Six years ago, the left regarded Gitmo as a war crime; now, not so much. The Patriot Act provoked weird obsessions that Bush was tracking what books you borrowed at the library (a quaintly sepia-hued strain of paranoia), but the NSA tracking every single American's every email, every phone call, every credit card transaction is accepted with nary a peep.
[ big liberal government at work ]
Virginia proposal would limit size of gatherings at private homes
By Kenric Ward
Published May 05, 2014watchdog.org
Facebook975 Twitter353 Gplus19
A plan to ban "frequent and large gatherings at neighborhood homes" is a lawsuit waiting to happen, a Fairfax County supervisor predicts.
Officials will get an idea Wednesday when public-comment hearings begin in Virginia's most populous county.
"I believe the county is risking a lawsuit and/or a Constitution challenge by interfering with peoples' right to assemble," Supervisor Pat Herrity said in a statement.
The proposed zoning ordinance limits "group assembly" at residences to 49 people a day. Such gatherings "shall not occur more frequently than three times in any 40-day period."
County officials say they have received complaints about group meetings at homes. But Herrity said "they haven't even reached 1 percent of the thousands of complaints our Department of Code Compliance investigates a year."
"This is yet another instance where we appear to be punishing the many for the actions of the few," said Herrity, who reported a total of six complaints were received last year.
Church groups, scouting organizations or even sports fans drawn to a home's big-screen TV during playoffs could be potential targets of the proposed county law. Realtors worry that even open houses would invite civil penalties.
John Whitehead, an attorney and president of the civil-libertarian Rutherford Institute, calls the Fairfax plan "nefarious."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...would-limit-size-gatherings-at-private-homes/
Virginia proposal would limit size of gatherings at private homes
By Kenric Ward
Published May 05, 2014watchdog.org
Facebook975 Twitter353 Gplus19
A plan to ban "frequent and large gatherings at neighborhood homes" is a lawsuit waiting to happen, a Fairfax County supervisor predicts.
Officials will get an idea Wednesday when public-comment hearings begin in Virginia's most populous county.
"I believe the county is risking a lawsuit and/or a Constitution challenge by interfering with peoples' right to assemble," Supervisor Pat Herrity said in a statement.
The proposed zoning ordinance limits "group assembly" at residences to 49 people a day. Such gatherings "shall not occur more frequently than three times in any 40-day period."
County officials say they have received complaints about group meetings at homes. But Herrity said "they haven't even reached 1 percent of the thousands of complaints our Department of Code Compliance investigates a year."
"This is yet another instance where we appear to be punishing the many for the actions of the few," said Herrity, who reported a total of six complaints were received last year.
Church groups, scouting organizations or even sports fans drawn to a home's big-screen TV during playoffs could be potential targets of the proposed county law. Realtors worry that even open houses would invite civil penalties.
John Whitehead, an attorney and president of the civil-libertarian Rutherford Institute, calls the Fairfax plan "nefarious."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...would-limit-size-gatherings-at-private-homes/
[h=2]Michigan Dem Takes Anti-Keystone Cash[/h]Despite decrying outside billionaires influencing race, Gary Peters attends Steyer fundraiser
Gary Peters / AP
BY: Bill McMorris
May 5, 2014 10:00 am
Michigan Democratic senatorial candidate Gary Peters attended a fundraiser held by anti-Keystone billionaire Tom Steyer despite his proclaimed opposition to the influence of out-of-state billionaires on Michigan politics.
Steyer, a hedge fund billionaire, has pledged to spend $100 million in 2014 to elect environmentalist Democrats in February. Peters accompanied Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to Steyer’s San Francisco mansion less than a week after the announcement. The pair dined on salmon and grass-fed beef from Steyer’s personal ranch and before walking away with $400,000 for Reid’s Senate Super PAC.
Peters has collected $170,000 from leadership PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Peters’ pilgrimage to San Francisco contrasts his commitment to getting so-called dark money out of politics, as well as his public statements criticizing the libertarian Koch brothers. His campaign site’s blog attempted to connect Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land to the liberal boogeymen.
“The Koch Brothers: out of state oil billionaires trying to buy the election for Terri Lynn Land,” the post said. “They share an agenda. … If Terri Lynn Land and the Koch Brothers win—Michigan loses.”
Peters’ environmentalist position mirrors Steyer’s agenda. The environmentalist billionaire’s top priority is blocking the Keystone Pipeline, which would create tens of thousands of jobs. The Obama administration delayed the project again in April, just weeks after President Barack Obama attended a $5,000-per-plate fundraiser at Steyer’s.
A League of Conservation Voters scorecard gave Peters a 93 percent approval rating in 2013, four points higher than his lifetime average. He inserted environmental language into Keystone legislation that would hinder the construction. He has received numerous endorsements from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, and his campaign has pocketed more than $14,000 from the League of Conservation Voters.
The Land campaign slammed Peters for placing big money donations ahead of the interests of Michigan workers.
“Congressman Peters has sold out the workers of Michigan to a liberal California billionaire. To Michigan families and workers, the Keystone means more jobs, lower gas prices and greater American energy independence, but to Gary Peters opposing it means a political meal ticket,” Land spokeswoman Heather Swift said.
Those positions may have won Peters support from big money donors like Steyer, but the Democratic congressman is also relying on financial support from labor groups that support the pipeline. Obama’s Keystone delay sparked outrage from some major labor unions.
Land and Peters are running neck-in-neck for the Senate seat held by outgoing Democrat Carl Levin.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2014 Election, Gary Peters. Bookmark the permalink.
Gary Peters / AP
BY: Bill McMorris
May 5, 2014 10:00 am
Michigan Democratic senatorial candidate Gary Peters attended a fundraiser held by anti-Keystone billionaire Tom Steyer despite his proclaimed opposition to the influence of out-of-state billionaires on Michigan politics.
Steyer, a hedge fund billionaire, has pledged to spend $100 million in 2014 to elect environmentalist Democrats in February. Peters accompanied Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to Steyer’s San Francisco mansion less than a week after the announcement. The pair dined on salmon and grass-fed beef from Steyer’s personal ranch and before walking away with $400,000 for Reid’s Senate Super PAC.
Peters has collected $170,000 from leadership PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Peters’ pilgrimage to San Francisco contrasts his commitment to getting so-called dark money out of politics, as well as his public statements criticizing the libertarian Koch brothers. His campaign site’s blog attempted to connect Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land to the liberal boogeymen.
“The Koch Brothers: out of state oil billionaires trying to buy the election for Terri Lynn Land,” the post said. “They share an agenda. … If Terri Lynn Land and the Koch Brothers win—Michigan loses.”
Peters’ environmentalist position mirrors Steyer’s agenda. The environmentalist billionaire’s top priority is blocking the Keystone Pipeline, which would create tens of thousands of jobs. The Obama administration delayed the project again in April, just weeks after President Barack Obama attended a $5,000-per-plate fundraiser at Steyer’s.
A League of Conservation Voters scorecard gave Peters a 93 percent approval rating in 2013, four points higher than his lifetime average. He inserted environmental language into Keystone legislation that would hinder the construction. He has received numerous endorsements from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, and his campaign has pocketed more than $14,000 from the League of Conservation Voters.
The Land campaign slammed Peters for placing big money donations ahead of the interests of Michigan workers.
“Congressman Peters has sold out the workers of Michigan to a liberal California billionaire. To Michigan families and workers, the Keystone means more jobs, lower gas prices and greater American energy independence, but to Gary Peters opposing it means a political meal ticket,” Land spokeswoman Heather Swift said.
Those positions may have won Peters support from big money donors like Steyer, but the Democratic congressman is also relying on financial support from labor groups that support the pipeline. Obama’s Keystone delay sparked outrage from some major labor unions.
Land and Peters are running neck-in-neck for the Senate seat held by outgoing Democrat Carl Levin.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2014 Election, Gary Peters. Bookmark the permalink.
[h=2]Top Dem Donor Cashing in on Ex-Im Bank[/h]
Grover Connell
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
May 2, 2014 4:45 pm
The third biggest donor to Democratic candidates so far this election is cashing in from the Export-Import Bank, according to the Washington Examiner.
Grover Connell and his wife Patricia have thus far contributed $220,000 to Democratic candidates this election cycle. His company, the Connell Company, is the number 2 recipient of Ex-Im Bank insurance, according to a study by the Mercatus Center.
The Washington Examiner explains:
Grover Connell
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
May 2, 2014 4:45 pm
The third biggest donor to Democratic candidates so far this election is cashing in from the Export-Import Bank, according to the Washington Examiner.
Grover Connell and his wife Patricia have thus far contributed $220,000 to Democratic candidates this election cycle. His company, the Connell Company, is the number 2 recipient of Ex-Im Bank insurance, according to a study by the Mercatus Center.
The Washington Examiner explains:
The third biggest donor to Democrats this election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, is Grover Connell and his wife. They own Connell Company.
Connell Company also happens to be the No. 2 recipient of insurance issued by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, according to this study by Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center.
President Obama is a huge supporter of Ex-Im.Democrats are united in expanding it. Republicans are divided as to whether it should still exist. The Connells and their company certainly shore up their taxpayer-backed export insurance by supporting Democrats.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged Democratic Donors. Bookmark the permalink.Connell Company also happens to be the No. 2 recipient of insurance issued by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, according to this study by Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center.
President Obama is a huge supporter of Ex-Im.Democrats are united in expanding it. Republicans are divided as to whether it should still exist. The Connells and their company certainly shore up their taxpayer-backed export insurance by supporting Democrats.
Washington Dems accept donation from someone loon who "launched into profanity-laced tirade against Jews, Catholics, gays and Mexicans."
http://watchdogwire.com/northwest/2014/05/01/knight-thurston-county-donation/
http://watchdogwire.com/northwest/2014/05/01/knight-thurston-county-donation/
[h=1]16 major retail chains closing stores across America[/h] Posted on Monday, April 7th, 2014 at 9:29 AM. by: Betsy Ross
By Dr. Eowyn
Daniel Jennings writes for Wealthy Debates, April 4, 2014, that despite all the talk from the Obama administration and the MSM about a “recovering” economy, a retail tsunami shows the U.S. economy to be in trouble.
Recent news stories show that American retail is in dire straits. Here are 16 big retail companies that have closed or will close stores soon:
1.Office supply company Staples has announced plans to close 225 stores by 2015, which is about 15% of its chain. Staples already closed 40 stores last year.
2.Office Depot, Staples’ main competitor which bought Office Max last year, isn’t in good shape either. Industry analysts expect Office Depot to announce its own round of store closings soon.
3.Radio Shack has announced plans to close 20% of its stores or as many as 1,100 stores this year. The company, which operates around 4,000 stores, reported that its sales fell by 19% last year.
4.Albertsons supermarket closed 26 stores in January and February this year. Analysts expect many more Albertsons to be closed down because Albertsons’ owner hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management just bought Safeway Inc. Some Safeway stores could soon shut down as well.
5.Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is planning to close 220 stores by the end of 2015. The company is also planning to shut down the Gilly Hicks chain, which has 20 stores.
6.Barnes & Nobles is planning to shut down one third of its stores or about 218 stores in the next year. The chain has already closed its iconic flagship store in New York City.
7.J.C. Penney is closing about 33 stores and laying off about 2,000 employees.
8.Toys R Us has plans to close 100 stores.
9.The Sweetbay Supermarket chain will close all 17 of the stores it operates in the Tampa Bay area. Many of the stores might open as Winn-Dixie Stores. Sweetbay closed 33 stores in Florida last year.
10.The entire Loehmann’s chain of discount clothing stores in the New York City area shut down. Loehmann’s once operated 39 stores and was considered an institution by generations of New Yorkers.
11.Sears Holdings, which owns both Sears and Kmart, is expected to close another 500 stores this year. Sears has already shut down its flagship store in Chicago.
12.Quiznos has filed for bankruptcy and could close many of its 2,100 stores.
By Dr. Eowyn
Daniel Jennings writes for Wealthy Debates, April 4, 2014, that despite all the talk from the Obama administration and the MSM about a “recovering” economy, a retail tsunami shows the U.S. economy to be in trouble.
Recent news stories show that American retail is in dire straits. Here are 16 big retail companies that have closed or will close stores soon:
1.Office supply company Staples has announced plans to close 225 stores by 2015, which is about 15% of its chain. Staples already closed 40 stores last year.
2.Office Depot, Staples’ main competitor which bought Office Max last year, isn’t in good shape either. Industry analysts expect Office Depot to announce its own round of store closings soon.
3.Radio Shack has announced plans to close 20% of its stores or as many as 1,100 stores this year. The company, which operates around 4,000 stores, reported that its sales fell by 19% last year.
4.Albertsons supermarket closed 26 stores in January and February this year. Analysts expect many more Albertsons to be closed down because Albertsons’ owner hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management just bought Safeway Inc. Some Safeway stores could soon shut down as well.
5.Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is planning to close 220 stores by the end of 2015. The company is also planning to shut down the Gilly Hicks chain, which has 20 stores.
6.Barnes & Nobles is planning to shut down one third of its stores or about 218 stores in the next year. The chain has already closed its iconic flagship store in New York City.
7.J.C. Penney is closing about 33 stores and laying off about 2,000 employees.
8.Toys R Us has plans to close 100 stores.
9.The Sweetbay Supermarket chain will close all 17 of the stores it operates in the Tampa Bay area. Many of the stores might open as Winn-Dixie Stores. Sweetbay closed 33 stores in Florida last year.
10.The entire Loehmann’s chain of discount clothing stores in the New York City area shut down. Loehmann’s once operated 39 stores and was considered an institution by generations of New Yorkers.
11.Sears Holdings, which owns both Sears and Kmart, is expected to close another 500 stores this year. Sears has already shut down its flagship store in Chicago.
12.Quiznos has filed for bankruptcy and could close many of its 2,100 stores.
[h=1]GOP candidate was once a female impersonator[/h] Bertrand M. Gutierrez/Winston-Salem Journal | Posted: Saturday, May 3, 2014 7:00 am
Steve Wiles, a Republican state Senate candidate who supports North Carolina’s constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, once worked as a female impersonator at a gay nightclub in Winston-Salem and was gay at the time, according to a co-owner of the nightclub and a former employee.
Wiles, 34, was in his early 20s when he worked at the now-defunct nightclub, Club Odyssey, according to co-owner Randy Duggins and former employee Gray Tomlinson.
Do you think the revelation will have any impact on the race? Why or why not?
“He is Mona Sinclair,” Duggins said, referring to Wiles’ female persona.
Wiles’ responses over the past three weeks have ranged from categorical denial to tacit admission.
“I have already apologized to the people who matter most to me for the things I did when I was young,” Wiles said this week, declining to clarify for what he has apologized. The comment was made in the last of three separate interviews. At first, Wiles denied the claim.
“That’s not me,” Wiles said three weeks ago, referring to Mona Sinclair. Wiles responded “no” when asked whether he was gay. This week, Wiles’ campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter handle were taken down.
For about 14 years until 2010, Club Odyssey on Country Club Road was a nightclub where gay, lesbian and straight clientele could spend some money on drinks, relax with friends and, weekly, watch a show with talented female impersonators.
Wiles was a frequent patron in the late 1990s, Duggins said. Around 2001 and 2002, Wiles worked for Duggins as the show director, booking performers and running the show as Mona Sinclair, the emcee. At the time, Tomlinson also knew Wiles.
“That’s him,” Tomlinson said, referring to current photos on Wiles.
Duggins said he had no doubts.
“I recognized his picture when I was looking in the paper. That’s definitely him. He has aged some, but that’s him,” Duggins said. "I have no ax to grind against him. I just think he's a liar."
All these years later, Wiles is a real-estate agent who lives in Belews Creek. He filed papers to run in the Republican primary May 6 against two other GOP candidates – incumbent Joyce Krawiec and East Bend resident Dempsey Brewer – for the largely conservative Senate District 31, which comprises Yadkin County and rings around most of Forsyth County.
Wiles denied accusation to GOP
In the political arena, Wiles has changed political affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated to Republican since 2008, according to public voter records, confirmed by Wiles.
Records show that he voted in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary that featured candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Four years later, the Journal reported, Wiles stumped in 2012 for the constitutional amendment, passed in a statewide referendum, reinforcing a state law banning same-sex marriage.
“Why is it even an issue?” he asked, referring to questions about his time at Club Odyssey and the amendment.
Anyone with an Internet connection could have speculated that Wiles was a female impersonator.
An online search for “Steven Wiles” and “Belews Creek,” the place he lists as his town of residence in campaign filings, turns up a link to the Miss Gay America website.
Within the website, a webpage with Wiles’ name has been taken offline but the cached version was still accessible this week. The webpage lists a Steven Wiles as Mona Sinclair. It says he lives in Belews Creek and that he was a promoter of Miss Gay Eastern States America and a promoter for Miss Gay North Carolina America.
The webpage also says that Wiles was suspended for “conduct unbecoming to a promoter of the Miss Gay America pageant system,” according to the webpage, without providing more information. Larry Tyger, a co-owner of the Miss Gay America pageant, said in a telephone interview that he does not discuss suspensions.
The content of that webpage has provided fodder for a political attack ad on a social-media website.
Last year, as Wiles was considering a run for a county commissioner seat, Scott Cumbie, the chairman of the Forsyth Republican Party, asked Wiles whether he was Mona Sinclair, according to Wiles and Cumbie.
Wiles denied it, both Cumbie and Wiles said about two weeks ago.
“It’s not just about lifestyle. It’s about credibility,” Cumbie said.
District 31 is conservative stronghold
Even if Wiles had all the credibility that a politician could earn, it might still be difficult for the fledgling politician, up against a well-connected politico such as Krawiec, to win Senate District 31.
In January, district Republicans nominated Krawiec, who at the time was the vice chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party, to fill the seat left vacant by former Sen. Pete Brunstetter, who went to work at Novant Health. Neither Wiles nor Krawiec nor Brewer has been elected to office, but Krawiec may have an edge because of the popularity she has accumulated over many years as an advocate for conservative issues.
The district comprises rural Yadkin County and rings around most of Forsyth County.
It’s the same district in which the town of Jonesville was mostly dry until recently. The sale of liquor had been banned. ABC stores had not been allowed. Although restaurants had been allowed for years to sell wine, some restaurant owners did not do so for fear that they would lose the after-church crowd on Sundays.
Jonesville voters, in a referendum, allowed the sale of alcohol – in November.
It’s also the same district that was represented until December by Brunstetter, a primary sponsor of North Carolina’s constitutional amendment, passed in a 2012 referendum, that reinforced a state law banning same-sex marriage.
“Why would you want to get into that knowing your past?” asked Duggins. “He’s a hypocrite.”
Wiles, an advocate in 2012 for the constitutional amendment reinforcing the ban on same-sex marriage, said he still strongly supports it.
“I do not condone the things I did when I was young,” Wiles said when asked about the amendment, declining to clarify what he had done.
Why should a candidate’s past matter?
For more than half of Americans, sexual orientation is fading as an issue, according to a recent poll, if views on same-sex marriage are any indication.
A poll released in March by the Pew Research Center said that 54 percent of the public favors the idea of allowing gays and lesbians to marry. A large gap still exists between Democrats and Republicans – with 69 percent of Democrats or those who lean Democratic favoring same-sex marriage. By comparison, 39 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican support it, according to the poll.
Among Republicans, views are split along generations.
As it turns out, 61 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican, under the age of 30, favor same-sex marriage while only 27 percent of Republicans who are at least 50 favor it, according to the Pew poll.
Todd Poole, the executive director of the N.C. Republican Party, declined to comment about Wiles’ candidacy and whether it matters to GOP voters that a candidate once worked at a gay nightclub.
Brewer, a three-term precinct chairman for the local GOP, said voters should expect transparency.
“Honesty is something all districts should require of their representatives. District 31 is the district I’m going to represent. I’m not going to represent California. Each voter should decide for him or her what’s important in a candidate. But voters should also have as much information as possible,” Brewer said.
Krawiec said, “I trust the voters of District 31 to make the right decision in who best represents their interests. I have complete confidence in the voters’ judgment.”
John Motsinger, the district’s Democratic candidate, is familiar with the impact that the past may have on a candidate. His wife, Elisabeth Motsinger, while running for the 5th Congressional District in 2012, was questioned about her past interest in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who was an controversial Indian mystic and spiritual teacher.
In the late 1970s, when Motsinger was in her 20s, she was among several thousand Westerners who visited Rajneesh in India. Now in her 50s, Motsinger is a member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education and has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem for more than 25 years.
And she has never hidden her past, John Motsinger said.
“The Republicans of the Senate district need to determine the qualifications of their standard bearer,” he said. “I would not make an issue of his past in my campaign because I believe someone’s private life is theirs as long as it does not affect their responsibilities as an elected official,” he said.
The winner of the GOP primary May 6 will face Motsinger in the general election Nov. 4.
bgutierrez@wsjournal.com (336) 727-7278
Steve Wiles, a Republican state Senate candidate who supports North Carolina’s constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, once worked as a female impersonator at a gay nightclub in Winston-Salem and was gay at the time, according to a co-owner of the nightclub and a former employee.
Wiles, 34, was in his early 20s when he worked at the now-defunct nightclub, Club Odyssey, according to co-owner Randy Duggins and former employee Gray Tomlinson.
Do you think the revelation will have any impact on the race? Why or why not?
“He is Mona Sinclair,” Duggins said, referring to Wiles’ female persona.
Wiles’ responses over the past three weeks have ranged from categorical denial to tacit admission.
“I have already apologized to the people who matter most to me for the things I did when I was young,” Wiles said this week, declining to clarify for what he has apologized. The comment was made in the last of three separate interviews. At first, Wiles denied the claim.
“That’s not me,” Wiles said three weeks ago, referring to Mona Sinclair. Wiles responded “no” when asked whether he was gay. This week, Wiles’ campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter handle were taken down.
For about 14 years until 2010, Club Odyssey on Country Club Road was a nightclub where gay, lesbian and straight clientele could spend some money on drinks, relax with friends and, weekly, watch a show with talented female impersonators.
Wiles was a frequent patron in the late 1990s, Duggins said. Around 2001 and 2002, Wiles worked for Duggins as the show director, booking performers and running the show as Mona Sinclair, the emcee. At the time, Tomlinson also knew Wiles.
“That’s him,” Tomlinson said, referring to current photos on Wiles.
Duggins said he had no doubts.
“I recognized his picture when I was looking in the paper. That’s definitely him. He has aged some, but that’s him,” Duggins said. "I have no ax to grind against him. I just think he's a liar."
All these years later, Wiles is a real-estate agent who lives in Belews Creek. He filed papers to run in the Republican primary May 6 against two other GOP candidates – incumbent Joyce Krawiec and East Bend resident Dempsey Brewer – for the largely conservative Senate District 31, which comprises Yadkin County and rings around most of Forsyth County.
Wiles denied accusation to GOP
In the political arena, Wiles has changed political affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated to Republican since 2008, according to public voter records, confirmed by Wiles.
Records show that he voted in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary that featured candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Four years later, the Journal reported, Wiles stumped in 2012 for the constitutional amendment, passed in a statewide referendum, reinforcing a state law banning same-sex marriage.
“Why is it even an issue?” he asked, referring to questions about his time at Club Odyssey and the amendment.
Anyone with an Internet connection could have speculated that Wiles was a female impersonator.
An online search for “Steven Wiles” and “Belews Creek,” the place he lists as his town of residence in campaign filings, turns up a link to the Miss Gay America website.
Within the website, a webpage with Wiles’ name has been taken offline but the cached version was still accessible this week. The webpage lists a Steven Wiles as Mona Sinclair. It says he lives in Belews Creek and that he was a promoter of Miss Gay Eastern States America and a promoter for Miss Gay North Carolina America.
The webpage also says that Wiles was suspended for “conduct unbecoming to a promoter of the Miss Gay America pageant system,” according to the webpage, without providing more information. Larry Tyger, a co-owner of the Miss Gay America pageant, said in a telephone interview that he does not discuss suspensions.
The content of that webpage has provided fodder for a political attack ad on a social-media website.
Last year, as Wiles was considering a run for a county commissioner seat, Scott Cumbie, the chairman of the Forsyth Republican Party, asked Wiles whether he was Mona Sinclair, according to Wiles and Cumbie.
Wiles denied it, both Cumbie and Wiles said about two weeks ago.
“It’s not just about lifestyle. It’s about credibility,” Cumbie said.
District 31 is conservative stronghold
Even if Wiles had all the credibility that a politician could earn, it might still be difficult for the fledgling politician, up against a well-connected politico such as Krawiec, to win Senate District 31.
In January, district Republicans nominated Krawiec, who at the time was the vice chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party, to fill the seat left vacant by former Sen. Pete Brunstetter, who went to work at Novant Health. Neither Wiles nor Krawiec nor Brewer has been elected to office, but Krawiec may have an edge because of the popularity she has accumulated over many years as an advocate for conservative issues.
The district comprises rural Yadkin County and rings around most of Forsyth County.
It’s the same district in which the town of Jonesville was mostly dry until recently. The sale of liquor had been banned. ABC stores had not been allowed. Although restaurants had been allowed for years to sell wine, some restaurant owners did not do so for fear that they would lose the after-church crowd on Sundays.
Jonesville voters, in a referendum, allowed the sale of alcohol – in November.
It’s also the same district that was represented until December by Brunstetter, a primary sponsor of North Carolina’s constitutional amendment, passed in a 2012 referendum, that reinforced a state law banning same-sex marriage.
“Why would you want to get into that knowing your past?” asked Duggins. “He’s a hypocrite.”
Wiles, an advocate in 2012 for the constitutional amendment reinforcing the ban on same-sex marriage, said he still strongly supports it.
“I do not condone the things I did when I was young,” Wiles said when asked about the amendment, declining to clarify what he had done.
Why should a candidate’s past matter?
For more than half of Americans, sexual orientation is fading as an issue, according to a recent poll, if views on same-sex marriage are any indication.
A poll released in March by the Pew Research Center said that 54 percent of the public favors the idea of allowing gays and lesbians to marry. A large gap still exists between Democrats and Republicans – with 69 percent of Democrats or those who lean Democratic favoring same-sex marriage. By comparison, 39 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican support it, according to the poll.
Among Republicans, views are split along generations.
As it turns out, 61 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican, under the age of 30, favor same-sex marriage while only 27 percent of Republicans who are at least 50 favor it, according to the Pew poll.
Todd Poole, the executive director of the N.C. Republican Party, declined to comment about Wiles’ candidacy and whether it matters to GOP voters that a candidate once worked at a gay nightclub.
Brewer, a three-term precinct chairman for the local GOP, said voters should expect transparency.
“Honesty is something all districts should require of their representatives. District 31 is the district I’m going to represent. I’m not going to represent California. Each voter should decide for him or her what’s important in a candidate. But voters should also have as much information as possible,” Brewer said.
Krawiec said, “I trust the voters of District 31 to make the right decision in who best represents their interests. I have complete confidence in the voters’ judgment.”
John Motsinger, the district’s Democratic candidate, is familiar with the impact that the past may have on a candidate. His wife, Elisabeth Motsinger, while running for the 5th Congressional District in 2012, was questioned about her past interest in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who was an controversial Indian mystic and spiritual teacher.
In the late 1970s, when Motsinger was in her 20s, she was among several thousand Westerners who visited Rajneesh in India. Now in her 50s, Motsinger is a member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education and has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem for more than 25 years.
And she has never hidden her past, John Motsinger said.
“The Republicans of the Senate district need to determine the qualifications of their standard bearer,” he said. “I would not make an issue of his past in my campaign because I believe someone’s private life is theirs as long as it does not affect their responsibilities as an elected official,” he said.
The winner of the GOP primary May 6 will face Motsinger in the general election Nov. 4.
bgutierrez@wsjournal.com (336) 727-7278
Liberals believe in free speech.
Well, not really
Government officials, reacting to the growing voice of conservative news outlets, especially on the internet, are angling to curtail the media's exemption from federal election laws governing political organizations, a potentially chilling intervention that the chairman of the [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Federal Election Commission[/FONT] is vowing to fight.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/fec-c...ity-face-regulation-like-pacs/article/2548163
Well, not really
Government officials, reacting to the growing voice of conservative news outlets, especially on the internet, are angling to curtail the media's exemption from federal election laws governing political organizations, a potentially chilling intervention that the chairman of the [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Federal Election Commission[/FONT] is vowing to fight.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/fec-c...ity-face-regulation-like-pacs/article/2548163
The REPUBLICAN politician in North Carolina (Steve Wiles) against gay wedding was... an active and great drag queen in a gay club for years and was named "Miss Mona Sinclair" !
Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...queen-performer-known-Miss-Mona-Sinclair.html
Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...queen-performer-known-Miss-Mona-Sinclair.html
