First-term Congresswoman Virginia Foxx is running for re-election in the Fifth Congressional District. The Record & Landmark has devoted a lot of attention to the race, or more accurately, it has devoted a lot of newspaper space to promoting Foxx’s opponent, Roger Sharpe.

Foxx has the reputation of being one of the hardest-working members of Congress. She studies the details of legislation and provides excellent constituent service. She has personally contacted more constituents, attended more events, and visited more businesses than any local member of Congress in our memory.

Foxx has a conservative voting record. Last year she was one of only 38 members of Congress to earn a 100 per cent rating from the American Conservative Union. She received a 100 per cent rating from U.S. Border Control, a group whose mission is to secure our borders and end illegal immigration. She has been a supporter of Second Amendment rights

Of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, Foxx was one of only 30 to earn an “A” rating from the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union. The group rates members of Congress on every single vote that significantly affects spending, taxes, or debt. Those who receive an “A” grade are considered to be among the strongest supporters of reduced spending and less debt and taxes. (See article in Summer 2006 issue.)

Many voters [including this writer] believe Congress is spending too much. If all our federal lawmakers voted as Foxx has, the government would be spending much less of our money.

Challenger Roger Sharpe has made a major issue of Foxx’s vote against a fifty-one thousand-million dollar ($51 billion) Katrina “emergency” relief bill. Foxx voted for the initial $10.5 billion Katrina relief bill, and for several other measures to aid the hurricane victims. But she said the $51 billion measure, which computed to over $100,000 for every resident of New Orleans, was more money than was immediately needed or could be properly accounted for.

Foxx’s concern about the lack of accountability proved justified. Much of the “relief” money has been squandered on items such as luxury hotel suites and X-rated videos for recipients. If the vote were held today, many more Congressmen, perhaps a majority, would join Foxx in voting against the $51 billion bill.

Sharpe harshly criticized Foxx for voting against renewal of the so-called Voting Rights Act. Among other things, this measure requires that ballots be printed in Spanish and several other languages if a certain percentage of the residents of the area speak that language. Most local residents believe voters should be able to understand English. Apparently, Roger Sharpe does not agree.

Sharpe and his supporters accuse Foxx of being a “rubber stamp” for the Bush administration. Foxx has supported the President in fighting the war against terror (Islamic fascism), in voting for tax cuts, and on other issues where she believes he is right. But when she believes he is mistaken, Foxx has not hesitated to oppose the President, as shown by her vote against the CAFTA treaty and her support for tough measures to stop illegal immigration.

President Bush supported the Katrina “relief” bill that Foxx opposed. Ironically, Roger Sharpe, who accuses Foxx of being a puppet of the President, agrees with the administration’s position on this issue.

The Record & Landmark has given Sharpe’s campaign thousands of dollars of free publicity. The day after a Sharpe campaign rally in Statesville, the newspaper devoted most of the front page to the story, complete with a large, above-the-fold color picture (September 9 issue). The day before, the paper gave front-page coverage to a Sharpe rally in Taylorsville.

Sharpe’s Iredell County campaign coordinator, a prolific author of letters-to-the-editor, invariably takes the liberal side of the issues he writes about.