It's about one flag for one sovereign state with its people rallying around the inscription on its great seal 'Dum Spiro Spero,' While I breathe I hope. It's about enjoying together the chirps of the Carolina Wren and the delicate sweetness of the Yellow Jessamine. I represent portions of Lee County, and my family's roots run very deep in Lee County's soil. My mother was born there, and I have many relatives still living there. I know the county was named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, but that does not detract from my representation of its citizens and residents.
Lee County is also the largest cotton producing county in the state.
The farmers there will tell you that I have been as good as a friend as they could possibly have in the Congress. And, I was happy to secure funding in this year's federal budget for their Ashwood Community Center, and continue to seek funding for their Cotton Museum. And when the leaders of that county turned out in large numbers three weeks ago for a luncheon in my honor, I was not only honored but humbled as well. Calhoun County is named for John C. Calhoun, U. S. Secretary of State and slave proponent. I represent only four precincts in that county.