I first became politically active here in my "red" mountain North Carolina County in 1990 (the first Harvey Gantt vs Jesse Helms race). At that time, the local Democratic and Republican parties were in cahoots. They met regularly for coffee at the downtown drug store and hammered out who would run for what and who would win, and we all lived our lives in "bi-partisan," rightwing bullshit. Sound familiar?
When younger blood (which at the time included me) tried to come into the local Party to work for Harvey Gantt (v. Jesse Helms) and other Democratic candidates in 1990, we were told to get out of town. In fact, when we raised and spent our own money on a full page newspaper ad that featured then State Senator Virginia Foxx stirring a witches brew complete with a burnt and drowning middle class, the old guard got so pissed off, they reported four of us to the local DA for campaign finance violations. (That's a particularly interesting story--remind me to fill you in on it sometime.)
Here's what happened....
