View my album of the recent Democratic Rally in Hendersonville here choose slide show to see the photos in sequence and a larger size.
I have received a number of e-mails asking me where I stand on the 11th District Race for the US Congress. I guess people have picked up on my ambivalence about Taylor. My biggest problem with him is the CAFTA vote, where he voted...er didn't vote, whether by accident, or on purpose I cannot determine. As a conservative, I oppose the creation of ever larger superstates. Down this road is the North American Union, just as surely as the lowering of tariff barriers in Europe have led to the European Union. But this missive is suppossed to be about my misgivings about Heath Shuler.
There are many red flags about the Shuler Campaign, and the largest one is the combination of money from outside the district and the money from Real Estate and Construction. Let me make myself clear, I absolutely hate the destruction of my homeland by carpetbaggers, refugees, and retirees from all points of the compass. As a native son of Western North Carolina, I have witnessed the rape of our mountains and peoples by these concerns as they seek to replace our wildlife, trees, and people with tourist attractions, retirement homes, country clubs, and gated communities. These people, often affluent, are changing our economy to a service economy where the majority of the jobs created are low wage jobs. Of course, the local and state governments a absolutely agog at this opportunity due to the expansion of the tax base that will bring more money into their coffers so they can conduct social engineering experiments on the rest of us.
For example, I have included a list of the top contributors to the Shuler Campaign below. Source.
Top Contributors 2006 RACE: NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT 11 Heath Shuler (D)
Rivercrest LLC
$25,200
Phillips & Jordan
$15,300
Collins & Shuler Management
$12,900
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $10,500
AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America $10,000
National Education Assn $10,000
Our Common Values PAC $10,000
PAC to the Future $10,000
Nelson, Mullins et al $9,400
US Postal Service $8,280
Operating Engineers Union $7,500
Solidarity PAC $7,500
United Auto Workers $7,500
Hope Fund $7,000
University of Tennessee $6,750
Avisco Inc $6,200
Windswept Estates $6,000
Don Hill Enterprises $5,200
AFL-CIO $5,000
Air Line Pilots Assn $5,000
American Federation of Teachers $5,000
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees $5,000
American Postal Workers Union $5,000
Assn of Trial Lawyers of America $5,000
Blue Dog PAC $5,000
Carpenters & Joiners Union $5,000
Cmte for a Livable Future $5,000
Communications Workers of America $5,000
Forward Together PAC $5,000
International Assn of Fire Fighters $5,000
Ironworkers Union $5,000
Laborers Union $5,000
National Assn of Letter Carriers $5,000
National Leadership PAC $5,000
New Democrat Coalition $5,000
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union $5,000
Prairie PAC $5,000
Sheet Metal Workers Union $5,000
Teamsters Union $5,000
United Steelworkers of America $5,000
United Transportation Union $5,000
Phillips and Jordan is a large construction company that has one of the largest land clearing operation in the United States. In their own words:
Since its beginnings as a small land clearing company in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Phillips and Jordan has grown to become one of the largest land clearing contractors in the United States. We have cleared and grubbed swamp, agricultural, forest, and mountain land for reservoirs, power transmission lines, roadways, pipelines, railroads, airports, and site development projects across the nation.
The majority of our clearing supervisors have worked their way up through the ranks. They have years of experience and knowledge that can only be gained by actually doing the work. Our equipment operators are skilled in the art of clearing land. They know the ins and outs of the work, and can quickly and efficiently perform their tasks.
In addition to our highly experienced supervisors and operators, we have a fleet of specialized equipment set up specifically for land clearing. We have earned a reputation for taking on and successfully completing difficult clearing jobs that others would not consider. The combination of our knowledge and experience with our specialized equipment allows us to say, with confidence, “we can clear anything, anywhere”.
Source is located on the right hand side, click on land clearing, I can't get a link.
I can't find much on the web regarding Collins and Shuler Management, so I will have to let that rest in the interest of time for this post.
In regard to the AmeriPAC listing, I was in grave error before, because there is a conservative PAC with almost the same name...That one did not donate to Shuler; the one belongs to the
Minority Whip of the Democratic Party, who raises money for the democratic party where Nancy Pelosi cannot. Sort of like a Wolf in Sheep's clothing, if you will.
Enough people are focusing on Taylor in this race, I will trust them to do their work, while I focus on Shuler. If anyone knows of other bloggers digging into Shuler's Campaign, drop me a note in the comments, or email me at wnccb AT yahoo DOT com.
Make your own here.
Hat Tip: Screwy Hoolie