Fifth District Rep. Virginia Foxx is making quite a name for herself lately.

Early in April she made national headlines with her use of the racially insensitive term “tar baby” while speaking on the House floor.

Then she created a bit of a local and regional stir by implying to a group of teen-agers that drinking Mountain Dew was roughly akin to smoking and using tobacco products.

Her latest gaffe came last week, when the legislator attacked hate-crime legislation and in so doing made the statement that Matthew Shepherd was killed during a robbery, and that his sexual orientation had nothing to do with the attack.

Shepherd was a 21-year-old college student who was kidnapped, savagely beaten and tortured over several hours, then left tied to a fence, where he was discovered 18 hours later near Laramie, Wy. in 1998.

Foxx, in comments she made last week, said the idea that Shepherd was targeted because he was gay is a “hoax,” despite the fact that virtually no one doubts the story, that even the men convicted of the crime said that was the reason Shepherd was targeted.

Foxx did give a half-hearted apology the next day, saying she shouldn’t, possibly, have used the word “hoax” and then laying the blame on a couple of media reports exploring the case several years ago.

Her comments have raised Foxx’s profile nationally, to be sure, but not in a way that serves the people of North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District. She’s being called a member of the GOP’s attack machine, and worse.

We won’t add to the criticism at this point, because we believe her statements adequately show Foxx for what she is, without additional comment needed.

What we will say is the people of Mount Airy, Surry County, and the rest of the Fifth District deserve better.

These are serious times. The national economy is suffering in ways not seen in decades, unemployment in Mount Airy has flirted with the 15 percent mark. The country still must contend with the possibility of terrorist attacks. U.S. soldiers are serving in two wars.

The people of the Fifth District deserve a representative who will reach across the aisle and work with liberals, conservatives, and moderates. The residents of this district have the right to be represented by someone who is innovative and can help bring new jobs to the region. The people who sent Foxx to Washington should be served and represented in a manner which makes their lives better, that keeps them safe, and gives them hope.

Quite frankly we don’t care about Foxx’s politics, whether she calls herself ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal, or anything in between. All we ask is that she work for the people of the district, that she be for something instead of against everything.

If Foxx does that she won’t have to apologize for anything to anyone, and we will be among the first to publicly tout her achievements and service record.

And if she doesn’t, then perhaps the good people of the Fifth District might look elsewhere for representation in the next election.