Letter: Cawthorn deserves no credit for WNC relief funds

Graphic by Lori Deaton

On March 30, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (N.C. District 11) wrote on Twitter that he was “happy to announce that NC-11 was awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

He was even good enough to point out how the money was disbursed, which is helpful for our community to know how we were helped by the Biden administration’s COVID relief act.

He wrote that:
• Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers was given $2,458,000
• Western North Carolina Community Health Services Inc. was given $4,622,375
• Bakersville Community Medical Clinic Inc. was given $1,771,125
• Blue Ridge Community Health Services Inc. was given $10,473,250.

He also went on to say he was “proud to see taxpayer dollars returned to NC-11.”

What he failed to mention was that he voted against all of this, as did every other Republican, including Sen. Burr and Sen. Tillis.

If Mr. Cawthorn is so proud to see this money being given to his district, why did he vote against it?

Mr. Cawthorn deserves no credit for this. Republicans in general deserve no credit for the monies WNC received. We should remember this the next time we are asked to vote. We should support those who supported us when in need.

— Kathleen Gilmour
Spruce Pine

Editor’s note: The issue has received national attention, with Cawthorn spokesperson Micah Bock telling NBC News that Cawthorn “firmly believes that the American Rescue Plan does more harm than good” and that the congressman “uses his official Twitter account to post information relevant to his constituents in NC-11” (avl.mx/98k).

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8 thoughts on “Letter: Cawthorn deserves no credit for WNC relief funds

  1. luther blissett

    Cawthorn already made clear that his term would be focused on publicity and not policy, so we should expect a year of stolen valor to fit with his fabricated biography. It was made perfectly clear last year that he would be a gallivanting show pony if elected, and he is a gallivanting show pony.

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    • Mari Demauro

      I totally agree with you. How did he ever get elected!such a total waste of time.

  2. C-law

    In an election year that saw Joe Biden top 81 million in the popular vote, Cawthorn won his Congressional district by over 12%!

    Over 12% margin…a landslide ***-whoopin’!

    A 25 year old rank amateur with zero experience and likely pretty clueless as well.

    Let that sink in MtnX leftists.

    Cry more, cry often, whatever helps your safe space, libs. Cawthorn won by a massive landslide and has a clear mandate.

    • Dopamina

      No one is crying buddy, that’s some weird fantasy you have in your head :D

      This independent voter absolutely cannot wait to vote for a qualified Republican in the primary and boot the Congressboy out on his butt! That’s where the fun is going to be had, when the boy has to compete against other Republicans!

      How does that comport with your narrow worldview that anyone who opposes the Congressboy is a rabid leftist? Do you always think in such simple black and white terms?

      It’s almost like some people dislike him for reasons that aren’t nakedly partisan – weird, right?

  3. Keith Thomson

    Cawthorne lies repeatedly about failing to meet entrance requirements for acceptance to the US Naval Academy. Being poorly educated in math, physics, and reading comprehension skills is not the issue. Being an accomplished liar and being paid with taxpayer money for not working is inexcusable.

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  4. Stan Hawkins

    I am willing to concede that the jury is still out on Rep Cawthorn’s effectiveness as a US Congressman.

    However, with a little bit of thought, research, and contemplation on politics, spending bills, “pork”, etc. – you should find that it is not unusual for an elected representative to vote against a bill for reasons involving issues in the legislation that override things the congressman might agree with. This is true for Democrats and Republicans alike. Most likely true in our local city county government on occasion.

    For example, Democrat Rep Golden from Maine voted against this same bill for “reasons he classified as unnecessary pork”. This is the same issue that most Republicans stated for their reason for opposition. Golden went on to say:

    “During challenging times, the country needs its elected leaders to work together to meet the most urgent needs in their communities. This bill addresses urgent needs, and then buries them under a mountain of unnecessary or untimely spending,” the congressman said in a statement. “In reviewing the bill in its full scope, less than 20 percent of the total spending addresses core COVID challenges that are immediately pressing: funding for vaccine distribution and testing, and emergency federal unemployment programs.”

    Democrat Rep Schrader from Oregon stated he refused to support the bill because; “trillions more in funding that is poorly targeted or in many cases not necessary at this moment in time.”

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2021/02/27/democrat-congressman-jared-golden-explains-why-he-voted-against-his-partys-covid-relief-bill-n2585438

    Last September, just before the election period; uhhmm – you will find Senate Democrats not supporting similar legislation. So, there you go. Is it really unusual for an elected representative to not support an entire bill, vote against, yet be happy with certain parts of the bill? Just saying?

    https://nypost.com/2020/09/10/dems-block-gop-covid-19-bill-that-included-unemployment-relief/

  5. Peter Robbins

    By his own admission, Madison Cawthorn thought there was something more important than the people of his district when he cast his vote. Let’s return the favor and think of something more important than Madison Cawthorn when we cast ours.

  6. Stan Hawkins

    If you think Cawthorn’s actions / votes are a hoot, then you will get a big kick out of Democrats fighting amongst themselves over the SALT cap legislative posturing and proposals to abolish, amend, etc.

    A short refresher, the SALT (State and Local Taxes) already tax law (Tax Cut & Jobs Act) places a cap on how much a taxpayer can deduct for state and local taxes on their federal tax return when itemizing federal deductions at $10,000. Democrats, particularly fairly wealthy ones in Big Blue states don’t like paying these additional taxes created by this law during Trump’s not so conservative administration. Meanwhile, the Biden administration wants to raise taxes on the wealthy. Well, isn’t that “fishy.”

    How would you like Representative Cawthorn to vote on this issue? This will be a hoot to watch what language will be used to obfuscate the truth. Why Carl Sandburg, Thornton Wilder, and Emerson might be quoted to sooth our passions. I’m gonna like watching this.

    https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-heroic-congressional-fight-to

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