The Buncombe County Republican Party enthusiastically welcomed a new Membership Director, Gary Shoemaker and new Buncombe County Young Republicans President, Crystal McDonald to the organization this week at their monthly Executive Committee meeting. Both Shoemaker and McDonald are part of a wave of newly energized political activists who have turned to the Republican Party as a vehicle for positive change in their community.

Dr. Timothy Johnson, Chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party, has actively recruited new members with a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints since his election in March. “Buncombe County is a diverse and growing community. The strength of our party and of our county depends on encouraging new people with new ways of thinking to participate.”

Gary Shoemaker is a Vietnam War Veteran and a former Candidate for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania. He recently served as the Asheville grassroots campaign coordinator for Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. As Membership Director, Shoemaker will reach out to new residents, new Republicans, unaffiliated voters, and young people who support Republican principles such as smaller government, lower taxes, and individual liberty.

Crystal McDonald, local business owner and newly registered Republican, was recruited by Shoemaker to head up the Young Republicans.

“We have more and more young people wanting to participate and looking for a forum where they can discuss the issues that are important to them.” Johnson said. “As Republicans, we all share the same common principles, but young people have a fresh perspective that needs to be heard.”

[Photo by Max Cooper]

A report issued by an independent organization, Environment North Carolina, indicated that Representative Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe County (District 115), has the lowest environmental voting score of anyone in either the North Carolina House or Senate. Goforth scored 20% overall for 2007 based on issues such as restricting landfills, promoting solar power, and removing incentives for coal and nuclear plants. Goforth’s voting record on a majority of issues was considered to be “anti-environment” by the organization.

Paul Purdue, Republican candidate for House District 115 released a statement in response to this report, stating, “This should indicate to voters that just because Bruce calls himself an environmentalist does not make him one. Bruce Goforth touts his credentials, yet the independent group’s audit proves he has none when it comes to the environment.”

Read the full press release from Paul Purdue’s campaign.

Active BCGOP member and president of the Blue Ridge Republican Women’s Club, Dorothea Alderfer, had a letter to the editor in yesterday’s Asheville Citizen-Times. There are many pressing issues facing our country and our community. It is vitally important that we all participate in these public debates. Thanks, Dorothea, for making your voice heard!

Rep. Heath Shuler will disappoint us again. He will not vote to allow oil drilling offshore. His local office told me this. I hope he does not vote for the bill in the House that would allow our government to take over our oil refineries. I also hope he will not vote with Maxine Waters, who told the president of the big oil companies that she wanted to take them over.

Until we have a preponderance of geophysicists in our Congress, we better leave the business of oil exploration, production and refining to those who know how. We must be free and independent of foreign sources of oil.

Read the full letter in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

[Photo by Max Cooper]

URTV, Asheville’s Public Access Channel, has some great GOP coverage planned for this week.

Monday:
7:30am - Sit down with Carl Mumpower
8:30am - Mumpower speaks out
10:00am - Citizens Speak
3:00pm - Sit down with Carl Mumpower

Tuesday:
7:30pm - Citizens Speak “Live Show”
9:30pm - State GOP Convention 30min preview

Wednesday:
12:00am - State Gop Convention 30min preview

Thursday:
7:30pm - Buncombe County Ladies GOP Picnic 90 mins

Friday:
9:00pm - State GOP Convention 30min preview

Saturday:
1:00pm -  Buncombe County Ladies GOP Picnic 90 mins

Senator Elizabeth Dole, one of NC’s 2 U.S. Senators, is up for re-election this November.  Check out her campaign website at www.elizabethdole.org.  Senator Dole’s campaign committee sent out the following update:

Dole Exposes Her Opponent’s Empty Rhetoric versus Real Record

Atlantic Beach, NC – Today, Senator Elizabeth Dole took the opportunity at a forum, sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association, to discuss how she has fought hard for all North Carolinians during her time in the U.S. Senate.  Dole mentioned a handful of her successes; including the first in the nation statewide illegal immigration enforcement plan, protecting and expanding our bases while adding thousands of jobs, and saving North Carolina hospitals from hundreds of millions in Medicaid cuts.   However, as is commonplace throughout the campaign so far, her opponent took some liberty with facts, tried to misrepresent Dole’s record, and attempted to gloss over her own failed record in the State Legislature.

During her opening remarks, Mrs. Hagan commented, “You only have to look at what kind of state senator I have been to know what kind of U.S. Senator I will be.”   Hogan Gidley, Communications Director said, “While Kay Hagan was in the State Legislature, North Carolina budgets increased by $8.1 Billion, she voted for just about every tax increase imaginable, and she voted to make it easier for illegal immigrants to get drivers’ licenses.  We agree, that is the kind of U.S. Senator Mrs. Hagan would be, and that is not what voters want in North Carolina.”

Mrs. Hagan also misrepresented the facts by claiming the 287g Illegal Immigration enforcement plan is an unfunded federal mandate when in fact it is voluntary and funded with federal dollars.  Mrs. Hagan also claimed that “We’re doing things right” referring to education in North Carolina.  Unfortunately most folks would disagree that our states’ extremely high drop-rate is ‘doing things right.’”

On his blog, Where’s the Outrage, Dr. Errington Thompson posted an article entitled The Failure of the Republican Party to deliver anything for Blacks.

Dr. Timothy Johnson, Chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party, responds to that article:

To My Good Friend Dr. Errington,

There is no doubt you have done a great job re-capping the past 40 years and the elusive relationship the Republican Party, in general has had with the Black community, overall.

However, I feel you did not provide your audience with enough information to include the fact that in 1966 Edward Brooke, a Black Republican from Massachusetts was elected to the U.S. Senate and re-elected in 1972. I find it even more interesting that you don’t mention it took 20 more years for another Black person and the first woman, Senator Moseley-Braun to get elected to the Senate and another 12 years, before the election of Senator Obama.

While you are well versed in history, I find many people I speak with are not.

In 1854, when the Republican Party was founded, it was known as the anti-slavery party. The 20 Congressional founders wanted to end slavery, not because it was the popular thing to do, but instead it because it was the right thing to do. At the conclusion of the Civil War, the first blacks elected to Congress were Republicans and from southern states. In 1898, when the Wilmington riots took place, 2,000 blacks and 1,000 white Republicans were lynched and forced from their homes by Democrats. The KKK was started by the Dixiecrats, who were Southern Democrats, affectionally known as yellows dogs.

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After voters rejected a .2% proposal, NC legislators are attempting to pass a .6% commission on every home sale in this state. This will devastate the average homeowner, the retiring homeowner, families forced to relocate, and many others.

When asked about this attempt to override the voter’s desires, Candidate for NC State House Paul Purdue commented, “This should come as no surprise to those of us following the daily antics of our elected representatives. Usually a person would get the message when the voter’s reject a transfer tax in so many counties, yet, here we are again facing another vote on an even higher tax. 75% to 92% opposition across the board is very clear. The public rejects this tax. It must go. I just don’t know what they are thinking in Raleigh but it is obviously time for a change.”

Read the full press release on Paul Purdue’s website.

[Photo by Max Cooper]

Thank you to everyone who showed up to the picnic at the Governor’s Western Residence yesterday. By all measures it was a tremendous success. So many people attended that they actually ran out of parking! The food was wonderful and the surroundings were beautiful.

This was the first of many enjoyable opportunities that we will have to hear from our local Republican candidates. Special thanks also to Richard Hurley, for entertaining us for the afternoon with some fun traditional tunes.

Candidates in attendance included County Commissioner candidates Don Yelton, Ron McKee, and Joe Dunn, NC House Candidates Tim Moffitt and Paul Purdue, and Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower.  We also had speakers on behalf of candidate for Governor Pat McCrory and candidate for NC Secretary of State Jack Sawyer.

Don’t miss photos from this event on our Photo Gallery page. Richard Bernier was also there video taping for anyone who could not attend. Check out footage from the picnic on our Video Gallery page.

[Photo above by Max Cooper]

18 Republican delegates from Buncombe County ventured over to Greensboro this weekend for the annual NC GOP state convention. Of the 100 counties in the state, only 6 other counties had more delegates at the convention than we did.

We were honored to have our county chairman, Dr. Timothy Johnson, give the invocation at the opening of Friday’s business session. Congratulations go to Mark Delk, former BCGOP Chairman and long-time Republican activist, for being elected as one of North Carolina’s two at-large Presidential Electors!

Our strong presence at the convention solidified Buncombe County’s role as a major hub of Western North Carolina that our candidates and representatives will not soon forget.