Published by High Country Press
Oct. 14, 2010
By Anna Oakes
At a debate in West Jefferson Tuesday, Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx called the 2010 mid-term election “the most important election in my lifetime” and often blamed Democrats for the country’s economic woes, while her opponent, Democrat Billy Kennedy, attempted to paint Foxx as a career politician beholden to corporate interests and vowed to put people over corporations.
The 90-minute debate, hosted by the New River Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), took place at the Ashe Civic Center in West Jefferson. The two candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives seat representing North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District fielded questions from a panel of three local media professionals.
Click here to read full article.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Foxx, Kennedy Debate Issues
Published by the Jefferson Post
On Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010
By Linda Burchette
WEST JEFFERSON -- Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and her Democratic challenger, Billy Kennedy, took every opportunity at Tuesday night’s forum to make clear the differences between them. By Wednesday morning, Foxx’s website was claiming debate victory for the six-year incumbent, but judging by the crowd’s reactions last night Kennedy appeared to be the favorite.
Conducted by the New River Chapter of the Military Officers’ Association of America (MOAA), the forum took place at Ashe Civic Center, with questions submitted by the public and presented by a panel of journalists. Topics included jobs, environment, healthcare, immigration and the economy.
Click here to read full article.
On Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010
By Linda Burchette
WEST JEFFERSON -- Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and her Democratic challenger, Billy Kennedy, took every opportunity at Tuesday night’s forum to make clear the differences between them. By Wednesday morning, Foxx’s website was claiming debate victory for the six-year incumbent, but judging by the crowd’s reactions last night Kennedy appeared to be the favorite.
Conducted by the New River Chapter of the Military Officers’ Association of America (MOAA), the forum took place at Ashe Civic Center, with questions submitted by the public and presented by a panel of journalists. Topics included jobs, environment, healthcare, immigration and the economy.
Click here to read full article.
Billy Kennedy: This One Could Surprise Us
Posted by BlueAmerica on October 13, 2010
Dear Friend,
The most appealing things about the Dean tenure's 50 state strategy was the idea that you never know what might happen in any campaign so it was best to be prepared and at least nominally support candidates everywhere just in case the brilliant electoral prognosticators in DC might not always know ahead of time who is and isn't "unelectable." (I can't help but think that if these people were so damned good at picking winners, we wouldn't find ourselves on the brink of electoral disaster quite as often as we do.) So, it's been left to the progressive netroots and grassroots to try to give some of these candidates a little support to make up for the fact that the party refuses to even spend a penny to help them out.
Aside from the important work of spreading the good word and building movement politics for the long term, sometimes unexpected things do happen. For instance, Blue America candidate Billy Kennedy, who is challenging the intellectually challenged Virginia Foxx in NC-05, may just pull this thing out despite the fact that the DCCC has behaved as if the loony Republican is impossible to beat. The major newspaper of the district, the Winston-Salem Journal, which normally endorses Republicans, came out for Kennedy this past week-end and made a very good case for his election:
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It’s time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he’ll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He’s the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District.
Blue America has raised money this year to run some ads against Foxx and they've upset the poor delicate hate merchant so much she sent out a letter to her constituents to beg them for help: Several liberal organizations have coordinated with our opponent’s campaign to run some personal attack ads against Congresswoman Foxx. You may have seen these disgusting ads. Instead of condemning these ugly attacks, our opponent’s campaign praised them and said that Foxx supporters don’t have a brain or a heart. These types of attacks really cross the line.
That's right, the woman who said on the floor of the House (in the presence of his mother) that the Matthew Shepard hate crime was a hoax is complaining that our ads "cross the line."
Want to help us run some more?
So far our ad has only run in the suburbs of Winston-Salem. Help us raise the money we need to run it across the district between now and election day. Think of how sweet it would be on November 3 to wake up without Virginia Foxx's brand of rancid hate mongering in Washington. And the DCCC will not lift a finger to help. Will you?
It could happen.
Thanks again for doing what you can,
Digby, John, Howie and the Blue America team
Dear Friend,
The most appealing things about the Dean tenure's 50 state strategy was the idea that you never know what might happen in any campaign so it was best to be prepared and at least nominally support candidates everywhere just in case the brilliant electoral prognosticators in DC might not always know ahead of time who is and isn't "unelectable." (I can't help but think that if these people were so damned good at picking winners, we wouldn't find ourselves on the brink of electoral disaster quite as often as we do.) So, it's been left to the progressive netroots and grassroots to try to give some of these candidates a little support to make up for the fact that the party refuses to even spend a penny to help them out.
Aside from the important work of spreading the good word and building movement politics for the long term, sometimes unexpected things do happen. For instance, Blue America candidate Billy Kennedy, who is challenging the intellectually challenged Virginia Foxx in NC-05, may just pull this thing out despite the fact that the DCCC has behaved as if the loony Republican is impossible to beat. The major newspaper of the district, the Winston-Salem Journal, which normally endorses Republicans, came out for Kennedy this past week-end and made a very good case for his election:
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It’s time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he’ll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He’s the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District.
Blue America has raised money this year to run some ads against Foxx and they've upset the poor delicate hate merchant so much she sent out a letter to her constituents to beg them for help: Several liberal organizations have coordinated with our opponent’s campaign to run some personal attack ads against Congresswoman Foxx. You may have seen these disgusting ads. Instead of condemning these ugly attacks, our opponent’s campaign praised them and said that Foxx supporters don’t have a brain or a heart. These types of attacks really cross the line.
That's right, the woman who said on the floor of the House (in the presence of his mother) that the Matthew Shepard hate crime was a hoax is complaining that our ads "cross the line."
Want to help us run some more?
So far our ad has only run in the suburbs of Winston-Salem. Help us raise the money we need to run it across the district between now and election day. Think of how sweet it would be on November 3 to wake up without Virginia Foxx's brand of rancid hate mongering in Washington. And the DCCC will not lift a finger to help. Will you?
It could happen.
Thanks again for doing what you can,
Digby, John, Howie and the Blue America team
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
WXII-TV reports on Kennedy-Foxx debate
Published at WXII12.com
October 13, 2010
The only debate in the 5th District Congressional race took place Tuesday night between the Republican incumbent Virginia Foxx and Democrat Billy Kennedy. (Click here to watch news report).
October 13, 2010
The only debate in the 5th District Congressional race took place Tuesday night between the Republican incumbent Virginia Foxx and Democrat Billy Kennedy. (Click here to watch news report).
Newcomer Kennedy Wins Debate Versus Incumbent Foxx
WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. -- Kennedy Beats Foxx in First Debate
Billy Kennedy, candidate for US House (NC, 5th District) came out swinging at his debate with incumbent Congresswoman Virginia Foxx tonight at the Ashe County Civic Center. The standing-room-only crowd seemed to agree that Kennedy had won the night.
When asked by the panel about ideas for new technologies and energy sources, Rep. Foxx responded that there was plenty of oil and coal, denied that there was any shortage of resources, saying "that God gave us the earth's resources to use, and we should use them." Kennedy replied, "My dad was a minister, but I think the good Lord gave us brains and the ability to be a part of this society."
"Professional politicians really don't know how to get the job done," Kennedy added.
Kennedy hammered at Foxx for her reliance on corporate money, saying she was "beholden" to the special interests that were funding her campaigns. He pointed to the audience and said, "Send a working man to Washington, one who doesn't owe anything to anyone except to you."
When Foxx said she supported continued tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs to distant shores and supported unlimited and anonymous buying of campaigns by corporations, Kennedy said that's because these same companies were buying Foxx's votes: "When these companies give a candidate, like my opponent, a check for $5,000, they expect $50,000 or $100,000 in return."
When Foxx said the federal government has no business involving itself in education, Kennedy responded that the states couldn't handle the infrastructure and educational needs of students, and that students, teachers, and the nation's future would suffer. Kennedy pointed out that Foxx had even voted against the federal school lunch program.
Foxx said that she knew all about farming and had just eaten fresh green beans and potatoes last night. Kennedy related his own farm wisdom. "I'm concerned about the amount of manure that's being piled on the people of the 5th District."
Kennedy grabbed the upper hand on issues that might be considered safe harbor for a self-professed "conservative" candidate. When Foxx said she didn't support Roe v. Wade, Kennedy reminded her it was the law of the land and that America was a nation of laws.
Debate attendees cheered and applauded as Kennedy took down each of Foxx's talking points one by one, with wit, humor, and respect. The overflow crowd at the Ashe Civic Center did not take kindly to Foxx's declaration that she would do everything she could in Congress to see that the health-insurance reform law was repealed. The crowd actually booed her. When Foxx claimed that there were no terrorist attacks during the presidency of George W. Bush, people in the audience began yelling out "9/11?"
Rep. Foxx seemed genuinely shocked that the audience was not with her. The greatest shock, no doubt, was that she found herself completely undone by a farmer from Bethel.
Billy Kennedy, candidate for US House (NC, 5th District) came out swinging at his debate with incumbent Congresswoman Virginia Foxx tonight at the Ashe County Civic Center. The standing-room-only crowd seemed to agree that Kennedy had won the night.
When asked by the panel about ideas for new technologies and energy sources, Rep. Foxx responded that there was plenty of oil and coal, denied that there was any shortage of resources, saying "that God gave us the earth's resources to use, and we should use them." Kennedy replied, "My dad was a minister, but I think the good Lord gave us brains and the ability to be a part of this society."
"Professional politicians really don't know how to get the job done," Kennedy added.
Kennedy hammered at Foxx for her reliance on corporate money, saying she was "beholden" to the special interests that were funding her campaigns. He pointed to the audience and said, "Send a working man to Washington, one who doesn't owe anything to anyone except to you."
When Foxx said she supported continued tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs to distant shores and supported unlimited and anonymous buying of campaigns by corporations, Kennedy said that's because these same companies were buying Foxx's votes: "When these companies give a candidate, like my opponent, a check for $5,000, they expect $50,000 or $100,000 in return."
When Foxx said the federal government has no business involving itself in education, Kennedy responded that the states couldn't handle the infrastructure and educational needs of students, and that students, teachers, and the nation's future would suffer. Kennedy pointed out that Foxx had even voted against the federal school lunch program.
Foxx said that she knew all about farming and had just eaten fresh green beans and potatoes last night. Kennedy related his own farm wisdom. "I'm concerned about the amount of manure that's being piled on the people of the 5th District."
Kennedy grabbed the upper hand on issues that might be considered safe harbor for a self-professed "conservative" candidate. When Foxx said she didn't support Roe v. Wade, Kennedy reminded her it was the law of the land and that America was a nation of laws.
Debate attendees cheered and applauded as Kennedy took down each of Foxx's talking points one by one, with wit, humor, and respect. The overflow crowd at the Ashe Civic Center did not take kindly to Foxx's declaration that she would do everything she could in Congress to see that the health-insurance reform law was repealed. The crowd actually booed her. When Foxx claimed that there were no terrorist attacks during the presidency of George W. Bush, people in the audience began yelling out "9/11?"
Rep. Foxx seemed genuinely shocked that the audience was not with her. The greatest shock, no doubt, was that she found herself completely undone by a farmer from Bethel.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Winston-Salem Journal: Billy Kennedy for Congress
Published Oct. 11, 2010
Winston-Salem Journal
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It’s time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he’ll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He’s the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District.
“I’d like to make Congress work,” Kennedy, 52, recently told the Journal. “I believe with the bickering going on, they’re not solving problems.”
We endorsed Foxx, 67, in the Republican primary as she ran against an opponent less qualified than Kennedy. Her constituent service is strong, we noted, and we’ve occasionally praised her on this page, as when she sponsored a bill that tweaked the federal tax code so that troops stationed overseas can invest their income in individual retirement accounts.
While fiscal conservatism is good, Foxx, who is finishing her third term, has been too tight with the federal purse strings. For example, she does not support the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act, which would allocate $75 million over the next five years to preserve land along the parkway. Foxx has said she’d normally support such a measure, but not in the current economic times. But the parkway, a major cash cow of the state’s tourism industry, brings in more money in a single year — $2.1 billion dollars, through 17 million visitors — than the cost of the entire act. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican who also touts fiscal conservatism, realized that when he crossed the aisle to sponsor the protection act with Sen. Kay Hagan.
Then there are Foxx’ statements, which reflect a viewpoint far to the right of many of her constituents. Foxx, a former college educator and graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro, said on the House floor in January that the federal government “should not be funding education.”
Last November, she said on the floor that “I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have ... to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax-increase bill masquerading as a health-care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.” (In July of 2009, she had said the Republican version of the health-care plan is “pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.”)
In April 2009, she suggested to students at North Surry High School that tobacco was no worse than Mountain Dew. That same month, she said on the House floor that it was a “hoax” that Matthew Shepard’s 1998 killing in Wyoming had anything to do with him being gay.
She issued a quasi-apology for the Shepard statement, and she and her spokesman have sought to explain the other statements by contextualizing them. But the fact remains that she has continued to make such statements, the worst of which was comparing the potential danger of the health-care bill to terrorism. She’s positioned herself so far to the right that, even if her party regains a majority in the House with this election, it’s doubtful that she’d gain any power.
That said, Foxx will be hard to beat. Her district, which stretches from the mountains to Winston-Salem, is heavily Republican. She has more than $1 million in campaign money. Kennedy, making his first run for office, has raised about $240,000.
But Kennedy, a graduate of what’s now Rhodes College in Memphis, says he has a good chance of beating Foxx. He’s getting his message out through canvassing and calling, supported by a small but dedicated core of volunteers working Facebook and Twitter. The 5th District has one of the highest rates of job losses of any district in the country, he said, and people want a candidate who will work hard to create jobs.
“I worry about the middle class getting squeezed. People are suffering,” he recently told the Journal. “They’re worried about losing their homes. People are hurting and they want solutions.”
Kennedy says he’s a good listener, a man who can work with Republicans to solve problems. He’s more even-tempered than Foxx. He says he wants to concentrate on creating jobs and improving education, rather than wedge issues such as gay rights. He wants to take away profit motives to ship jobs overseas by giving tax incentives to companies that hire and keep American workers. Tax incentives for new technology will help as well, he said, as will putting more money into alternative forms of energy. He realizes that money for efforts such as the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act is money well spent.
Kennedy said that he sees running for office “as a chance to serve others.”
The Journal endorses Billy Kennedy for the 5th District congressional seat.
In the 12th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Mel Watt faces challenges from Libertarian Lon Cecil of High Point and Republican Greg Dority of Washington, N.C., (Members of the House of Representatives are not required to live in their districts.) Mel Watt, a good congressman, is the best choice by far in this race.
Winston-Salem Journal
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Watauga County, has not achieved any great accomplishments for the residents of the 5th Congressional District, and has angered and embarrassed many with her sometimes wild statements that seem designed to provoke. It’s time for a fresh, progressive voice in the 5th District. We believe that Democrat Billy Kennedy, a Watauga farmer and carpenter who says he’ll work to reverse the high rate of unemployment in the district, is that voice. He’s the best candidate in the Nov. 2 election for the 5th District.
“I’d like to make Congress work,” Kennedy, 52, recently told the Journal. “I believe with the bickering going on, they’re not solving problems.”
We endorsed Foxx, 67, in the Republican primary as she ran against an opponent less qualified than Kennedy. Her constituent service is strong, we noted, and we’ve occasionally praised her on this page, as when she sponsored a bill that tweaked the federal tax code so that troops stationed overseas can invest their income in individual retirement accounts.
While fiscal conservatism is good, Foxx, who is finishing her third term, has been too tight with the federal purse strings. For example, she does not support the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act, which would allocate $75 million over the next five years to preserve land along the parkway. Foxx has said she’d normally support such a measure, but not in the current economic times. But the parkway, a major cash cow of the state’s tourism industry, brings in more money in a single year — $2.1 billion dollars, through 17 million visitors — than the cost of the entire act. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican who also touts fiscal conservatism, realized that when he crossed the aisle to sponsor the protection act with Sen. Kay Hagan.
Then there are Foxx’ statements, which reflect a viewpoint far to the right of many of her constituents. Foxx, a former college educator and graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro, said on the House floor in January that the federal government “should not be funding education.”
Last November, she said on the floor that “I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have ... to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax-increase bill masquerading as a health-care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.” (In July of 2009, she had said the Republican version of the health-care plan is “pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.”)
In April 2009, she suggested to students at North Surry High School that tobacco was no worse than Mountain Dew. That same month, she said on the House floor that it was a “hoax” that Matthew Shepard’s 1998 killing in Wyoming had anything to do with him being gay.
She issued a quasi-apology for the Shepard statement, and she and her spokesman have sought to explain the other statements by contextualizing them. But the fact remains that she has continued to make such statements, the worst of which was comparing the potential danger of the health-care bill to terrorism. She’s positioned herself so far to the right that, even if her party regains a majority in the House with this election, it’s doubtful that she’d gain any power.
That said, Foxx will be hard to beat. Her district, which stretches from the mountains to Winston-Salem, is heavily Republican. She has more than $1 million in campaign money. Kennedy, making his first run for office, has raised about $240,000.
But Kennedy, a graduate of what’s now Rhodes College in Memphis, says he has a good chance of beating Foxx. He’s getting his message out through canvassing and calling, supported by a small but dedicated core of volunteers working Facebook and Twitter. The 5th District has one of the highest rates of job losses of any district in the country, he said, and people want a candidate who will work hard to create jobs.
“I worry about the middle class getting squeezed. People are suffering,” he recently told the Journal. “They’re worried about losing their homes. People are hurting and they want solutions.”
Kennedy says he’s a good listener, a man who can work with Republicans to solve problems. He’s more even-tempered than Foxx. He says he wants to concentrate on creating jobs and improving education, rather than wedge issues such as gay rights. He wants to take away profit motives to ship jobs overseas by giving tax incentives to companies that hire and keep American workers. Tax incentives for new technology will help as well, he said, as will putting more money into alternative forms of energy. He realizes that money for efforts such as the Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act is money well spent.
Kennedy said that he sees running for office “as a chance to serve others.”
The Journal endorses Billy Kennedy for the 5th District congressional seat.
In the 12th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Mel Watt faces challenges from Libertarian Lon Cecil of High Point and Republican Greg Dority of Washington, N.C., (Members of the House of Representatives are not required to live in their districts.) Mel Watt, a good congressman, is the best choice by far in this race.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
URGENT TRAFFIC UPDATE FOR BROOKBERRY FARM EVENT
Due to a water main break in on Shallowford Road near the intersection of Country Club Road this afternoon, we are alerting our supporters attending the event at Brookberry Farm of new alternate directions below:
From Winston-Salem — Go onto US 421 West and take the Shallowford Road exit. Travel through Lewisville toward Winston-Salem on Shallowford Road. This will be about 5 miles. Once you pass Forsyth Country Day School, take Ketner Road on your left. Look for the Billy Kennedy signs and turn right onto the gravel road and follow up to the house.
From West of Winston-Salem — Come in on US 421 and take the Shallowford Road exit. Travel through Lewisville toward Winston-Salem on Shallowford Road. This will be about 5 miles. Once you pass Forsyth Country Day School, take Ketner Road on your left. Look for the Billy Kennedy signs and turn right onto the gravel road and follow up to the house.
From Winston-Salem — Go onto US 421 West and take the Shallowford Road exit. Travel through Lewisville toward Winston-Salem on Shallowford Road. This will be about 5 miles. Once you pass Forsyth Country Day School, take Ketner Road on your left. Look for the Billy Kennedy signs and turn right onto the gravel road and follow up to the house.
From West of Winston-Salem — Come in on US 421 and take the Shallowford Road exit. Travel through Lewisville toward Winston-Salem on Shallowford Road. This will be about 5 miles. Once you pass Forsyth Country Day School, take Ketner Road on your left. Look for the Billy Kennedy signs and turn right onto the gravel road and follow up to the house.
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