Ron Paul in Greenville to support Walter Jones' re-election bid | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    Congressman and GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul was in Greenville Friday (10-7-11) speaking at a rally at the Greenville Convention center in support of Rep. Walter Jones' re-election bid. Paul and Jones held a brief press conference at the PGV airport as the disembarked from their flight into Greenville. We recorded the entire press conference and you can watch it in the three video clips below.

    Paul had made a statement recently that FEMA should be abolished. He was asked about that and you can hear his and Jones' response. They were also asked about the Occupy Wall Street protests and of course about the Federal debt as well as the War in Afghanistan, as Friday was the tenth anniversary of Americans in combat in Afghanistan.
Congressman Walter Jones, June, 2011     photo by Stan Deatherage
    After the press conference we asked Rep. Jones if he was, as has been rumored in Beaufort County, going to get involved by endorsing anyone in the Republican primaries for state legislative races. His immediate response was: "no, I never become involved in primary endorsements." When told that it was being rumored that he would endorse Arthur Williams for the State Senate he responded: "no, I have agreed to attend an announcement that he is switching from the Democrat to Republican party and I would certainly support anyone switching from Democrat to Republican, but no I will not be endorsing him (Williams) or anyone in the Republican Primary."

    Nonetheless, Jones and Williams have previously had a rather strange political relationship. Although Williams ran as a Democrat receiving most of his contributions, presumably from people who believed they were supporting a Democrat, campaign financial records show that Williams used these funds to support Republicans. On November 20, 2008 he gave Walter Jones $1000 from his campaign fund, not his personal funds. On October 30, 2008 he also gave Republican Steve Troxler, Commissioner of Agriculture, a $1000 contribution from his campaign funds, not his personal funds.

    Here are their responses in the press conference: