McHenry sacked by Gaston Gazette

Last week the Roger Clemens hearings provided our Patty one more opportunity to make an ass out of himself. And finally, a local reporter figured it out.

Kudos to Derick Moss of the Gaston Gazette . . . Never heard of him? That's because you've been reading the news. For decent coverage of a US congressman, at least in the 10th, you need to turn to the sports section.

Derick covered the Clemens hearing as well as any national press I'd read and far and away above any other local "political" reporter

Check it out:

Take the case of our local representative, Patrick McHenry, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform which put on the most recent dog and pony show. McHenry did not attend the hearing, and also did not respond to requests this week for an interview. But on Wednesday he issued the following statement via press release:

“This circus could only impress P.T. Barnum,” the statement said. “Apparently, Democrats think the economy and illegal immigration will solve themselves. So instead of working on that, they’re playing with baseball.”

Sounds like he's stuck with the typical McHorny grandstanding quote. But no, no, no. Derick has not been drinking 10th District Republican kool-aid.

But here’s what McHenry told The Gazette in 2005 on the afternoon after he’d just grilled Mark McGwire about his alleged steroid use (and had plenty of national TV exposure in the process):

“It’s not about the baseball players. We’re trying to bring attention to this matter because there’s been a tremendous rise in the use of steroids among young people in this country. The message professional sports is sending, especially professional baseball, is that if you want to be a professional baseball player you need to use some performance-enhancing drugs. That’s the worst message.”

Takedown!

And, still, Derick is not done. He continues to go where other local reporters dare not. Not only does he note McHorny's hypocrisy, he actually makes an attempt to analyze it!

What happened between then and now to change his mind? Plenty.

For starters, his party was in the majority in 2005 and was actually the body that called for the hearings in the first place. Now that the Dems are calling the plays, McHenry wants to stay on the sidelines.

And he even noticed that while Patty exulted in criticizing McGuire, he is actually inaccurate in this case, for criticizing Democrats. It was Clemens who asked to speak. Not the other way around.

“The only reason we held this hearing is because Roger Clemens insisted on it,” Waxman added.

Wow, a reporter who notices hypocrisy, analyzes it, and does some research.

Go ahead and follow the link to read his speculation as to why Republicans were defending Clemens when they skewered McGuire. (Yes, there are quite a few mentions of our President.) Good job, Gaston Gazette.

The Hickory Daily Record and the Shelby Star didn't quite figure it out. The Star swallowed (and regurgitated) McHorny's tired and sputtering spin.

The Record had the nerve to give McHorny a headline that makes it seem they were asking the hard questions. And they did ask him some hard questions. Problem is they just printed his answers as if they are not supposed to (or able to) factcheck.

And really, they were letting him get away with avoiding a debate scheduled by the Catawba County Republican Party.

So, now I know why so many people turn to the sports pages first. That's where you'll find the truth.