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Story by Justin Grimes, in the High Country Press:
Party activists and elected officials across North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional
District began coalescing and rallying around a draft Billy Kennedy initiative
some months ago and on Monday, February 8, Kennedy will officially launch his
first political campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Edward R. Murrow, America’s
great broadcast journalist, believed that rarely, if ever, are there two equal
sides to a story. That said, what follows is an attempt to share with readers
why Kennedy is running for congress in his own words from a seat in his home in
Bethel.
High Country Press began the interview with the question, “You’ve
never held an elected position?”
“That’s part of the problem,” Kennedy answered. “People live to run for office
becoming career politicians whose motivation is to be elected rather than being
motivated to help. I want to help people. [Running for office] is making my
life harder. There are givers and takers in the political arena and I think it’s
important to give. It’s the best American value. In order to give back, you
must first take care of yourself, take care of your family and you’ve got to
pay your bills. I’ve worked hard all my life.”
Kennedy raises livestock on his farm, makes furniture in his carpentry shop and
has had a home remodeling business. He is married to Rebecca “Becka” Saunders
and is the father of three children—Amber Grace, Jessica and Willis.
Kennedy said believes in every American having the freedom to work hard and succeed
and not have what you’ve worked hard to earn taken away by someone else.
“We must respect the labor of all people,” Kennedy said. “Right now, hard
working people are not being looked out for, the middleclass is in trouble and
without a middleclass, businesses cannot thrive in America. I’m outraged by the
continuous shift of wealth from most people to the select few. The ratio
between the lowest and highest pay in America today reflects poorly upon
our values. We can’t afford the excessive compensation and survive and thrive.
We should have a more level playing field for all Americans.”
During the interview, Kennedy wasted no time before going after his opposition,
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, saying that part of his campaign challenge is to
point out distinctions between Foxx’s political ideology and his thinking so
voters have an educated choice in November. “The difference between Virginia
and us is: we give, she takes,” he said.
“This day and age I worry that people take things for granted, don’t realize
how we got here. Virginia
constantly says she doesn’t like government and promotes a pull yourself up by
the bootstraps mentality of denial. People have been benefiting from government
programs for a long time in this country and still are. What would our Fifth
District be like had the rural electric cooperatives not been started by the
government? The government is our common wealth, our school systems, secure
banking, police and fire departments, roads and water systems belong
collectively to us all. And it’s our responsibility to manage our collective
wealth wisely.
“No one makes it all on their own. We all benefit from successful government
programs,” Kennedy added. “Virginia
got her BA, MA and ED from our outstanding public North Carolina Universities
and she’s been on the dole ever since. She’s been living off the N.C.
taxpayers, gaming the system and now she wants to deny the same opportunity she
had to everyone else. Just last weekend she said that she didn’t believe that
federal funds should be used for education.
“I went to college with the help of federal programs. Last year’s federal
stimulus money went to our colleges and local schools supporting, and in some
cases saving teaching positions, in this tough economy. Students don’t get a
second chance; you can’t abandon them. If their basic educational needs are not
met, they become economically disadvantaged, costing us all more in the
end.”
Kennedy sees a direct relationship between education and democracy.
”Countries with higher literacy rates have more developed and thriving
democracies,” he said. “Investing in education is money well spent. We need an
educated workforce to compete. We need good jobs. We need to be leading the
world in new technologies, green technologies. We need to promote these new
green technologies with tax credits at the state and federal levels. We need to
renew our manufacturing base. Bring the work back home.”
When asked if he agrees with Foxx’s nationally publicized statement that,
“There are no Americans who don’t have healthcare,” Kennedy responded, “That
statement shows how out of touch Foxx is. On our radio show (Kennedy is a
morning personality on WATA-AM 1450), High Country Radio’s call-in show, we’ve
had numerous conversations about the people right here in our own community who
have no access to healthcare. I’m self-employed and understand what it’s like
for the average farmer and small businessman to afford the spiraling cost of
health insurance. We can’t afford the inefficiency of our present healthcare
system. Its costs make us uncompetitive in the world economy.”
After talking at length about healthcare, he said, “Profiting off people’s
illnesses seems immoral to me.”
Kennedy’s father was a Presbyterian minister and mayor of Black Mountain.
When asked if he has a religious political agenda, Kennedy replied that he
thinks of his father’s saying often: “What would make God happy? I’m
comfortable with my Christianity.” Kennedy continued that it was not up to him
to question anyone’s faith. “The Christian life I embrace is one of service; my
faith comes from helping,” he said.
Volunteer service runs in the Kennedy family. In 2000, his wife was the
recipient of the distinguished North Carolina Governor’s Award for
Volunteerism. Kennedy said that he is also committed to making sure his
campaign has a volunteer component.
Foxx had about $1.2 million in her campaign war chest at the end of 2009 and no
debts, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. She has the power of
incumbency and the Fifth District has an R-15 rating in political statistics,
meaning the district is heavily dominated by registered republicans and is not
viewed as a winnable seat for democrats by national political pundits.
“The biggest obstacle my campaign has to overcome is that people think that
Foxx and her huge war chest can’t be beat. That’s wrong—anyone can be beat,”
Kennedy concluded.
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