Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

8 thoughts on “Sunday open thread

  1. Barry Summers

    Sorry for the re-post from another thread, but here goes:

    Mark Cates is definitely running a stealth candidacy. He is a highly partisan, extreme right-wing guy, but he is running on the ‘green economy’ and being ‘non-partisan’, because he thinks that’s how one gets elected in Asheville. His stated goal in that op-ed to the Asheville Daily Planet makes it clear that he adheres to “Tea Party values” and that he considers a stint on City Council to be a stepping stone to carrying the Tea Party agenda to a statewide or even national level.

    His Tea Party writings, the fact that the local Tea Party is whipping up volunteers & contributions for him, the fact that his campaign co-directors are Chair and Vice-Chair of the Buncombe Young Republicans, the fact that the week after announcing his run for City Council, he donated $100 to Tim Moffitt’s campaign, all of these things speak for themselves.

    And I think it’s a legitimate question to ask about his campaign director, Fritz Chaleff, who left a Congressman’s DC staff and $65,000 a year to come work for an unknown City Council candidate in WNC. We know the Art Pope empire is flooding the state with millions in unregulated monies – Tim Moffitt got over $100,000 in 2010.

    Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean the right wing ISN’T pumping millions into seizing this state, and playing extremely dirty in the process. Mark Cates has aligned himself with this movement, and I will join others in working to keep him off our City Council, no matter how “green” he pretends to be.

    BTW, this Pope money story was not news to Blue NC. They were citing the 2.2 million dollar figure and the 22 races all the way back in Oct. 27, 2010, and trying to get people to boycott Pope stores.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRPNwDzaDAM

  2. Tim T

    Barry:
    Your paranoia is un-balanced. You should be just as concerned that the Liberal Progressive Left is doing all of the same stuff.

    Look – here we are, once again “the public” getting all twisted into the knots that the big money on bith sides want….Fear of the other side.

    Want to affect real change? Tell both sides NO THANKS.

    They – the Dem. and Repubs. all drink and play golf together, and employ the same or comparable tactics to scare us into choosing one or the other “side”.
    SO – what about the American side?

    Wonder what our country could be like if Jefferson had his way and convinced the founding fathers to outlaw any political parties……

    Neither side is all right – and neither side is all wrong. Problem is – the forces they employ to create division among us are greater than those the use for unity of us.
    T

  3. Barry Summers

    You think because I don’t rail here against Obama, Bev Perdue, or any local Dems, that I don’t see problems in the Democrats? I suspect you know that I do.

    But there are dramatic differences in what the corrupt left and the corrupt right want to achieve, and so I pick a side.

    Are the NC Dems perfect? NO. But so far, they’ve mostly resisted opening up our state to frakking. The Republicans want to throw the doors open. The Dems mostly protect voting rights for vulnerable populations (you say it’s because they vote the way the Dems want? So be it). The Republicans seek to curb voting rights for minorities, college students, the poor, the elderly, because it will help them win elections. I say that is bad for ALL North Carolinians, not just the Dems in Raleigh, so I pick a side. On many issues, there is a move afoot to change our state in ways that I think are very bad, like cutting education funding, or relaxing environmental rules, or shifting more of the tax burden onto the middle class. All of these changes and more are originating with the Republican party, and so I pick a side.

    It’s of note to me that recently there seems to be an uptick in the “both parties are broken, so relax your partisan attitude” rhetoric, at a time when the extremely well funded, extremely partisan right is making a big play to change the facts on the ground in this state for the next century. Now’s not the time to sing Koombaya, now’s the time to saddle up.

    • jburhoe

      After 140 years of democrats ruling the state do you really object to a republican? Aren’t you the party of diversity? Or is that only if they are diverse according to your approval?

  4. phillip marlowe

    Barry you remain obsessed about what you can’t understand. You should strive to use clear glass more often and not the rose colored that you view the progressives or the smoked glass in which you view the conservatives. You may sound eloquent in your missives, unfortunately I have met you and was not impressed. You are neither ready for or part of the mainstream.

    • Barry Summers

      I am not impressed by people who make personally disparaging comments anonymously. There’s a word that starts with ‘C’…

      You don’t have anything substantive to say? I accept your surrender…

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.