A questionable reference

Pity the congressional and state Senate districts with two candidates, mother and son, acting smugly certain they are shoo-ins because they snag endorsement from Inmate #PO1135809.

Their sterling reference was arrested, mug shot and fingerprinted, then released under $200,000 bail cover from Foster Bail Bonds LLC in Atlanta, Georgia, for his part in massive election interference.

No need for detail about solid evidence for two impeachments, and some 90 criminal indictments so far with some already unanimous guilty verdicts. Of course we've all heard his legal troubles are merely witch hunts, attacks by a weaponized partisan Justice Department because he's Republican.

But if the same objective fact-based charges had been made against Biden or Obama, Republicans would be advocating for no less than public execution. The point is, character and competence references are rarely sought from a source so questionable.

Bobby Harshbarger seems an arrogant opportunist, sensing advantage in his mother's position and notoriety, staging a vicious attack on a sitting senator from his own party. As a Democrat, I've not favored Jon Lundberg but his attacker proves what we Democrats notice about the MAGA crowd these days. They'll even eat their own.

Jon Lundberg is quintessentially Republican. On the other hand, the new breed like the Harshbargers and the one they ask for character reference are in fact the RINOs. Let's hope Republican voters of Kingsport and Sullivan County know the difference and vote for Lundberg, who comparatively stands out as a decent and traditional Republican.

Jennie Young

Elizabethton