Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics
Protesters held competing signs that said "Thank you Mark" and "Build Bridges Not Walls" outside Thomas Auditorium at Blue Ridge Community College Monday afternoon in the leadup to the first town hall U.S. Mark Meadows has held in the Trump era.
Inside, constituents issued competing cheers and boos and the occasional jeers and derisive laughter but in the end the 90-minute Q&A lacked the kind of anger and fireworks that have ended with a congressman fleeing his constituents. NBC News sent a crew to cover the event but it seemed clear that the event failed to produce the kind of optics that the Huffington Post might gleefully post.
Security was tight, as promised, but the process went smoothly because Sheriff Charlie McDonald flooded the zone with plainclothes and uniformed personnel. Deputies shined flashlights in purses and used security wands to scan the constituents who began lining up for admittance more than two hours before showtime. At 6 p.m. the auditorium, which holds 482 people, was full. Only small signs were allowed.
Sheriff McDonald, a longtime Meadows ally, was the first to speak, at 6:06, giving the ground rules for the question-and-answer: Remain seated, keep aisles clear, observe decorum, respect the questioner.
"Safety's the main concern," McDonald said. "Bottom line, we want you to be able go home having felt like it was a good time and certainly well worth your time being here. From what I've seen so far I'm very encouraged. Please make sure that you respect whoever's speaking."
The lines were drawn from the start when Meadows mentioned that some constituents want Medicare for all — causing a big cheer to erupt — and that some want to repeal and replace Obamacare — provoking another roughly equal outbreak of applause, whistles and cheers.
In opening remarks, Meadows mentioned work he'd like to continue on health care, tax reform, military veterans and immigration. Wearing a charcoal gray suit, white dress shirt and light blue tie, the always well-coifed former developer was earnest and patient as he volleyed questions from an audience that was decidedly more hostile than most he's faced in his five years in office.
One constituent asked whether there would be a chance for followups from questioners.
"As a general rule we can't have an ongoing conversation back and forth between 400 people," Meadows said.
Questions started at 6:17 p.m.
The first one was, "What kind of insurance plan do you have now?" with a followup: "If Congress repeals Obamacare, what kind of insurance will you have?"
The premium for a policy that covers his wife and himself, Meadows said, is a little over $1,000 a month with a $7,500 deductible.
"Actually part of what we were looking to do was fix the Affordable Care Act," he said. "What will get my vote is something that will lower premiums and allow those with pre-existing conditions to be taken care of."
A newer idea is a block-grant proposal advanced by U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham. "For North Carolina," Meadows said, "the block grant would increase the amount that goes to Medicaid because we are not an expansion state."
"Why not?" shouted a vocal and persistent audience member who flouted his anti-Meadows feelings throughout the evening.
A moment later, McDonald intervened to ask for calm. "Please let him finish his answer," he said.
Health care questions dominated the night.
Meadows stressed that he had "made a pledge over and over to not support anything that doesn't lower premiums and cover pre-existing conditions."
Answering a question about the Freedom Caucus, Meadows mentioned that he chairs the Tea Party-oriented faction, setting off a new round of boos and cheers.
More questions
What is your stance on term limits and a constitutional convention of the states?
He's sponsored a bill on term limits. "There is not really the support on either side for term limits," he said. A convention of the states is something he's changed his mind on, now tilting in favor of because "Congress can't get things done."
What do tax cuts have to do with health care (the health care bill passed by the House lowered taxes on the rich)?
"The tax component was tied in with the Affordable Care Act when it passed... If you repeal those taxes it allowed for a much more aggressive tax cut for the middle class," he said.
Will you work with Democrats to reform health care?
"The real discouraging part when we started in on this, Chuck Schumer said he wasn't going to help anyone," he said. "I went to five of my Democrat colleagues" and asked for their input and some got in the House bill that passed. He spoke with one Democrat, Elijah Cummings, about prescription drugs.
Is there any hope that we will get a decent health care plan this year?
"We don't want a bill in Washington, D.C., that's going to create a crisis for anyone. ... For me, I find a free market approach has the best ways to reduce cost. ... If we don't have a bill in September I think it's probably not going to happen."
Every modern nation has health care for all. Why do you believe Americans don't deserve health care or that we're not capable of achieving it?
By choosing a government plan over the free market "you're making a fundamental decision that typically has not proved out."
What have you done to help the economy in the district?
He has worked with state Commerce Department "to make sure we are ready and open and willing for business. ... I've met personally with a number of CEOs who have come to try to make a decision to locate in Western North Carolina." He's worked "to make sure we have a good infrastructure that actually supports that."
What is your rational for supporting gun laws that police officers oppose?
Meadows said he knows of no bill he's supported that police oppose. "If you want someone who doesn't support the Second Amendment you probably want a different member of Congress because I'm not going to yield on that."
Will you vote to raise the debt ceiling?
"One of the things we're really trying to tackle is not to support a debt ceiling bill that is not accompanied by some kind of spending cut or reform that would bend that curve down where we start to spend more responsibly."
What's your position on cutting corporate taxes and closing tax loopholes?
"Everybody's for closing tax loophole until it comes to their tax loopholes, I've found," he said.
Do you support a federal law or state law to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns? (Provoking cheers from Trump opponents)
"I can tell you're not going to like the answer. I'm not in favor of that."
Although you have a national platform now, WNC has unique issues. What are the priority issues for our region that must be addressed?
Jobs, immigration and veterans. "Jobs, No. 1. There are some counties that are doing very well and there are many that are not." Immigration is important, especially to farmers in need of labor. "We've got to address that. Any immigration reform that we do has to start with secure borders. It allows for us deal with the situation on a region by region basis" and to deal with guest workers. Case of veterans is another priority.
How much would you allocate to build the wall?
"I do believe that our immigration policy, whether you're a conservative or a liberal, has to start with a secure set of borders so i believe we have to build a wall." Parts of it will be a wall, parts a virtual fence.
Meadows thanked the audience for being respectful.
"This kind of discourse and even disagreement and lets the Third World countries know that America is different," he said.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
Constituents attending U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows’ town hall tonight will see national media, heightened security and restrictions on the size of signs in the Thomas Auditorium at Blue Ridge Community College.“Mark promised a town hall every year and that’s what we’re doing,” said Wayne King, Meadows’ deputy chief of staff and district director. “We hope folks will be respectful and allow people to get their questions answered. We hope the good Southern nature of people in this community will come out.”Organizers of the county’s most active President Trump resistance group, Progressive Organized Women, have been promoting the town hall and will stage a protest before it starts.“Oh gosh, yes,” organizer Jayne Jennings said when asked whether her group planned to attend. “We hope to have a large turnout. We’ve been promoting it widely within our own group. We plan to show up early to protest and then go into the town hall. We’re the largest progressive group in Western North Carolina.”The first town hall since Trump was inaugurated, investigations into various facets of his campaign and administration were announced and Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare could feature less friendly questions than Meadows has seen in the past in Republican-dominant Henderson County. Meadows comes home to the 11th District higher ranking than he's ever been and with a national profile. As head of the Freedom Caucus, the powerful conservative faction in the House, Meadows has been a key figure on health care, tax reform and other legislation and is often interviewed on cable news shows.“I think right now health care” will be the dominant topic, Jennings said. “It’s huge on everybody’s mind. We want to make sure everybody understands that Mark Meadows is not as loved in this district as everyone thinks. All the media he gets says that everyone in the district loves him and supports him and that’s just not really true.”She expects protesters to congregate around 3:30 so they can go through security and get into the town hall starting at 4:30. The town hall starts at 6 p.m. People will see airport like security checks and a stronger than usual presence of law officers.“It’s all about the safety of the people attending,” said Maj. Frank Stout, who joined a command staff briefing about the town hall Monday morning.Signs inside will be limited to 8½x11 inches on paper and can't be attached to a stick.“If someone stands up with a large sign it would block multiple people and prevent them from seeing or asking their question,” Stout said. He declined to say how many deputies the sheriff planned to deploy. The sheriff’s office typically covers Meadows events with several deputies but the raucous nature of some other congressional town halls has triggered a considerable uptick in the security.“The sheriff has been working with us to make sure that the people that come there are safe,” King said. “They’re some of the most professional people I’ve ever worked with. We’re happy to have them assist us for sure.”The town hall format will be the same as it has been in the past, King said. Meadows will open with a few remarks. The staff will collect written questions and Meadows will answer as many as he can get to.
“He will kind of kick it off and hopefully some of those questions will be answered during that portion of it,” King said. “We’re not going answer the same question 20 times. But people will have the opportunity to write their questions as we have in the past and we can follow up with them as well.” As he has in the past, too, Meadows will promise "a written response from our office” if he can't address it on the spot.Joshua Denton, a Henderson County Democratic Party spokesman, said the party has not planned a protest but has urged Democrats to come out. An email blast said “Let’s fill the auditorium before the other team gets there.”“I know a lot are planning to attend,” he said. He predicted that the third third-term Republican would get questions about health care, tax reform and the ongoing special counsel investigation of Trump and the 2016 campaign.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
Almost 40 years later, North Carolina Sen. Chuck Edwards received his Future Farmers of America jacket.FFA is backed by the Farm Bureau, and Dana farmer Danny McConnell serves as president of the Henderson County Farm Bureau branch.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
New York Times columnist David Brooks, a leading analyst of American culture and politics, will deliver the keynotes remarks at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at UNC Asheville’s Founders Day celebration of its 90th anniversary.
Advance tickets will be available on Aug. 12 at events.unca.edu. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Supported by the David and Lin Brown Visionary Lecture Series and the Van Winkle Law Firm Public Policy Lectures, the event is in Kimmel Arena on campus.
Brooks is regularly featured in The New York Times op-ed pages, where his columns have appeared biweekly since 2003; on NBC’s Meet the Press; on the PBS Newshour, where he discusses politics with liberal counterpoint Mark Shields; and NPR where he is a regular Friday contributor on All Things Considered.
As a public speaker, Brooks addresses contemporary culture and issues with humor and quiet passion. His commentaries examine American ways of life as a window into present-day politics.
After graduating from The University of Chicago in 1983 with a degree in history, Brooks stayed in Chicago to begin his professional career as a police reporter, an experience which he says had a conservatizing influence upon him. The next year, he accepted an internship at the prominent conservative journal, National Review, and then was hired as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where he remained for nine years, ultimately becoming editorial page editor. He also was senior editor at The Weekly Standard before accepting his current position with The New York Times.
In addition to his journalism work, Brooks is a senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, and has taught courses at Yale on humility. His thinking on that subject led to his 2015 book, The Road to Character, which he describes as an attempt “to shift the conversation a bit. We live in a culture that focuses on external success … a fast, distracted culture. We’ve lost some of the vocabulary other generations had to describe the inner confrontation with weakness that produces good character. I am hoping this book can help people better understand their own inner lives, their own moral adventures and their own roads to character.”
Brooks’ other books include The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement; On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense; and Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. Brooks is also the editor of the 1996 anthology, Backward and Upward: The New Conservative Writing. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of Chicago, and on the Board of Advisors of the university’s Institute of Politics. Read Story »
Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows will host a time for veterans to ask questions and bring up concerns about health care coverage during his fourth annual NC-11 Veterans’ Solutions Seminars next week, including one from 1 to 5 p.m. at Fletcher Town Hall, 300 Old Cane Creek Road.
In partnership with the Charles George VA Medical Center staff, the NC Division of Veteran’s Affairs and the Veterans’ Affairs Winston-Salem Regional Benefit Office, Meadows host the events for veterans and their families. Constituents will be invited to meet with members of Meadows’ staff, representatives from the VA hospital, the benefit office and the NC division of Veterans Affairs to get assistance with issues surrounding VA benefits, healthcare and disability.
Meadows has other Veterans’ Solutions Seminars scheduled for Waynesville and Morganton.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The Henderson County School Board took just eight minutes to call for the resignation of board member Michael Absher on Monday afternoon — delivering a form of public censure that Absher immediately vowed to defy.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The Henderson County Board of Elections on Thursday unanimously upheld a ruling by elections administrators that 20-year-old John F. Moore Jr. is too young to run for the Hendersonville City Council.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The attorney for embattled School Board member Michael Absher on Tuesday strongly denounced a potential vote by the board to demand the resignation of Absher, who faces a criminal charge related to a group home his nonprofit agency operates and a civil complaint filed by a high school teacher.
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Henderson County Four Seasons Politics
The Republican-backed Senate health care bill released on Thursday lacks the votes to pass in either the House or Senate, U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows told reporters in a conference call on Friday.
“We don’t have enough support among conservatives or moderates in either chamber to get it to the president’s desk,” Meadows said.His main concerns are, “How do we make sure that we bring premiums down substantially, and how do we solidify the insurance markets so that there’s enough insurance to provide coverage,” he said.The Senate bill provided a little stability, Meadows said, by adding funds for CSR payments, which would help those on Obamacare and reducing the percentage of people that receive subsidies to those at 350 percent of the poverty line.“That reduction doesn’t affect a great amount of people in terms of the threshold,” he said. “Most people are covered through employer health plans. One of the recommendations is to look at subsidies looking at 400 percent and being able to buy premiums out of a health savings account.”“A number of us that believe there should be an amendment for people to buy Obamacare plans or other non-compliant plans that would accurately reflect the risk that they have, for example someone in their 50s would have more coverage on certain types of illness than others,” Meadows said. “Having flexibility as a health care provider and insurance provider is important. It’ll have the greatest effect on rates and affordability,” he added.In terms of Medicaid, because North Carolina isn’t a Medicaid expansion state, the impact here wouldn’t be great, Meadows said. But what is of concern to him is that North Carolina would receive its “fair share” in compensation."I’m optimistic that we can improve the bill and get consensus among moderates and ultimately get it to President Trump,” he concluded.In response to Trump’s calling of the bill “mean”, Meadows isn’t focused on the labels it will receive, and has a different interpretation of Trump’s response.“I think what he’s responding to is that we not only handle preexisting conditions, but we fund it in a way to not give people anxiety,” he said. “I support him fully in that. They want to make sure we adequately fund it, make sure there is no anxiety for people with preexisting conditions. I see it as a push to get the Senate to increase dollars on some critical areas.”With regard to preexisting conditions, a heated topic within the bill, Meadows says they need to be covered. “A preexisting conditions provision in the House and Senate bill was never bypassed,” he said. “If I have a preexisting condition and go to an insurance provider I would get the same rate as someone who doesn’t have a preexisting condition.”The bill looks to decrease government support for Medicaid.“I would prefer to see greater flexibility for every state to deploy Medicaid dollars in a less prescriptive manner,” Meadows said. “Medicaid today is broken. We somehow think that Medicaid is working the way that it is, Medicaid doesn’t work the way it currently is. The real key is allowing dollars to be deployed by legislature to meet the needs. The trajectory now is not sustainable for the health care provider. They’re getting reimbursed less and less. There’s more work to be done, but it’s a broader Medicaid reform package outside of an ACA repeal and replace measure.”Meadows would like to see some changes in the bill before it is passed.“The biggest thing I would like to see in terms of amendments is to have flexibility for consumers where they can buy one of 20 plans that insurance providers are allowed by law to provide those plans and still qualify for subsidies offered by the federal government,” he said. “The second part is to expand the ability of HSAs to allow more people to buy those types of coverage.” Health savings accounts are untaxed, but only those with a high deductible health plan are allowed to have them.Critics of the bill criticize its process and the nature in which it was made.“I don’t have a problem with the speed of which it’s being brought forth,” Meadows said. “We’ve (Republicans) talked about repeal and replace for seven years. I do have a concern with trying to make sure legislation has top priority with does it lower premiums and does it stop hardworking tax payers from choosing between putting food on the table and paying premiums. Most people can agree that insurance premiums have continued to skyrocket. We need to do something about that and to make sure preexisting conditions are protected and covered. We will do those two things in a bill that has my approval.” As for the secrecy from the Senate, “I’m for open process and transparency,” he added. “I think the more transparent the deliberation process, the better the product.”The bill will undergo the voting process next week.Meadows also briefly discussed tax reform.“The biggest budget concerns are increasing the amount of money for defense and non-defense discretionary dollars,” Meadows said. “Those numbers right now are to increase defense spending by 75 billion, keep non-defense discretionary at current levels, where most of the consensus is building in the House. If we’re doing tax reform, we have mandatory spending cuts.”Next week will be critical for settling on a budget and final numbers, he added.“There is growing pressure to sequester for the military,” he said. “If we did that, it would be a monumental vote that we haven’t seen in the House or Senate in at least the last three congresses. It’s a work in progress in terms of the budget. There are three different camps in the House: fiscal hawks, defense hawks and those that are more moderate in spending habits wanting to increase non-defense spending levels. We need to try to bring those groups together.” Read Story »
Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics
The new state budget contains $100,000 for public improvements to downtown Hendersonville, $200,000 to fight the woolly adelgid scourge that is killing hemlocks, $4 million for capital improvements at Asheville Regional Airport, $100,000 to expand a legal program for veterans and $500,000 for the Muddy Sneakers program among other benefits for the Henderson County area, state Rep. Chuck McGrady announced.
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