Mr. Jones stays in Washington

Though little publicized, the North Carolina GOP Primary victory of 20 year Congressman Walter Jones over challenger Taylor Griffin, was among the most important primary races of 2014. Jones, whose 3rd District includes Marine Corp base Camp Lejeune, is a fervent critic of America's criminal wars it Iraq, Afghanistan and all future wars of futility, murder and bankruptcy the American war party is planning. Jones is no progressive. He's a conservative on domestic issues. But though he initially supported the Iraq war, he was smart enough and wise enough to see through the lies and propaganda and scare tactics the war party used to cause the hundreds of thousands of deaths, including 4,422 US servicemen. Jones got fed up attending the arrival of soldiers returning to Camp Lejeune in body bags and began to speak out about the catastrophic path of American foreign policy controlled by the neocons in government, the media and their most fervent foreign backers in the Israel Lobby.  That infuriated the neocons enough to make them take the unprecedented step of primarying a 20 year GOP stalwart with a neocon friendly challenger. Neocons like Bush advisors Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer, National Review warmonger Bill Kristol, RNC Chair Haley Barbour, even Alaska Half Governor Sarah Palin all descended upon North Carolina's 3rd District to get rid of the war party's biggest critic in Congress. Just like the outcome in their Iraq and Afghan wars, they failed. Jones is now positioned to become the second most senior member of the House Armed Services Committee.  Anyone who thinks Jones doesn't recognize the bi-partisan madness infecting American foreign policy should read this Jones quote from his address to a North Carolina Americans for Liberty Group: “Congress will not hold anyone to blame" (for America's wars). “Lyndon Johnson’s probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney.”

 

Jones' Primary win is tantamount to victory in November. That gives us at least two more years of Jones speaking truth to power before the neocons gin up for another run at their fearless nemesis. Right on, Congressman Jones.