Today Mark Meadows announced the endorsement of his candidacy for Congress from the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) political action committee, Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust. Meadows indicated he was humbled by the news.

“I respect the hard work the NFIB has put into providing resources and assistance for small businesses for the past 70 years,” said Meadows. “I am grateful to have the support of fellow small business owners, because they need an advocate in Washington if we are going to get our economy growing again. President Obama may believe they ‘didn’t build’ their small business, but I know better and am the only candidate in this race willing to fight to overturn his burdensome, job-killing policies like Obamacare.”

According to the most recent data from the Small Business Administration in September 2012, small businesses make up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms and account for 64 percent of net new private-sector jobs. “Your election is not only critical to the small-business owners in your district, but also to protecting free enterprise across America,” said Lisa Goeas, Vice President. “On behalf of all NFIB members, we look forward to standing with you as you work to do big things for small business.”

Since 2006, the counties of the 11th district have seen an average increase of 86% in unemployment. Some counties have experienced considerably more than that according to data tracked by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Transylvania, Clay and Henderson have all seen increases of 100% or greater with Clay and Henderson topping out the list at 148% and 153% respectively. The statewide unemployment rate in North Carolina is currently the fifth highest in the nation.

“Without a dramatic change in the uncertain and burdensome regulatory climate, reforming the complicated tax code and becoming dedicated to bring our country to greater energy self-sufficiency, Western North Carolina will continue to struggle with an unacceptably high unemployment rate,” remarked Meadows. “Under the current administration, the federal government hampers private sector job growth, rather than encourage it,” continued Meadows. “The people of the 11th District deserve better.”

Meadows 20/20 Plan

Crystal-clear vision is 20/20 vision. The Meadows economic plan provides a clear picture for job creation and a strong economy – with no government bailouts. The 20/20 economic recovery plan has four components that will revitalize the economy over the next 20 months:

• Close Corporate Tax Loopholes And Reduce Corporate Taxes To 20 Percent. Currently the United States of America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It is cheaper for a person to start a business in Ireland than the United States. Why should we find it surprising that business leaders choose to move businesses abroad when there is a financial incentive to do so?  By lowering our corporate tax rate, the US will become more competitive globally and industry will not find more favorable conditions to move operations abroad. (Estimated job growth, 1.2 million)  [i]

• For The Next 20 Months, Allow Repatriation Of Earnings. We should allow the 1.25 to 1.5 trillion dollars of corporate earnings which are currently being retained abroad, to be brought back and invested in long term US business ventures, tax-free. The repatriation of earnings currently being held abroad and the economic impact would far exceed the government stimulus plans which have been implemented to date. These earnings are currently not being taxed by the US and this exemption would not have a negative impact on current budgets. This one act could provide the single greatest stimulus to US corporate job growth that we have witnessed since 2008. (Estimated job growth, 2.9 million) [ii]

• Unleash Growth Among Small Businesses by Reducing Regulations By 20 Percent Across The Board, In All Government Agencies. Place a moratorium on new regulatory law within each agency until this 20% threshold is met. In 1980, the Federal Registry, which outlines regulations, reached 87,000 pages. Our economic conditions in many ways seemed just as bleak then as they do now. President Reagan reduced the amount of regulations by 1/2, taking the Federal Registry to 47,000 pages. What resulted was an economic boom known as the Great Modernization, lasting some 20 years. Is it any wonder that we once again have economic woes, as the Federal Registry is again above 87,000 pages? In addition to reducing regulation, we should pass legislation that would put a five year sunset provision on any new regulation that has an economic impact of more than $250 million. This sunset provision would require additional justification and approval of Congress for the regulation to remain in place, limiting the unchecked regulatory bloat that we have previously experienced. (Estimated job growth, 4.8 million)[iii]

• Reduce Our Dependency On Foreign Oil By 20 Percent By The Year 2020. To facilitate this, we would tap our natural gas resources, provide for expanded drilling offshore and in Anwar. We should implement legislation to fast-track environmental/biological permits with automatic approval provisions that go into place if governmental agencies fail to act within the newly established timeframes. We are the only nation in the world that places more than 90 percent of its natural resources off-limits, and we are paying for it at the pumps. History shows us that an expanded energy policy will have an immediate impact on the price of fuel, with prices falling from 4.10 a gallon in 2007 to 1.61 a gallon just six months after the drilling announcement. (Estimated job growth, 1.1 million) [iv]

[i] Source: Forbes for Corporate Taxes
[ii] Source: US Chamber of Commerce
[iii] Source: Phoenix Center for Law and Economics
[iv] Source: American Petroleum Institute

Sheriffs from three of the four counties that were moved from North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District to the 11th — Caldwell, Avery and Mitchell — all came out in support of Meadows.  Endorsing Meadows are:

-Avery County Sheriff Kevin Frye

-Caldwell County Sheriff Alan Jones

-Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald

-Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland

-McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene

-Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street

-Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney

-Yancey County Sheriff Gary Banks

-Retired Henderson County Sheriff George Erwin

“Mark visited me months ago and asked, ‘How can I help you with the issues that you face in McDowell County?’  He cared more about me and my county than he did himself,” said McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene

Avery County Sheriff Kevin Frye said “I am endorsing Mark Meadows because of his strong Christian and conservative values and convictions.  Mark has the genuine passion that makes people want to join his cause and we need someone with that kind of passion to represent us in Washington.”

Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney also urged voters to support Meadows in the July 17th run off. “It is my pleasure to endorse Mark Meadows for Congress,” said Mahoney. “I know Mark is a committed conservative who will never compromise those principles and will make us proud to have him as our Representative in Washington DC.”

Meadows said he appreciates the support.

“I have gotten to know these Sheriffs during the campaign, and they are wonderful servants in our communities. These men do an outstanding job keeping the peace and keeping us all safe, I am very grateful for their support,” stated Meadows.

Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards including the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian conservative, and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Less Government.”

HENDERSONVILLE, NC – 11th District GOP Congressional Primary winner Mark Meadows picked up another big endorsement today from former opponent Kenny West. Meadows won the hotly contested GOP Primary last month with almost 38% of the vote, but is in a run off with the second place finisher. This weekend West, announced he will support Meadows in the run-off on July 17.  Meadows said he greatly appreciates West’s support.

“Kenny ran a good, clean campaign and talked with passion about the need to reclaim America. I look forward to continuing that fight to reclaim our great country,” stated Meadows.

Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards and was recently appointed to the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian conservative, and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Less Government.”

HENDERSONVILLE, NC – 11th District GOP Congressional Primary winner Mark Meadows picked up a significant endorsement today from 10th District U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry. Rep. McHenry encouraged conservative voters to support Meadows as the Christian conservative businessman most qualified and committed to repeal President Obama’s assault on Western North Carolinians’ values. Meadows is facing Vance Patterson in the Republican Primary runoff on July 17.

“Mark Meadows is the only true conservative Western North Carolinians can count on to fight President Obama’s assault on our values,” said Rep. McHenry. “Mark is a conservative businessman willing to challenge the status quo in Washington and fix this broken economy. I strongly urge those who want less government and more conservative solutions to send Mark Meadows to Congress.”

Meadows said he appreciates Rep. McHenry’s support.

“Patrick and I share the same conservative vision for life, liberty, and less government,” stated Meadows. “He’s fought for these values, and I’m running to join the fight against liberals in Washington like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. Western North Carolinians have been hurt too badly by their assault on our values. They deserve better than more and more spending on big-government programs, funded by increasing taxes. They deserve a federal government that gets out of their way, so they can create jobs and provide for their families. I am committed to fight for them.”

Rep. McHenry is currently serving his fourth term representing Western North Carolina.  He serves as Deputy Republican Whip, and is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Meadows won the hotly contested GOP Primary on May 8th with almost 38% of the vote. Second-place finisher Vance Paterson received 23% of the vote and requested the July 17th runoff.

Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards and was recently appointed to the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian conservative, and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Less Government.”

“Mark Meadows is exactly what we need in Congress, representing the citizens of North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District,” said Eagle Forum State President, Andrew Dunn. “The time is now for a new breed of conservative leadership who will fight President Obama’s unpopular agenda as well as the business-as-usual establishment in Washington.”

“Irresponsible free-trade agreements with hostile nations, combined with crippling regulations and skyrocketing taxes have done nothing for North Carolinians except destroy jobs, erode our middle-class and compromise our economic and national security. Mark Meadows understands the dangers we’re facing in today’s global economy. Mark rose from humble beginnings to become a successful businessman and a job creator in our area. The policies imposed by the Obama administration are not the type of policies that allowed Mark to create jobs.” Dunn said.

Meadows’ stance on jump starting the economy with a sound energy policy played a key role in Eagle Forum’s endorsement. “Fifteen out of the seventeen counties in the 11th Congressional District have unemployment rates of over nine percent which is unacceptable ,” Dunn added. “We can reverse those ugly statistics if we get Mark elected and see his agenda of domestic oil and natural gas exploration, combined with a renewed focus on nuclear energy take place.”

Eagle Forum’s Mission is to enable conservative and pro-family men and women to participate in the process of self-government and public policy making so that America will continue to be a land of individual liberty, respect for family integrity, public and private virtue, and private enterprise. For more information, visit www.eagleforumnc.org

Last night we cleared the first hurdle by making it to the July 17th runoff with Vance Patterson. My fellow Republican candidates deserve our appreciation for running good, honest campaigns and for sacrificially devoting their lives to give the voters a choice in this election.

Now we have 10 weeks on the campaign trail to raise funds, meet voters, and spread my message of life, liberty, and less government.

I entered this race, because I’m fed up with politicians in Washington who set aside the principles of the Constitution and trampled on the values of the American people. Defining these principles in our Constitution made us unique. The values of the American values are what made us the “shining city on a hill” to the entire world.

But Barack Obama and liberals in Congress would rather apologize for American greatness than defend it. They’d rather reshape America by European values than return her to the Founding Fathers’ Constitution, and that’s what has led us into this mess.

Our country was founded by people who stood up, said “enough is enough” and stood for what’s right. Now is the time for us to do so again. I thank you all for all that you’ve done and ask you to stay strong with me for the next 10 weeks.

Thank you and God bless you.

Mark Meadows

Meadows now has more endorsements than any other Republican candidate in the eight person race to represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

In recent weeks, Meadows  has picked up major endorsements from South Carolina 3rd District Congressman Jeff Duncan, the 2nd Amendment advocate Grass Roots NC PAC, 2010 GOP nominee Jeff Miller, the Family Research Council’s Action PAC, Dr. Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and The Madison Project. He is also the only candidate to receive an A+ rating from the Heritage Alliance.

Now, with less than one week to go until the North Carolina Primary, Meadows also has endorsements from every county in the newly drawn 11th Congressional District.

Endorsing Meadows are:

Avery County

Sheriff Kevin Frye

Tommy Burleson

Joe Seegers

Cheri Frye

James Perry

Rev. Tommy Carter

Daryl Smith

Joshua Stapleton

Buncombe County

Honorable Lou Bissette

Buzzy Cannady

Andrew Dunn

Charlie Owen

Albert Sneed, Jr.

Burke County

Senator Jimmy Jacumin

Nancy Nell Jacimun

Honorable Roy McGalliard

Bob Baber

Charles “Mac” Hoffman

Linn Hoffman

Kent Cranford

Greg England

Cindy England

Caldwell County

Sheriff Alan Jones

Paul Broyhill

Hunt Broyhill

Honorable Mike LaBrose

Ellen LaBrose

Honorable Wayne Rash

Representative Edgar Starnes

Dr. John Thuss

David Anderson

BJ Fore

Honorable Bill Stone

Ron Roukema

Kay Roukema

Cherokee County

Judy Edwards

Bill Bristol

Clay County

Jim Davis

Andrew Blankenship

Graham County

Honorable Steve Odom

Haywood County

Jim Blythe

Bev Elliot

Karl Lang

Ted Carr

Steve Henson

Henderson County

Retired Sheriff George Erwin

Representative Carolyn Justus

Jeff Miller

Tamara Miller

Robert Danos

Don Goldstein

Barbara Goldstein

Bill Howes

Mary Howes

Peter Davis

Carolyn Davis

Hall Waddell

Sonja Waddell

Jim Walsh

Charlotte Walsh

William Lapsley

Perry Mace

Susan Mace

Stan Shelley

Jackson County

Bill Coward

Kim Coward

Bob Dews

Lise Dews

Macon County

Sheriff Robert Holland

John Cleveland

Wynn Cleveland

John Lupoli

Anita Lupoli

Linda Light

Norm Roberts

Joyce Roberts

Madison County

Greenwood Edney

McDowell County

Representative Mitch Gillespie

Milton Huffman

Libby Huffman

Rex Wood

Brenda Vaughn

Mitchell County

Representative Phillip Frye

Lloyd Hise

James Acuff

Beverly Acuff

Gus McKinney

Swain County

Linda Houge

Transylvania County

Honorable Jason Chappel

Jeremy Queen

Yancey County

Sheriff Gary Banks

Ray Anglin

Joe Mahoney

Rachel Mahoney

Martha Peterson

In recent weeks, Meadows has also won back-to-back straw polls in Burke, Henderson, Caldwell, Buncombe, Transylvania, and Swain Counties. Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards and was recently appointed to the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian conservative, and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Less Government.”

HENDERSONVILLE, NC – Conservative Christian businessman Mark Meadows began airing his second television commercial this morning, as part of his campaign to represent Western North Carolina in Congress.

In the new commercial, Meadows says high taxes, wasteful spending, and excessive regulations are costing jobs and hurting families.

“As a conservative Christian businessman, I understand what Barack Obama does not: high taxes and out-of-control regulations shut down businesses, put people out of work, and hurt families. Having balanced budgets and cut wasteful spending in my own business, I also know that if we cut taxes and eliminate regulations, small businesses will grow, they’ll create jobs, and our families will prosper.”

Meadows was the first of eight 11th Congressional District Republican candidates to begin airing television ads. The ads can be seen on broadcast and cable stations throughout the 11th District.

Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards and was recently appointed to the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian conservative, and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Lower Taxes.”

In recent weeks, Meadows has won back-to-back straw polls in Burke, Henderson, Caldwell, Buncombe, Transylvania, and Swain Counties. He has also picked up major endorsements from 2010 GOP nominee Jeff Miller, the Family Research Council’s Action PAC, Dr. Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and both the Buncombe and Caldwell County Tea Party. Meadows is also supported by numerous County Sheriffs and other elected officials throughout North Carolina.

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HENDERSONVILLE, NC – Conservative Christian businessman Mark Meadows took to the airwaves this morning in the race to represent Western North Carolina in Congress. Meadows is the first of eight Republican candidates in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District to begin airing TV ads. He introduces himself to voters as a small businessman who is driven by a moral obligation to stop Barack Obama’s assault on Western North Carolina values. Meadows ads can be seen on broadcast and cable TV stations throughout the 11th Congressional District.

“From Obamacare, to our state’s upcoming marriage amendment, President Obama has run roughshod over Western North Carolinians’ values, and I’m running to stop him.” stated Meadows. “Guided by my unwavering faith and my experience starting a small business, I won’t rest until his policies are repealed and replaced with conservative solutions, so our economy can grow and Western North Carolinians can have jobs again.”
Meadows is a fiscal and social conservative who has served on numerous boards and was recently appointed to the State Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina, because of his expertise in business and job creation. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, a Christian Conservative and a champion of “Life, Liberty, and Lower Taxes.”

In recent weeks, Meadows has won back-to-back straw polls in Burke, Henderson, Caldwell, Buncombe, Transylvania and Swain Counties. He has also picked up major endorsements from 2010 GOP nominee Jeff Miller, the Family Research Council’s Action PAC and Dr. Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Meadows is also supported by numerous County Sheriffs and other elected officials throughout North Carolina.

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