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With
at least nine announced Republican candidates for the Fifth District
seat in the U.S. House of Representatives warming up the campaign
trails and asking for money, political watchers have asked, “Where
is the Democratic Party?”
The party has remained uncharacteristically quiet as time approaches
for filling for the seat being vacated by Richard Burr. It seems
that quiet time is over and the party is getting prepared for a
long, hard fight. Last night, local Democrats held their fall rally
with both a fun raiser and fundraiser at High Country Round Up on
Bamboo Road. Round Up has a decidedly country-western theme and
country music played as Democrats arrived in jeans and boots.
Designed to gather the party and start off the political season,
there was no chance that anyone wandering in from the cold, stiff
wind could doubt that the gathering was anything other than a partisan
affair.
A few minutes into the program would also make it clear which side
the audience was on.
“With a $455 billion national deficit, it is time to make a
change and make a change now,” said party chairwoman Sue Sweeting.
She introduced Dave Robertson, unsuccessful candidate for a seat
on the Watauga County board of commissioners, and he started his
remarks with a shot at the national office holder, “I’m
talking about George W. Bush and the reasons he has got to go.”
Robertson listed concerns with the Patriot Act and claimed that
it was quickly whittling away at personal rights and freedoms. He
moved to “Dubya’s” foreign policy, military policy
and planning and environmental policy.
“We send them (American troops) into harm’s way with no
plan to get them out, no exit strategy.”
Robertson moved from national partisan politics to local partisan
politics. He thanked the party for the support in the last election
and said that the nationwide Republican Party, landslide was unstoppable.
“They could have run the Three Stooges in the last election.”
An audience member got laughter and applause when he said, “They
did.”
Dr. Jim Harrell, a dentist from Elkin, four-term Surry County commissioner
and recently announced Democratic Party candidate for the Fifth
District seat, introduced himself to the audience and promised a
good fight.
Prior to his remarks to the crowd, Harrell said that he realized
that he was getting into the race late, but suggested that the Republican
candidates might have gotten into the race early.
He criticized a system where the race begins 18 months prior to
the election and it takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to run
for office.
“The entire process is starting too soon and there is too much
money involved,” Harrell said.
He admitted that he was behind in fund raising, but said that he
was just putting together a campaign staff and would work to catch
up.
In his remarks he cited jobs as the No. 1 issue in the campaign.
Pointing to the rise in district unemployment and the decline in
good-paying manufacturing jobs, he promised, “ I will fight
to keep workers in the Fifth District on a level playing field and
I will fight to keep the jobs that we have left.”
Harrell promised to work to address the national health crisis and
the continuing rise in uninsured Americans and said that he would
support the Patient’s Bill of Rights.
As a county commissioner in Surry County, he had special concerns
for the federal No Child Left Behind program. He said that the unfunded
federal mandates were damaging towns, counties and municipalities
tasked with enforcing and paying for the programs in the schools.
“With 1,600 pages of legislation, it is now known as No Public
School Left Standing,” he said.
In between the two speakers, dinner catered by Bandana’s Barbecue,
dancing and a one-man show and satirical attack on the Bush administration
by Appalachian State University professor Dennis Bohr, Ron Redmon
and Sweeting reminded the audience of the 65 items for sale in the
silent auction.
The eclectic collection of items ranged from crystal and china objects
to meals and trips, an antique bread board and a number of original
photographs by Howard Dorgan of Appalachian religious snake handlers.
Bohr began his show by announcing the members of the administration’s
Cowboy Coalition led by the President as the Go-Along Ranger with
British Prime Minister Tony Blair playing Tonto.
After announcing the other members of the “posse,” Bohr
changed costumes and became a “hell-fire” preacher condemning
tree-hugging, liberal Democrats and other pagans.
Sweeting announced that a couple, who wished to be anonymous, had
pledged to donate $1,000 if the room could match it in 15 minutes.
Volunteers spread out in the crowd and collected $1,075 in 10 minutes
to secure the contribution.
The party sold 220 tickets and Sweeting gave a final head count
and said that 150 braved the cold. She said that by the time the
evening was over $6,000 had been collected.
The party’s war chest is growing and the election season is
getting close. The Democrats are preparing for the fight.
• John O’Dowd may be contacted at jod@wataugademocrat.com
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