Carolina Politics Online

SALUDA – Republican Party officials have canceled their float in this year’s Coon Dog Day parade after a dustup with GOP congressional candidate Carl Mumpower.

Mumpower says Polk County Republican Party officials refused to allow him on their float because of his comments about President Bush.

Mumpower had said that if elected, he would support impeaching Bush for his “failure to protect America’s sovereignty” by securing the Mexican border.

After his comments, some party members talked to his staff and “uninvited” him by phone, Mumpower said.

Asheville Citizen-Times

The Polk County Republican Party claims that a decision was made to only allow the Republican County Commissioners to ride on the float because there wasn’t enough room.  That may very well be the case, but it’s no secret that Mumpower isn’t held in the highest of light with the party establishment.  They can’t handle someone in the party giving an honest critique of Bush’s failures as a President along with the implosion of the national GOP on the heals of them deserting their traditional values.  Unfortunately for Mumpower, this constant bickering between his campaign and the powers that be in the GOP is going to cost him the election.

Rose Curto, Mexican Consulate consular in charge, said the consulate was doing nothing illegal. It only provided Mexican citizens with passports and other documents and providing services, she said. “We were asked to come here, because a lot of people would like to have the services we offer in Raleigh, but they can’t travel the four or five hours” Curto said. She said the consulate does not check the residency status of people visiting the consulate. “We only certify their nationality and their identity,” Curto said. Mumpower said the visit by the consulate only exacerbates the problem of illegal immigration in the United States. “The two biggest exports from Mexico are people and drugs,” Mumpower said. “These consulate representatives are only here to support one or both of those business enterprises.”

Times-News

Now really, who does Curto think is coming to see them?  My bets are on the majority of those having an illegal presence here.  And Mumpowers is right.  Mexico is not a friend of the United States.  They have been exporting their problems to our country for decades and our own Federal government is a player in it.  It is foolish what we allow to go on in this nation.  This is just another example of how the Feds are going to have been dragged kicking and screaming by the people to step up and stop this once and for all.

Mumpower has said he would support the impeachment of President Bush because of his failure to address illegal immigration and that he will not accept any funding from the Republican National Committee or be beholden to that group in any way.

Yeakley said he doesn’t think Mumpower would’ve defeated fellow Republicans Spence Campbell, a Henderson County resident, or John Armor, of Macon County, in the primary had he made his bold proclamations before that election.

“I’m not sure I can trust him,” Yeakley said.

Asheville Citizen-Times

I think Mumpower is right on the money.  Bush has intentionally left our southern border vulnerable to appease the Mexican government.  Three of our border guards are in jail for doing their jobs at the hands of U.S. attorney Johnny Sutton who I have no doubt went after these guys under the direction of the Bush Administration.  Sutton even a gave a criminal drug smuggler immunity to testify against our own border guards!  I remember watching a hearing between a panel of Senators and Sutton and even the far leftist Dianne Feinstein was disturbed by Sutton’s practices.

As for Mumpower not taking money from the RNC, that’s his decision, but I think it’s a fool hearty one for him to make.  Shuler will be well funded and he won’t be easy to beat.  On the other hand, I don’t know that the RNC would have much money to give Mumpower anyway.

“I got a call from the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) earlier today,” Mumpower said Thursday afternoon. “And I told them we were not interested in their money. I believe that organization has passively supported our leadership in abandoning their principles, and I have no interest in aligning myself with a self-serving organization.”

Mumpower said the caller was “a little stunned.”

“But I’m not interested in the tail wagging the dog,” he said. “I’m going to run an authentic maverick campaign.”

Asheville Citizen-Times

Haha! I’ll bet the caller was stunned! I don’t really have an opinion on Mumpower. All I know about him is what I have read in the media, but this just upped him in my book.

He is right, though. The Republican Party is a joke today. They threw away everything that made them appeal to Americans. The leadership is incompetent at the national level and the party as a whole even at the state level in many cases has become self-serving. People aren’t falling for their red herrings any more, but that message has yet to sink through to them. George Bush’s legacy will be the downfall of his own party.

Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower won a solid victory Tuesday night over Henderson County’s Spence Campbell in the 11th Congressional District Republican Primary.

With all 15 counties reporting, Mumpower had garnered 48.6 percent of the vote, compared with 41.8 percent for Campbell, a 30-year Army veteran and former chair of the Henderson County Republican Party, according to unofficial results.

Asheville Citizen-Times

I really wanted Armor, but I predicted a Mumpower victory. It’s a long way to foresee November yet, but he’s going to have an uphill battle against Shuler.

10:19PM - All the big races have pretty much been called except the Democratic Lt. Governor’s race, but it looks like Walter Dalton is going to take that one. I’m heading to bed. Congrats to all the winners tonight!

10:09PM - Fred Smith has conceded the GOP Gubernatorial Primary to Pat McCrory.

10:02PM - With 75% of the vote in Carter and Hamby are tied 50-50 in the Democratic Primary for NC-05. With 60% of the vote in Bratton has a gigantic lead in the Democratic Primary for NC-06 with 60% of the vote and is likely to win that one. Johnson is leading Ivester 60-40 in the Dem Primary for NC-10. In the Democratic primary for NC-03 Weber is stomping Adame 70-30.

9:47PM - Democratic Labor Commissioner Primary

With 29 of 100 counties reporting:

• Mary Fant Dannon - 28%
• John Brooks - 25%
• Robin Anderson - 24%
• Ty Richardson - 23%

9:45PM - Democratic Lt. Governor Primary

With 26 of 100 counties reporting:

• Walter Dalton - 44%
• Hampton Dellinger - 35%
• Pat Smathers - 14%
• Dan Besse - 7%

9:42PM - Republican Gubernatorial Primary

With 26 of 100 counties reporting:

• McCrory - 46%
• Smith - 37%
• Graham - 9%
• Orr - 7%

9:39PM - Nick Mackey is leading Drew Saunders 54%-46%.

9:12PM - Walter Jones is leading Joe McLaughlin 62% to 38%.

8:59PM - Kay Hagan has officially won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate race.

8:52PM - Mumpower is leading the race for NC-11. Armor is getting crushed. McCrory still has a slight lead state wide but Smith is not far behind. Dalton maintains a slight lead over Dellinger.

8:32PM - I am calling Bev Perdue as the winner of the Democratic Gubernatorial Primary. She is leading handily in all the largest counties in the state.

8:23PM - Kay Hagan is going to win the Democratic Senate Primary and it’s looking fairly certain that Beth Wood is going to win the Dem nomination for State Auditor.

8:14PM - Congressman Brad Miller has clearly won his primary challenge. Dalton and Dellinger are duking it out pretty close in the Dem side of the Lt. Gov race. Pittenger is clearly going to win the Republican nomination for that seat. Congressman McHenry is leading challenger Lance Sigmon 61 to 39.

8:05PM - Jim Neal is getting smoked by Kay Hagan in all the big counties, Mecklenburg, Wake, Durham. Bev Perdue is also leading Richard Moore. McCrory is in the lead in these counties as well and is getting over 70% of the vote in Mecklenburg.

• John Armor, 65, an attorney and author who lives in Highlands in Macon County. Armor cites the Constitution as a guiding force and wants to reform Medicare and Medicaid. He opposes universal health care and congressional earmarks, and he favors a continued presence in Iraq but not “actively fighting for a long period of time.”

• Spence Campbell, 64, a retired 30-year Army veteran who lives in Hendersonville. Campbell ran an insurance agency after retiring and is a former chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party. He believes in stronger enforcement of immigration laws, reforming federal programs such as Social Security and making earmarks transparent. On Iraq, he says American soldiers will have to keep a presence there for many years.

• Carl Mumpower, 55, an Asheville City Council member since 2001 and a practicing private psychologist. Mumpower wants to fight wasteful government spending, including earmarks, and come down hard on illegal immigration. Iraq may have been a mistake, he says, but now we must honor our commitment there, if the Iraqi people want us to stay.

Asheville Citizen-Times

Taking back the 11 Congressional District is going to be a tough challenge for the Republicans this year. I think the results of the last two Congressional special elections in heavily Republican districts in Illinois and Louisiana in which the Democrats were victorious only prove my point. While the 11th is a conservative district there are about 30,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans and Shuler fits a good portion of the bill when it comes to social conservatism.

I don’t like to really pick candidates because I try to keep my opinions unbiased so that I can be more honest in what I write, but I am going to give my opinion here. I think the best candidate for Republicans to nominate to run against Shuler is John Armor. The reason I say that is because of Armor’s unbridled allegiance to the Constitution, something we just don’t see anymore in Congress. It was dedication to the principles of small government and personal freedom that catapulted the GOP to a Congressional sweep in 1994 and Armor represents that type of candidate. The American people have lost faith in the Republican Party and conservatism thanks to the way George W Bush has bastardized the word.

Having said that, while it is my opinion that Armor is the best candidate to take on Shuler, it is not my belief that he will be victorious on Tuesday. I think Carl Mumpower is going to win the nomination. My prediction is based on his name recognition in the greater Asheville area and his lead in fund raising.

Update: Hat tip to Chad for sending me this great article on Armor from BlueRidgeNow.com

Mumpower spent about $23,000 between Jan. 1 and April 16, and holds about $2,000 in cash, according to his Federal Election Commission filing. Rival Republican Spence Campbell raised $19,000 in contributions in the first quarter, spent about $87,000, and held about $22,000 in cash, according to his FEC report.

Highlands attorney John Armor who also is running for the Republican nomination told the FEC that he plans to raise less than $5,000 and therefore isn’t required to file detailed financial data.

Asheville Citizen-Times

Take earmarks, for instance. While most of the nation’s 435 representatives strive to bring home as much federal funding as possible, Mumpower says he will not pursue them.

“If folks are anxious to elect someone to bring a lot of pork back from Washington, they need to elect one of the other guys,” Mumpower said from his North Asheville home. “I consider earmarks part of Washington’s community welfare system, and I have no intention of being an active participant in that anymore than I’m interested in exotic committee appointments.”

He is interested in keeping more of people’s tax money here and making sure the federal government “honors the promises that it makes, whether that be for roads for Western North Carolina, veterans services, or Social Security disability payments.”

The Asheville Citizen-Times

If Republicans want to prove to America that they truly are a fiscally conservative party and not just give lip service to it, they need to put forth more candidates who will work to rid Washington of the corrupt business of earmarks. As Mumpower pointed out, our money should stay local. We can spend our own paychecks better than some stuffed-shirt politician in D.C. Several Congressmen over the past few years have gone to jail over corruption resulting from earmark abuse and a few more are still being investigated. The politicians are using earmarks to buy votes for their reelection with our money. It needs to stop.

FLAT ROCK — The $600 million “Road to Nowhere” could be back if the Republicans running for the 11th congressional district have their way.

At a debate at Flat Rock today, Highlands attorney John Armor, retired Army Col. Spence Campbell of Hendersonville and Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower described the 34-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a broken promise. Campbell and Mumpower said it should be built.

The Times-News

Well, that’s just wonderful. Right out of the gate you have your stunning example of today’s “conservatism,” a $600 million crap on the taxpayers of the United States of America.

“That’s a hard question,” Campbell said. “It’s a hard question because it’s two different issues for a conservative to deal with.”

The road would add to the federal deficit, “which a lot of us conservatives think is the principal economic issue we need to deal with,” he said.

“On the other hand, the government made a promise in 1942 I think it was that they were going to build that road. They didn’t do it. In this case I think the government’s promise trumps what the county commission wants to do” by taking the settlement.

It’s not a hard question for a fiscally responsible conservative to deal with, Mr. Campbell. The country is over $9 trillion in debt. You don’t go and spend $600 million on a useless road that will not yield a positive economic return from the initial investment, promise be damned. Who from 1942 is still alive that this promise was even made to? I think the statute of limitations has passed. Move on.

These guys know better. They are avoiding the truth because they don’t want to alienate any voters. Being a leader means having to tell people what they don’t want to hear sometimes.

In his nearly seven-year political career, Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower has been called plenty of names.

Now he can add “arrogant ass” to the list—and it comes from a pretty high source: the mayor of Flat Rock.

Flat Rock Mayor Bob Staton used that language in an email to Mumpower, after a dustup over rules for an upcoming debate this Thursday for the Republican candidates for Congress. Mumpower objected to a rule prohibiting larger signs and placards and had said he would not participate, a decision he has now reversed.

Asheville Citizen-Times

There are battles that you pick and choose and I think Mumpower lacked a great deal of judgment in having a huff over the sign rule at this debate. I don’t know if it makes him look like and arrogant ass, but petty is a word that comes to mine.

Asheville – The City Council has removed Mayor Terry Bellamy as lead overseer of important city staff, a move some council members decried as a “power grab,” but that others said would improve management of key personnel.

“I think this is one of the most reprehensible, disrespectful actions toward a mayor that I have ever seen,” said Councilman Carl Mumpower, following the 4-3 vote last month to create a permanent personnel committee with Councilman Bill Russell as chairman.

Mumpower and other dissenters said the change was unnecessary, upset traditional city roles and appeared to be motivated by reasons not named by the committee’s supporters.

Asheville Citizen-Times

Hat tip to cmitchz and Blue Ridge Politics

Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District in North Carolina, Carl Mumpower, has engaged in a chain of not-so-friendly emails with the moderator of a planned GOP primary debate scheduled in Flat Rock on April 10th. Apparently, Mumpower has an issue with the rules regarding campaign materials and has withdrawn himself from the debate.

The way I am understanding this is that as part of the official rules the candidates are limited in how much promotional material they are allowed to have presented at the forum. Presumably, this means literature, buttons, etc. but if I am wrong someone feel free to correct me. I personally don’t see what the big deal is, but it’s definitely miffed Mr. Mumpower.

I would imagine that a rule like this is there to keep the candidates on as equal footing as possible. I suppose the moderator feels that if one candidate with a lot of money were to overshadow the event with campaign materials, whereas other candidates cannot due to lack of campaign funds, that might create a subliminal bias in favor of the wealthier candidate in the minds of the audience.

Whether or not this will effect Mumpower’s electability in May will depend upon how widely viewed the debate is and whether or not a larger ordeal will be made out of his behavior surrounding it.

ASHEVILLE – A city councilman is calling for federal immigration agents to investigate downtown construction workers, who he says are likely undocumented workers.

Councilman Carl Mumpower wrote a March 20 letter to special agent Del Richburg with U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement in Charlotte, saying many of the workers on three major downtown projects did not speak English and were likely undocumented.

A UNC School of Business study showed 78 percent of non-English speakers in the state were undocumented, Mumpower said.

Asheville Citizen-Times

78% is an astonishing number so it’s definitely worth checking out. These are jobs that should be going to our own people, not foreigners who have illegally sneaked into the country. If it were discovered that these constructions firms have been hiring illegal aliens they should be prosecuted and heavily fined. This activity is driving down wages and causing higher levels of unemployment for lower skilled Americans.

ASHEVILLE – Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower will hold an open house at his new campaign office Wednesday.

The event is 4:30-6 p.m. at One Oak Plaza, suite 310, at the corner of College and Charlotte streets in downtown Asheville. For more information call 252-8390.

Asheville Citizen-Times

The three Republican candidates for the 11th Congressional District seat will debate from 7-9 p.m. Thursday at the YMI Cultural Center at the corner of Eagle and Market streets in Asheville.

Candidates John Armor, Spence Campbell and Carl Mumpower are scheduled to attend. One of the men will face incumbent Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, after the May 6 primary narrows the field.

The debate is sponsored by Black Republicans of Western North Carolina and the Buncombe County GOP.

Asheville Citizen-Times

That’s because an ordinance passed Tuesday by the City Council says businesses must follow federal rules on how to properly display the banner as laid out in the U.S. flag code.

Businesses that violate the new rule by doing things such as flying the flag at night without lighting it or in the rain when it is not an all-weather flag may face fines of $100 a day.

The rule would not apply to residences, churches or other noncommercial uses.

Asheville Citizen-Times

You would think that with all of the problems they have in Asheville, particularly in the realm of crime, that the city council would divest their resources a little bit better than worrying about something petty like this. Or perhaps they want more fines revenue?

Councilman Carl Mumpower questioned whether the city should try to regulate such a touchy subject. Mumpower was the lone “no” vote against the ordinance. He said Asheville should not create new regulations as it struggles to enforce rules already in place.

“This requires additional staffing and distracts staff energies from real concerns like building code enforcement, stormwater runoff problems, traffic issues,” Mumpower said via e-mail.

ASHEVILLE – City Councilman Carl Mumpower resigned Tuesday from two City Council committees, saying one should have discussed a gun buyback program before council voted on it.

Mumpower said during council’s meeting Tuesday that while he thinks that concern about the gang-related violence the program is designed to combat is “overblown,” he has no objection to the program itself. It calls for the city to spend $25,000 plus private donations for police to buy guns to reduce the number on the streets.

But he said the program should have been considered first by council’s Public Safety Committee, which Mumpower chairs.

“If you’re not going to follow proper procedure, there’s no reason for me to serve on that committee,” Mumpower told Mayor Terry Bellamy.

Asheville Citizen Times

I really the question the effectiveness of gun buyback programs. Studies have shown that areas that have less gun restrictions result in less crime. I don’t think criminals are out there turning their guns into police for the buyback programs, so the only people doing it are respectable citizens of the community whose guns aren’t a threat anyway.

Mumpower is a candidate for Congress. He is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Heath Shuler in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

Highlands lawyer John Armor, who waged a failed bid in 2006 to wrest the GOP nomination for the 11th Congressional District seat from then-incumbent Charles Taylor, has announced he will try again.

Armor may have an easier time of it than in 2006, when he lost to Taylor in the GOP primary, garnering nearly 20 percent of the vote. So far Taylor has not announced whether he will seek to regain his seat from Democrat Heath Shuler. Armor’s competition at the moment remains Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower and Henderson County GOP chairman Spence Campbell.

Mountain Xpress

I was reading over his campaign Web site and he seems like a down to earth guy. He recognizes that education in this country is broken and the solution is more local control, charter schools, and vouchers, which I agree with. He also discusses helping agriculture, which I would like to know a little bit more about. I am hoping that doesn’t entail farm subsidies because the U.S. is already throwing away far too much money on this every year. I did like this gem, though:

Or, take agriculture as an example. Remember when Michael Dukakis was running as the Democrat nominee for President and he made a comment about the plight of tobacco farmers as the anti-tobacco policies of the federal government took hold? Governor Dukakis suggested that those farmers “switch to growing Belgian endive.” Obviously, he’d read something in a book somewhere that Belgian endive would grow in the same climate and soil as tobacco. But he was dumb as a hoe handle on the realities of the small farms and the farmers in Western Carolina.

Dumb as a hoe handle….. That’s awesome.

Republican city councilman Carl Mumpower said today he will run next year for the 11th Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat Rep. Heath Shuler.

Mumpower, who has served on the Asheville council for the past six years, said in a statement he wants to win “to establish an independent and authentic conservative voice as our representative in Washington.”

Winston-Salem Journal