To the Editor:

Phillip Price, who is running for U.S. Congress from the 11th District, lists 289 “Past Events” on his “Phillip Price for Congress” Facebook page (as of August 23). That’s almost 300 events just since he announced his candidacy. He also lists, as of the same date, 27 more “Upcoming Events.” From these numbers alone it’s clear that Phillip Price cares about what the people of Western North Carolina think and that he’s dedicated to listening to them and interacting with them. He has made himself available to the people. I personally have seen and heard him twice in Sylva, once in Webster and once at Balsam Mountain.

Now guess how many past and upcoming events are listed at Rep. Mark Meadows for Congress Facebook page? Keep in mind that it’s less than 70 days until the election, and consider that the U.S. House has been out of session the entire month of August. They don’t reconvene until Sept. 4. Meadows has had both incentive and ample opportunity to interact publicly with his constituents. Most members of Congress who are running for re-election welcome the August recess as a time to seriously reconnect with the voters back home. 

First, guess the number of “Past Events” listed. (Hint: guess a low number.)  The correct answer is three. Of those three, one was in 2012, one was in 2014, and the most recent was over two years ago in June of 2016. 

Now guess the number of “Upcoming Events” listed (as of August 23). The correct answer is zero. A big fat zero. 

That’s right, the note under “Upcoming Events” says, “Mark Meadows for Congress does not have any upcoming events.” And remember it’s less than two months until early voting begins. It’s true that Meadows also has another (non-campaign) Facebook page, so to be fair we should include the events noted there as well.  That page lists one past event dated in August of last year, and under the “Upcoming Events” heading you will find the note “Mark Meadows does not have any upcoming events.”

The facts speak for themselves. Meadows is hiding out.  He’s refusing to interact with voters on a personal level, presumably because he doesn’t really consider us as constituents that he has to answer to. In sharp contrast, Phillip Price is accessible and caring, a true man of the people.

It’s time to put Meadows out to pasture.

Bill Spencer

Cullowhee