Kirk Lyons Responds to the Latest
"Hawks Smear Campaign" In Race For Army of Northern Virginia Commander.

LYONS FOR ANV COMMANDER
Kirk D. Lyons
P.O. Box 1237
Black Mountain, NC 28711
828-669-5189
kdl@slrc-csa.org

RELEASE FOR ANV MEMBERS

A LETTER TO MY COMPATRIOTS IN THE ANV - WITH POINTED QUESTIONS TO COMMANDER
CHARLES HAWKS

Compatriots:

In the January 16, 2002, issue of the "Independent," a very left of center
publication, we see the latest attempt by desperate men to use our sworn
enemies in the press as a weapon against our right to choose our own
leaders.

I noticed before their arrival to interview me that Allen Breed of the
Associated Press, Kevin Sack of the New York Times, and now Jon Elliston of
the Independent all were armed with intimate details of my history in the
North Carolina Division, details of private criticism of the Isaac Newton
Giffen Camps numbers and out of state members, and intimate details on North
Carolina Division politics. I can only wonder out loud how these
non-members of the SCV came by such information not usually found on our
Division webpage.

I understand that one of Commander Hawks' officers has been calling members
around North Carolina Division insinuating that perhaps I was the informant
who set the AP & New York Times reporters upon this election in order to
make Cdr Hawks look bad. All I can say regarding this childish attempt to
deflect blame is: no one is buying the story, because it is such a patent
falsehood and absurdity.

Further, Commander Hawks, Chip Pate and Gilbert Jones seem to infer or have
been quoted as saying that if I am elected they will quit the SCV. I ask
them to state publicly whether or not this is their position.

My position is clear. Come August, I will have been a member for 25 years.
I hope to remain a member for 40 more. If someone else is elected to the
Commander's position, I will not quit. I will not give up. I will not take
my marbles and go home. I will not retire. I will hector the ANV Commander
every day that I have breath in my body that he vigorously fulfill the
Charge of Stephen D. Lee. I will challenge our leaders to roar, not meow,
when they talk to elected officials. I will insist that they proudly walk
in strident steps up to the front door, not in tiptoes around back.

Every day that our organization is under 100,000 members will be a day that
our SCV leaders are called emailed, or badgered as to why, with millions of
men eligible, we are still so small?

As a member of the Reform opposition, it has always been my code to offer
praise when the Administration does well, but not afraid to criticize within
the rules & constitution where necessary - always as a Gentleman.

Compatriots, I am proud that we are above 32,000 members. But it is not
enough! It is not good enough. We must and shall do better. I have 5
children who want a future. The SCV is the best vehicle to give them a
Confederate future! Commander Hawks may quit, Chip Pate may quit, Gilbert
Jones may quit, but I will never quit!

If the ANV membership should so honor and humble me as to elect me as their
Commander, I will ask that those using their resignation as a campaign
tactic, will reconsider, stay in, and help us make the Army of Northern
Virginia the largest Army in the Confederation.

The article said the following:

For an organization supposedly stuck in the past, this election will chart
the future. And each candidate is arguing, to the great-grandsons of
rebel soldiers who will cast the votes in Memphis, that the organization
will suffer defections if their opponent wins.

KDL: The writer is wrong on one account. If Commander Hawks wins, not one
of my supporters, NOT ONE, has indicated he will quit, pack it in or
absquatchulate! We are in for the long haul! Rome was not built in a day,
neither was a battleship!

The article quoted Commander Hawks as saying:

"If you are found in a cave with bin Laden, you are assumed to be a follower of
bin Laden. If we elect Lyons, then obviously we approve of his agenda, and his
agenda is obviously racial."

My response: Commander Hawks if you said that my agenda is "racial," I say
that is a foul contemptible lie, as well you know it!

I wonder Commander Hawks, if you have harbored these bigoted sentiments so
long, why you have not had the guts to bring them up until now? If I am all
that you say, why have you not openly campaigned for my expulsion long ago?
If you really had the courage of your convictions this would seem to be the
path you should have taken when I joined North Carolina Division almost 9
years ago! There is certainly nothing NEW in all this.

The article goes on to say:

Friends like these have made Lyons some enemies. One of them is Monroe
Gilmore, who directs Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to
Institutional Bigotry, a watchdog group based in Asheville. Gilmore and
Lyons have fought a long-running war of words over whether Lyons' racist
contacts implicate him.

KDL: The article fails to say that Monroe Gilmour is an out-of-work, left
wing kook who makes Ted Kennedy look conservative. To Monroe, every SCV
member is a "racist" and our sacred flag a "racist" symbol. As a local
gadfly, Monroe makes friends for me every time he opens his mouth. We hear
this all the time in Black Mountain: "If Monroe dislikes you, then you must
be alright!"

Monroe Gilmour is also apparently part of the defamatory resource pool
Commander Hawks intends to use as he informs our fellow members "about me."

Commander Hawks, why do these exposé's only come out at election time when
someone needs to use me as their scratchpad?

Would you agree with me that, unless one uses modern morality as a guide,
that it is not acceptable to use the mortal enemies of our heritage to
campaign against a compatriot opponent? Would you support such a resolution
at our next Executive Committee meeting?

The article quotes Cdr Hawks as saying:

"Just as Kirk is judged for the company he keeps, so will the SCV be judged
by the men we elect," Hawks says. "When this becomes the face of the
organization, then we're all branded as racists."

KDL: This is the self-fulfilling prophecy that apparently Cdr Hawks hopes
will catapult him into office. If you scream "racist" at the press long
enough (thus tarring every decent member of the SCV) then if Lyons is
elected - it must be true, they will write, after all Hawks, Pate and Jones
said so.

And Commander Hawks, the company I kept you are referring to are
called"clients." Every attorney has them. I used to have a very successful
criminal practice. It was successful because I would not go to trial with a
client unless I was convinced of his innocence. Johnny Cochran has defended
those guilty of murder and yet he is not called a murderer. I am sure our
esteemed Division Judge Advocate has plenty of clients in his past that he
would be unwilling to bring home for supper. When you stop using a double
standard in comparing other attorney's and me, the picture becomes much
clearer doesn't it?

The article continues:

For years, the SCV has gone to some pains to separate itself from
associations with racist causes. In 1989, for example, the national
convention passed a resolution denouncing hate groups that fly the rebel
flag. Still, no matter who is flying it, that flag remains an offensive
symbol to many. And that's all the more reason, Hawks and his supporters
say, to choose leaders untainted by charges of bigotry.

KDL: In other words, let your enemies choose your leaders - the true recipe
for disaster. And I say again. If Cdr. Hawks, Chip Pate, Lewis Lawrence, and
Gilbert Jones really believe that my defeat will keep the press from calling
us all "racists," then they are living in a fool's paradise. In fact
internal campaign crowing about "racists" in the SCV has guaranteed that the
leftist press will be calling us "racists" in cyberspace and until the end
of time, whether or not I am successful.

The article goes on:

"People are always going to call names at someone who's effective," Lyons
says. "That just means that our opponents are afraid of us. They fear us,
and that's a good thing. And that's what Charles can't understand: that our
opponents are never going to love us, and that this is a fight to the
finish."

KDL: Commander Hawks it is very simple. Backroom politics are fine and
necessary. But while you are in the back room smoking cigars with the power
boys, it certainly ups the ante if the "peasants" are banging at the front
door with torches and pitchforks. I know of your distaste of protest and
civil disobedience, and I know you think you have tons of close friends in
State Government, but the day of serious accommodation with the current crop
of elected officials is fading fast. As the problem with former Lt Gov
Hager illustrates in Virginia, it is much easier for politicians to decide
against US and FOR the NAACP. Why? Because the NAACP has 500,000 members
and corporate America behind them. We cannot rely on the politicians,
unless WE become the politicians. Answer me this. How many elected state
officials have we had at our NC Division convention in the last two years?
Please name them. Now name all the politicians who have put it in writing in
the last 9 years that they would not attend a NC Division convention because
I was there. Now tell us all again how and why these North Carolina
politicians are going to do what we ask them and keep their word to us.

What is your plan Commander Hawks for SCV growth, so we can challenge the
NAACP with numbers, dollars and influence? My plan is called "The Path
Forward. " I will send a copy to any compatriot who requests it.

Hawks continues:

Hawks, for his part, has been studying up on Lyons' personal history, and he
will be sharing it with SCV members at upcoming candidate forums. "The
salvation of the organization is that they're going to learn about his
background," Hawks says. "I think he's going to be surprised to find out how
many people, once they know about him, are not going to support him."

KDL: So the mudslinging campaign will continue!? Commander Hawks, why must
you run a negative campaign? Why can't you run on your own record? Why
can't you plainly tell the men of this Army how you are going to energize
them and get the Army moving? Why can't you conduct a campaign that doesn't
include the media or personal attacks on a compatriot?

I have been forced to defend myself because the press was sicced on me by
person(s) who apparently thought my being "tarred" would help your
election. But this tactic has not hurt me. It has hurt the SCV and defamed
every member of our organization. Commander Hawks, what are you willing to
do to stop the continuing embarrassment of our organization?

I am committed to making the SCV a true fraternity bound by Christian love.
With singleness of purpose we must vigorously defend the Charge of Stephen
D. Lee and replace personal rancor in our meetings (where it exists) with a
focus on effective parliamentary procedure. We must replace bitter
personality disputes with focus on issues, knowing that our compatriot
opponent of today may be our ally tomorrow.

Commander Hawks, " You have continually stated "that we need to take the
High road" and be "gentlemen" about this," I completely agree. When are
you going to start? Walk the walk, and I will be at your side as a brother.

Respectfully,

Kirk D. Lyons
Candidate for ANV Councilman

PS: You owe my friend H.K. Edgerton an apology for your mean spirited
remarks. It is a tragedy of your administration that you have been
unwilling to utilize HK's many talents simply because he is a friend of
mine. HK has always shown you unfailing respect and courtesy and has always
tried to look for the best in you. He deserves better from you.