best outcome for that young ex-military man Daniel Johnson who'll likely be the Democrat running for the NC-10 seat come November.

With Cass Ballenger getting such a public case of the political dry heaves over McHenry on Primary Day spells big trouble for the congressman.

The Rumble

2008-05-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

Long lines reported at 6:30 a.m. this morning in some North Carolina precincts, particularly in urban areas and most particularly in heavily Democratic areas.

Happened to catch Robert Pittenger's TV ad last night, as I was sinking into a late-primary-campaign coma. Pittenger is projected to win the Republican lieutenant governor primary today. In his ad he attacks wasteful spending in Raleigh and mentions prominently as an example Madam Virginia Foxx's Teapot Museum in Sparta, to which the state government contributed (according to the ad) some $400,000. Isn't it a case of mixed messages when one Republican candidate uses another Republican office-holder's pet project (can you spell "e.a.r.m.a.r.k."?) as an example of out-of-control Democratic spending? Or is it just plain ole vanilla incompetence?

Cass Ballenger Endorses McHenry's Challenger

2008-05-05T09:45:00.003-05:00

The tide among Republican Party bigwigs in the NC-10 seems to be turning decisively against little Patty McHenry. The former Republican congressman from that district, the man whom McHenry replaced, Cass Ballenger, has endorsed McHenry's challenger, Lance Sigmon.

Tomorrow may be a looong day for McHenry.

The Hazards of Any Crystal Ball

2008-05-05T08:30:00.002-05:00

Dr. Stephen Gheen, an editor at The Political Junkies and an avowed Hillary Clinton supporter, has sent out an e-mail analyzing voter turn-out in North Carolina's early-voting period (sorry, no link). He says Obama is winning the early vote by 57% to Hillary's 43%.

Analyzing hard data supplied by the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Gheen reports that some 333,000+ North Carolina voters cast votes in early voting through last Saturday at 1 p.m. Get this: some 63% of all votes cast in early voting were cast by women; 44% of early voters were black, a performance that runs 10% higher than normal.

Gheen's prediction that Obama wins North Carolina easily is based on the following assumptions:

1. Obama receives 90% of all Black votes

2. The small block of Asian voters breaks 60% to Clinton

3. American Indian/Native Alaskans break for Clinton with 55%

4. Clinton receives 70% of all White voters

5. Undesignated voters break 55% to Clinton

We're not sure what Gheen means by "Undesignated voters." Apparently, he is not referring to Unaffiliated voters, because later in his e-mail he says:

The analysis above includes ONLY Democrats early voting. The composition does not include Unaffiliated voters who may choose to vote in the Democratic Primary in NC. Some 61,000 Unaffiliated voters requested a ballot for the Democratic Primary. Sen. Obama has generally performed better with Unaffiliated voters across the US than Sen. Clinton.

Despite whether his crystal ball is clouded or not, Gheen's numbers and projections make for interesting eve-of-the-primary reading.

A Bridge Too Far?

2008-05-05T07:50:00.002-05:00

"If it goes all the way to Denver, I don't think it would be bad for the party."

- Gov. Mike Easley, on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" (quoted in Under the Dome -- scroll to the bottom)

Spoken like a man who endorsed the woman who apparently intends to restage The Siege of Corinth, with plenty of blood.

ASU and an Ex-President

2008-05-04T18:07:00.002-05:00

Faculty members at Appalachian State University, and some astute students too, were asking questions last week that are both pertinent and ... no surprise here ... unanswered by the ASU administration. As we have learned over many months now, the current leaders of that institution are not in the habit of stooping to answer questions from mere mortals.

1. The visit of ex-President Bill Clinton to the ASU campus last week went unacknowledged on the ASU website and unannounced on the general-alert e-mail system.

2. A large and offensive photographic display, featuring billboard-size blowups of aborted fetuses, attempting to equate abortion with genocide was announced (and some say promoted) through the ASU e-mail server to all subscribers.

3. When some asked administration officials about this puzzling disparity, the only official response we've seen said it would be inappropriate for the university to use the e-mail system to "promote a political candidate." Apparently, an announcement that an ex-President of the United States would be visiting campus would constitute promotion of a political candidate, while promotion of an anti-abortion display would not be a political statement. Well, okay then.

4. What do you call an institution that couldn't find its ass with both hands and a head-start?

5. Graduating editor of The Appalachian newspaper, Clair Baxter, perhaps feeling finally beyond the range of institutional recrimination, was courageous enough to ask some highly pertinent questions and, wisely, did not tarry for answers:

A club can sponsor a potentially offensive “Genocide Awareness” group to come fill the center of campus with billboards of unborn children while our faculty members are being asked to remove books and posters from their office walls for fear they may offend one student somewhere down the road.

Is there a double standard here?

Do we believe in free speech or not?

I think as a university we need to do some self-reflection.

Not What Limbaugh Had in Mind

2008-05-04T11:45:00.002-05:00

Shirley Morgan, an Indiana Republican from a "staunch Republican family," who's voted Republican in every presidential election since she was old enough to vote for Richard Nixon in 1972 ... is campaigning in her heavily Republican suburb of Indianapolis for ... Barack Obama.

She's profiled, along with other party-switching Republicans, in Saturday's NewYorkTimes.

Rush Limbaugh's daily radio stumping for Hillary, to throw a monkey-wrench into any projected Democratic sweep in November, worries some people, but not me.

Republican voters interviewed for the Times article "said that Mr. Limbaugh was not a factor in their decision to vote in the Democratic primary, and that it was the issues that propelled them."

Limbaugh's urging of Republicans to vote for Hillary is purely an exercise in the negative, and though there are no doubt some handful of dark personalities who might vote in a Democratic primary and chuckle about the havoc they're causing, I don't think most people are motivated to throw away their vote out of pure hostility. Not this year anyway.

Anyway, eventually, when this looong primary season is over for the Democrats, the spotlight is going to shift back to John McCain and what sort of mortal he is and what sort of president he'll make. Limbaugh would clearly like to keep the spotlight on Clinton and off those other age spots.

Razzberries

2008-05-04T10:56:00.002-05:00

We finally climbed out of the hole we fell into. While we were down there in the dark, the world continued whirling. And what a world it is, too!

1. Some parents (and we assume their children, though that's not certain) vehemently opposed the Day of Silence at the local high school, not because they're afraid their kids will turn G.A.Y. but because they're afraid their kids might actually be K.I.N.D. to a gay ("Opposing Day of Silence"). These people will not be voting for Obama.

2. Mighty prayers were prayed in an effort to intimidate the Boone Town Council, not because the Council has the power to legislate liquor by the drink in Boone but because the Council has the power to let the voters of Boone vote on that decision. Mighty BLOODY prayers, at that. "Blood will be on your hands," they exhorted. We'll go ahead and take this bet: that these were not preachers who likewise cared about blood on leaders' hands when it came to Iraq (but let's not confuse the truly earth-shattering -- the privilege to VOTE for/against booze -- with the merely trivial -- preemptive warfare). The prominent leader of the political action committee, Citizens for Change, is a prominent leader of the No Booze in Boone group (let's go ahead and call it "Dry Aggression"). Incidentally, if the citizens are given the right to vote, I'll be voting "no," while reflecting on the ineffable mysteries of both prayer and the dangerous freedoms of democracy.

3. Gov. Mike Easley has made a kind of monument of himself for NOT attending North Carolina Democratic Party activities, for dissing party leaders, and for generally sticking his thumb in the pie. So he attends and speaks at Friday night's big Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Raleigh (with the biggest attendance in history) at the Dorton Arena and is BOOED by the crowd. Not just booed but greeted by "lusty boos" that continued while he spoke (according to Rob Christensen). Some thought the booing was because of Easley's endorsement of Hillary Clinton earlier in the week. More likely, it was cumulative booing for 7+ years of frustration. Personally, I'd like to believe that a few of those party razzberries referenced the N.C. lottery, that great improvement to state government engineered by The Guv, but maybe it was the shoes.

This Afternoon in Boone

2008-04-29T22:36:00.002-05:00

Paularoid Bitter-Enders Get a Bitter End

2008-04-29T08:52:00.003-05:00

The Nevada state Republican Party convention last Saturday became a virtual donnybrook as Ron Paul supporters actually out-numbered McCain people and threatened to overturn the preferred slate of delegates to the National Republican Convention ... when the convention was abruptly adjourned.

Too much democracy has always given Republican big-wigs the vapors.

Easley To the Rescue

2008-04-29T07:52:00.003-05:00

Gov. No-Show endorsed Hillary Clinton this a.m., or is going to endorse her this a.m.

One source says the endorsement might take place at a public rally at N.C. State University, but another says it will be closed to the public. The second sounds more like the guv we've come to expect.

Meanwhile, Public Policy Polling shows momentum in Clinton's direction among white voters. Huge surprise, that.

Bill Clinton at Varsity Gym Tomorrow

2008-04-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

Just received this word ... that ex-President Bill Clinton will be speaking at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, in Varsity Gym. All students and community members are invited to attend this free event.

Bill Clinton in Boone Tuesday Afternoon?

2008-04-27T21:07:00.001-05:00

Emissaries from the Clinton campaign were putting out feelers Sunday, looking for a suitable venue for a free public event in Boone for ex-Prez Bill Clinton, after, we assume, lunch at Westglo.

It Isn't Breakfast Any More

2008-04-25T17:14:00.003-05:00

What we earlier reported, that you could have a $500 breakfast with President Bill Clinton at Westglow Spa in Blowing Rock next Tuesday, has now become a $500 "luncheon reception" at 1 p.m. on the same day. Please contact Ben Pollara at (305) 989-4901.

Put a Condom on That Boondoggle

2008-04-25T10:58:00.003-05:00

Madam Virginia Foxx was doing her I'm-more-pious-than-a-stack-of-Baptist-preachers act yesterday in a four-hour House Oversight Committee hearing about whether government money might better be spent on giving teenagers actual information on birth control and the prevention of STDs or (better) keep stuffing tax dollars into the wacko fantasy of "abstinence only."

And if hearing Virginia Foxx preach that "a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of sexual activity" doesn't give you vertigo, or uncontrollable giggles, then you're either carved out of granite or don't know your local history.

Foxx, along with other Congressional conservatives, want to make sure that no government money goes to explain accurately what a condom is for. No, better to give $176 million to ideological and religion-driven "abstinence only" programs that have no scientific basis and have been repeatedly proven to be totally useless and -- like Madam Foxx herself -- laughable.