McHenry Supports "Enron Loophole"

Today Congressman Patrick McHenry voted against providing Western North Carolina families with relief from high gas prices. Congressman McHenry voted against H.R. 6604, the Commodity Market Transparency and Accountability Act, which would crack down on excessive energy speculation that artificially drives up the cost of a barrel of oil.

Congressman McHenry, who has received $58,000 in campaign contributions from the energy industry, blocked a bill that would close the "Enron Loophole" that allows energy futures trading to avoid oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill that Congressman McHenry voted against, which 61 Republicans supported, would also strengthen enforcement to prevent energy markets from being manipulated and to prosecute fraud.

"Instead of voting for a bipartisan plan to give Western North Carolina families a break at the pump, Congressman McHenry supported energy speculators," said Johnson. "In Congress, I will always take the side of our working families, not Big Oil and Wall Street."

McHenry Helps the Predatory Lending Industry Kick Out Families

Daniel Johnson, candidate for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District, rebuked Congressman Patrick McHenry's vote against a comprehensive, bipartisan response to the current mortgage crisis. The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (HR 3221) passed with support from Republicans and Democrats alike.

"While the subprime crisis arose due to the actions of irresponsible lenders and irresponsible borrowers, failure to act to stabilize the housing market affects all homeowners and drags down the entire economy," said Johnson.

McHenry, who has accepted campaign contributions from predatory lenders like Countrywide, voted against tightening mortgage disclosure requirements to make mortgage loan terms more understandable to aspiring homeowners.

"For most Western North Carolina families their most important asset is their home," said Johnson, "We need a leader in Washington who represents homeowners, not subprime lenders."

Congressman McHenry voted against providing families using the standard deduction an additional $1,000 deduction for property taxes, which would grant 30 million taxpayers approximately $15 billion in tax benefits.

The legislation that McHenry opposed also encourages homeownership among our nation's veterans by increasing the VA home loan limit and by allowing military personnel returning from deployment three to nine months before a lender can begin foreclosure proceedings.

Congressman McHenry, who sits on the Financial Services committee, was in position to take action before problems in the mortgage industry rose to a crisis level. His failure to fulfill his duties both before and after this crisis arose has damaged the pocketbooks of all American families.

Pat loans his own campaign $175,000

By Paul Teague, Local News Editor
http://newstopic.net

Incumbent 10th District U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry has loaned his campaign committee $175,000, according to a Federal Election Commission fund-raising report. Both McHenry, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Daniel Johnson submitted their required financing data to the FEC for the second quarter of 2008 this past week.

The report shows that McHenry, a Cherryville resident and Gaston County native who is seeking his third two-year term in Washington, made the loan on June 30, the final day of the reporting period that began April 17. The note carries an interest rate of 6 percent and is payable on demand.

McHenry also has an existing loan for $90,500 with First National Bank in Shelby that was made during his first campaign for congress is 2004.

While the Johnson camp views the loan as a sign of financial weakness for the congressman, the McHenry campaign said the personal cash injection does not mean he is having difficulty with his re-election operation and sought to deflect questions back to the race itself.

"Patrick is raising the money it takes to keep fighting for Western North Carolina," McHenry for Congress Campaign Manager Rebecca Yount said. "His opponent's campaign is being well funded by liberal special-interest groups, but we will have the resources to win in November."

Yount characterized McHenry's loan as a "personal investment in his fight for good jobs and lower gas prices."

But the Johnson campaign believes the loan is evidence that McHenry is vulnerable.

"This shows (McHenry) may not be confident he can get the support that he needs from the district," Johnson for Congress Campaign Manager Lauren Moore said, adding that she is surprised McHenry is having to tap personal resources several months before the Nov. 4 general election.

The overall report shows that McHenry raised $145,665 in the quarter, including $101,665 from individuals and $44,000 from political action committees (PACs). Johnson, a Hickory native and former Wake County prosecutor, took in $124,729, with $106,345 coming from individual donations and $17,500 from PACs.

Faced with a primary challenger for the first time since being elected in 2004, McHenry's campaign spent $235,176 in the last quarter. Johnson, seeking to become the first Democrat to represent Caldwell County in Washington since 1962, spent $68,963. As of June 30, McHenry had $410,742 cash on hand and $265,500 in debts from the two loans. Johnson reported $218,504 in the bank and no outstanding debt.

Regarding Johnson's fund-raising, Moore said, "I think it shows that we are competitive and that we have the support to be able to stay competitive with a two-term incumbent who is well-financed by the banking and insurance lobbies."

Johnson said the report is indicative of "the strong coalition we are building here in the 10th District. People in our community are joining with us because they are ready to end partisan bickering and want leaders who will work hard to find real solutions to the serious problems facing Western North Carolina families."

For the financing cycle that began in 2007, McHenry has raised more than $1 million and spent $915,780. According to FEC report, 43 percent of McHenry's money has come from individuals, while 42 percent has been from PACs. Bank of America's PAC gave McHenry's campaign $4,000 in the second quarter, while recent BofA acquisition Countrywide Financial – a casualty of the national mortgage crisis – kicked in $3,000. The largest PAC donation for McHenry this period was $5,000 from the National Automotive Dealers Association's Dealers Election Action Committee.

Johnson has raised $341,942 overall and spent $123,438. Individual donations have accounted for nearly 92 percent of his campaign funds. In the second quarter, Johnson received $7,000 overall from New York Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel's campaign and his National Leadership PAC, while North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler gave $1,000 from his 3rd and Long PAC. Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer gave $5,000 through his Committee for a Livable Future PAC, with N.C. Reps. Bob Etheridge and Mel Watt donating $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

Though favored to win another term in the traditionally Republican district, there have been indications that McHenry is engaged in a tougher fight than his previous general election campaigns.

A district poll last month showed McHenry 11 points ahead of Johnson, though he had lower support than fellow Republicans John McCain and Pat McCrory in their campaigns for president and governor, respectively. And two weeks ago, the Cook Political Report – a non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections – moved the 10th District seat from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican."

The campaigns will report third quarter fund-raising totals October 15.

Patrick McHenry and Big Oil

Chairman Chris Van Hollen announced today that the DCCC is launching the “Independence from Big Oil” campaign and will run radio ads against Representatives Robin Hayes (NC-08) and Patrick McHenry (NC-10), who both have stood with George Bush and Big Oil while North Carolina’s middle class families are being squeezed by the highest gas prices in history. The radio ads were recorded by a comedian impersonating President Bush.

“We will be going district-by-district to hold House Republicans accountable for helping President Bush give tax breaks to profitable Big Oil companies and doing nothing to help hardworking middle class Americans who are paying more than $4.00 per gallon at the pump,” said Chairman Chris Van Hollen. “This Independence Day, the American people deserve to be liberated from the Big Oil policies of President Bush and the rubber stamp House Republicans.”

Van Hollen highlighted that the radio ads were recorded by a Bush impersonator, “President Bush's Big Oil energy policies delivered high gas prices to the American people, so who better to deliver our message than someone who sounds just like him?

In addition to the “Independence from Big Oil” radio ads, the DCCC will be doing web videos and e-mails in targeted districts. The radio ads will begin airing during drive time the week of June 30th. The initial ad buy is for one week. The ads will run in 13 districts across America, including 2 districts in North Carolina.

Listen to the ad running in Patrick McHenry's district:

Vote for Wesley Clark to "work" for Daniel

From DemocratsWork

General Clark is reporting for duty and you get to choose the mission. Cast your vote to send General Clark to one lucky Congressional District to do a Democrats Work community service project. Voting is easy as 1-2-3:

Go there and click on the flag to the left within North Carolina.

Johnson outpolls McHenry on election day

Yup. Just this month, more more 10th District voters chose Daniel Johnson than incumbent Pat.

With only 60 percent of Democrats choosing him, Johnson received 41,076 votes. With more than 67 percent of 10th District Republicans backing McHenry, he still only got 34,457 votes. That's not looking so good, come fall, Patty-boy.

According to the NC state BOE website, there are 411,425 registered voters in NC-10. 147, 701 are registered Democratics, 178,085 are registered Republican and 85,639 are unafiliated.

McHenry's pitbull Linda Daves plays the fool

NCGOP Chair Linda Daves tried to attack Daniel Johnson this week. This is the Democratic response, according to the Hickory Daily Record:

Republican Patrick McHenry: To Seem Rather than To Be
RALEIGH -- Once again, Linda Daves and the North Carolina Republican Party make laughingstocks out of themselves with false accusations.

Their letter to Democratic Congressional Candidate Daniel Johnson asking him to apologize for attending a fundraiser is riddled with inaccuracies.

Mr. Johnson is not a trial lawyer. He is a highly-decorated Navy veteran with a solid track record prosecuting criminal cases.

If it is anyone who should apologize to the people of the 10th Congressional district, it is Republican Patrick McHenry.

McHenry attends ribbon-cuttings and town hall meetings in the district and then votes against his constituents when he goes back to Washington.

During a time when many North Carolinians face losing their home, McHenry accepted $62,925 from the real estate industry and $39,500 from commercial banks during this election cycle.

While most hard-working families find saving for retirement difficult, McHenry got $34,250 from the securities and investment industry, according to OpenSecrets.org, a campaign finance watchdog.

No amount of ribbon cuttings and grin-and-grip photo ops will disguise the fact that McHenry is a part of the double-dealing, backroom, swampy culture most voters associate with the “Republican brand”.

As respected conservative columnist Peggy Noonan recently noted, today’s Republicans aren’t thinkers. They are marketers. Linda Daves’ current attempt to package Daniel Johnson, a respected naval hero, as a creature of Washington is politics at its most despicable.

Western North Carolinians deserve more than name-calling and lies. They deserve a Congressman who embodies our state’s motto,esse quam vidire, “to be rather than to seem”.

And that Congressman is Daniel Johnson.

Here's Daniel Johnson's response:

Daniel Johnson is proud to be supported by members of North Carolina's Congressional Delegation and by people at the local and national level, who know that Daniel will work with Republicans and Democrats alike to bring down gas prices, make healthcare more affordable and accessible, and protect military men and women on the battlefield and when they come home.

The North Carolina Republican Party should be asking Congressman McHenry who he works for: Western North Carolina's families or Washington's special interests? Time and time again Congressman McHenry has shown he will vote for special interests and against the interests of his district.

It's no wonder -- Fifty-two percent of Congressman McHenry's campaign funds came from Political Action Committees so far this cycle. His top contributors include banks and insurance companies. Over his career, Congressman McHenry has raised more from PACs than from any other source, including individuals. McHenry has received $1.5 million from PACs since first being elected to Congress.

Daniel Johnson will fight for new, high-paying jobs, good schools, and a strong national defense. Congressman McHenry wastes the voters' time with name-calling instead of offering real solutions to the serious problems facing the 10th District.

McHenry seeks to end in-vitro fertilization

He's a co-sponsor of HR 4157. Otherwise sanctimoniously known as the "Sanctity of Human Life Act." From That's My Congress:

H.R. 4157 . . . might more accurately be entitled the Zygote Political Enfranchisement Act or the Anti-Fertility Act. The legislation has been written by Congressman Broun in order to define a human egg created in the United States from the moment of fertilization, through its development into a fetus ready to be born, as a complete person with full legal rights and constitutional protections equal to that of any other American citizen.

From the bill:

“the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.”

. . .

“The term ‘fertilization’ means the process of a human spermatozoan penetrating the cell membrane of a human oocyte to create a human zygote, a one-celled human embryo, which is a new unique human being.”

That's My Congress argues:

. . . according to Representative Broun, all fertilization requires is for a sperm to break through the cell membrane of a human oocyte (egg). Even if the sperm’s genetic material fails to unite with the egg’s, Paul Broun’s law counts the result as a human being with full constitutional rights to equal protection under the law.

The expense of going through full fertility procedures even with fertilized eggs that could never be successfully implanted in a woman’s womb would make in vitro fertilization unattainable for all but the most wealthy American couples. Even for those couples, however, the practical cost could be too much to bear.

. . .

That makes H.R. 4157, in effect, a bill to ban in vitro fertilization.

What do you think?

Now it's up to you, Daniel Johnson

Lance Sigmon got creamed by sleazy Pat McHenry 67 to 32 Tuesday. BUT did anyone notice he almost beat our little man in the most populous county in the district?

Patrick McHenry (REP) 50.94% 7,038
Lance Sigmon (REP) 49.06% 6,778

And while Lance Sigmon might not help out the Democrats come November, it doesn't look like he'll be behind lil Pat either. From GoBlueRidge net:

“I’m not going to help them [Democrats] either, I’m just not going to endorse him [Patrick McHenry].

McHenry has already started throwing mud at our guy. This is from his website:

But Nancy Pelosi's chosen recruit, a trial lawyer from Raleigh, already has his pockets stuffed with cash from Washington liberals, and we know there will be more to come.

That didn't work next door in the eleventh in 06 but who knows, Pat, a lack of imagination never stopped you before, eh?

Here's Johnson's response:

"This is an untrue personal attack, and exactly the kind of politics that we in the 10th District are sick and tired of," said Johnson, "I am proud of my record serving the state of North Carolina as a prosecutor and standing up for the victims of violent crimes. I was encouraged to run by leaders from our community, and I look forward to serving my friends and neighbors in Washington."

The politics of division and the politics of fear are exactly what are keeping Congress from finding real solutions to the serious problems facing our community and our nation. The Johnson campaign looks forward to a campaign about the issues affecting our families in the 10th District--the rising cost of gasoline and healthcare, the need for new, high-paying jobs, and the care of our military men and women.

And talking about cash, Johnson had raised $217,062 and had $166,188 unspent by the mid-April reporting date. McHenry raised $871,846 during the same period. He spent $679,844 and had $325,663 in cash.

Go throw some money at Daniel, folks!

McHenry and Pittenger?

From Greg Flynn at BlueNC?

How does Patrick McHenry manage to stand tall financially? His personal accumulation of assets through property deals has been a wonder. I’ve always been curious how a paper entry on a form turns into a cash windfall later. Now it seems he has a business partner in Republican State Senator and Lt Governor candidate Robert Pittenger, Lord of the LLC land deals, to help him along.

In Patrick McHenry’s financial disclosure forms filed 5/15/2007 for 2006 there was a new entry for a purchase: Locust-Highway 200 LLC (Real estate/ raw land) a “.00294%” share valued at $15-50,000. The date of the transaction was 2/2/2006. The NC Secretary of States records indicate that the LLC was formed just two days earlier 1/31/2006. The documents show that William R Culp Jr was the registered agent and Christopher E Hannum was the organizer. An annual report filed with the NC Secretary of State 3/7/2007 shows the registered agent and managing member to be Robert Pittenger.

A deed recorded 3/15/2006 in Cabarrus County, Book 6606, Page 86, shows that Locust-Highway 200 LLC purchased a 90.851% share of a parcel of land described as 379.551 acres, Highway 200, Locust. The date is more than a month after McHenry claims he acquired his interest. The stamp tax of $12,759 puts the sale price at around $6,379,500. McHenry’s share of 0.00294% comes to $188 which makes his claim of a $15-50,000 acquisition seem odd. It is possible that he made a mistake on his disclosure form and meant to state either .00294 or 0.294% but the share is very specific.

A listing on Pittenger’s website, which has since been removed, states that the land was annexed and rezoned by the City of Locust in neighboring Stanly County. The rezoning allows 2.4 lots per acre for a total of 960 lots. The other owners of the property besides Locust-Highway 200 LLC are listed in deeds as Paul A Stroup III (3.2675%) and College Street LLC (5.8815%). Annexation and rezoning is apparently a specialty of Pittenger in adding value to land. This development, just northwest of Locust, will be yet another bedroom community for Charlotte, adding to transportation needs in neighboring counties.

Since McHenry’s recorded investment in the LLC, Robert Pittenger and his wife have made $9,000 in contributions to McHenry’s campaign. One contribution of $1,000 was made 3/10/2006 just a few days before the deed was recorded. In the current election cycle Pittenger has maxed out his contribution for both the primary and general having given a total of $4,600 in Nov/Dec 2007. His wife is up to $2,400 for the current cycle.

I still haven’t put my finger on it. I have been suspicious when undocumented personal loans to a campaign get paid off as with McHenry but it’s not unusual for campaigns. To me it’s an untraceable way to siphon off money for personal use. Making property deals with campaign contributors is not unusual for McHenry but this deal is odd. It is less transparent than a deed transfer.

When the “consideration” for a transaction is unknown the asset value can be anything you or your partners claim it to be. The acquisition cost can be and sale cost are malleable. Without an audit there is no way to know how much was actually invested by a partner, how much value is arbitrarily added to the investment or if values are manipulated to avoid capital gains tax.

In this case, McHenry’s participation seems to be inconsequential to the LLC though it seems very important to Robert Pittenger. In this case McHenry could cash out big without ever having invested a penny of his own money.

More on Pittenger via praha at BlueNC:

This stuff comes from Village Scribe Online, which is apparently a really good local Charlotte blog. Charlotte is extremely far out of my orbit, so I'm just discovering these things as an outsider:

The good senator has been a very active land speculator in western Union County. One of the most lucrative was the satellite annexation into Waxhaw arranged by NC Legislature, so Senator Pittenger’s property would enjoy much higher home density than county zoning. That resulting ’school busting’ development is known as Lawson. There are others...

Anyway, Pittenger’s pet bill, his personal multi-million-dollar moneymaking machine, was House Bill 705 from the 2003 session: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2...

A brief recap of the calendar is:

3/26/03 Bill was introduced by Jim Black, legislatively annexing some remaining parcels into the Town of Matthews
5/22/03 Bill received favorable report by house finance committee
5/28/03 Bill passed house; there was still no mention of Pittenger’s Get Rich Quicker scheme
5/29/03 PASSED house bill went to senate finance committee; I don’t know if Pittenger sat on that committe during that session, but he is listed as a member of the senate finance committee now: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/Committees/Committees.asp?sAction=... Standing_77
6/18/03 Senate finance committee amends passed house bill, adds language ANNEXING PITTENGER’S PROPERTY INTO WAXHAW, reports favorable…Surprise, Surprise!
6/24/03 Senate votes to pass H705 with the Pittenger annexation added…vote was 47-1 followed by 49-1 with Pittenger voting “AYE” both times on the bill that would net him millions of dollars; only “NAY” vote was by Sen. Katie Dorsett (D-Guilford)…man, we need more senators like her and fewer like Pittenger and Shubert
6/26/03 Re-voted in house on concurrence after senate passage; 3 “NAY” votes including Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson,Union)

McHenry Imploding

Looks like the pressure of the primary is getting Pat down. According to Thoreau, over at BlueNC, Pat doesn't like the turn of the tide. Apparently, former-Congressman, Cass Ballenger, saw the light and decided to endorse Sigmon. Pat did not like it and is trying to convince everybody that it is all made up by the Sigmon campaign (even though there is a robocall with Cass Ballenger).

It must be very stressful in the McHenry camp!!

McHenry cavorts with . . . friends

[Here's BlogActive's Mike Rogers' take on the story.]

Jackie Sullens writes the newsletter for the Gaston County Republican Women, according to their website. And she openly lives with another woman.

And, gee, look . . . here she is having a gay old time with the now-rapidly homophobic future Congressman.

I let you decide if Pat McHenry is as anti-gay as he pretends to be in the "Sanctity of Marrriage" section of his website.



Cross-posted at BlueNC and Scrutiny Hooligans.

Statesville Landmark disses Pat

And endorses Sigmon!

Republican voters in the 10th District, which includes a big chunk of South Iredell, should thank McHenry for his service in Congress and then force him to get a real job. They can do just that by voting for Sigmon.

McHenry's legal threat backfires

Stupid Pat. He originally skated through his "two-bit" scandal with mostly favorable local coverage (or no coverage at all!)

But the dull-witted one just couldn't be happy having avoided almost every local paper covering that he 1) called a Green Zone military guard "two-bit," 2) then posted an unauthorized video showing where insurgent bombs had fallen, after which 3) insurgents (who may or may not be connected to the insurgents in item 2) scored a direct hit exactly where McHenry showed them on the video. That direct hit killed two, including a colonel, and injured 17.

So, not only did Pat's legal threats intimidate Republican opponent Lance Sigmon not at all, but they also led to a reiteration district-wide of McHenry's "Iraq-two-bit-comment-video-post-and-subsequent-deadly-bombing" debacle.

According to the Hickory Daily Record:

Last week, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia said there is no way McHenry’s video aided the enemy. Marshall was on the trip with McHenry.

Williams’ letter states the troop locations assertion is false and the video did not cause the death of two Americans. Williams letter said several issues on the video are false and aimed at “smearing Representative McHenry’s reputation.”

Sigmon said the ad did not make that assertion, only that the deaths occurred after the airing of the video on McHenry’s Web site. Shortly after placing the video on his Web site, McHenry took it down. After removing the video, members of McHenry’s staff contacted the U.S. Defense Department and were told it would be best not to post the video again.

Providing the location and damage of enemy fire is not allowed, according to military officials.

Pretty funny that he's relying on some obscure Georgia rep no one has heard of to defend him. Gee, I wonder why there's no one from the military who can assure us that he did no harm? Vet's Voice, a website for Iraq War veterans, has some opinions on that.

Here's the letter that prove McHenry's lawyers have little understanding of the nature of libel, slander and public figures.

And, just for a laugh, check out McHenry Rocks. Too bad Blogger is free or we could prove this is not a McHenry fan but a McHenry employee. They'd have to report the payment. But, get real. It's blatantly obvious that the only fans McHenry has are people he's paying or people he lives with!

Sigmon better than McHenry, Barely...

So Pat finally agreed to debate Sigmon. Sigmon still gets points for not violating national security, but his answers in the debate held in Lincoln County make me question if this is an "out of the frying pan, into the fire" situation. You can see the answers to the debates in this Shelby Star article. I am especially concerned with Sigmon's answers about fighting universal health care. The article did not mention if he has another solution to the problem. I guess it is clear the only real answer is to vote for Daniel Johnson in November.

McHenry's PAC Paid for Lay's Defense

According to Roll Call, a subscription-only Capitol Hill daily, Patrick McHenry used PAC funds intended for to pay for the the legal defense of Michael Aaron Lay, his former staffer and roomie convicted of voter fraud while living and working for him.

According to Wikipedia,

In the US, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect or defeat government officials or to promote or defeat legislation.

So, voter fraud is political action organized to elect government officials. So, it's all okay, right?

Here's a link.

Thanks, Boss. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) recently gave Michael Aaron Lay $10,000 to beat back voter fraud charges brought while the former campaign aide worked for the now-Member.

According to recent Federal Election Commission filings, McHenry gave Lay $5,000 out of his political action committee, More Conservatives PAC, in two payments during February and March.

The contributions were labeled “legal expense donation[s].” McHenry had given Lay another $10,000 in July 2007.

Last August Lay got a bizarre "deferrred prosecution" deal for the voter fraud charges. If he pays some fines, does some community service and stays out of trouble, prosecutor Locke Bell said he'd dismiss the charges, leaving the Tennessee Law School student free to pursue the bar.

No wonder Lay was smiling at his last court appearance. It all worked out pretty well for him, don't you think? He breaks the law, gets to walk, and doesn't even have to pay for his own lawyer. And Pat's pretty happy I'm sure. Remember, he needed every extra vote. That election was the one he won by only 86 votes.

Boy o boy, Pat. Things are getting uglier and uglier for you these days. I wonder what else are you hiding.

Desperately Stupid Pat Threatens Lawsuit Over Sigmon Ad

Could this guy be any more boneheaded? Great thinking, dunder-wonder. Give the traditional press something to write about just when the story had died. Remind them of your calling a Green Zone guard "two-bit" and then putting up a banned Green Zone video which may have lead to two deaths, including that of a colonel.

Oh, and yes, make sure even more people pay attention to the ad that calls for you to serve your ten years in prison!

This is from the CharO, historically your most supportive rag:

The controversy began last month when McHenry, a two-term lawmaker, returned from his first trip to Iraq.

In a speech to local Republicans, he said he'd tried to get into a gym near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad but was turned away by a "two-bit security guard." Then, he posted a video of himself in the Green Zone talking about how close enemy rocket attacks had come while he was there.

McHenry voluntarily pulled the video after a veterans group criticized him for giving away intelligence that it said could have aided terrorist groups to strike more accurately.

Sigmon last week called for an investigation into whether McHenry endangered Americans' lives by detailing the success of enemy attacks

Way to go, Patty!!!


Winston-Salem Journal


Raleigh N&O

VetsVoice

Sigmon Calls for Congressional Investigation

Good idea, Lance. Why hasn't any Democratic congressman thought of it? It's not like McHenry holds the purse strings like NC-11's Charles Taylor used to.

Hey Democrats, what's your excuse? Get off your duffs and go after this anti-patriot.

For a Laugh (even though the subject's not all that funny)

From Jesus' General himself. I've cut and pasted more than I should have. You'll have to go right to the post to read the priceless comments.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The impotence of being almost earnest
Rep. Patrick McHenry
Founder, Rep. McHenry's Hostel for Strapping Young Republican Lads

Dear Rep. McHenry,

It surprises me that so few people understand just how important you are. After all, you are a Congressman. That's important. You're also the go-to-guy for strapping, young, Republican lads who need a bed for the night. That's important. You've been tied to a multiple-murder investigation involving homosexual prostitutes and organized crime figures. That's important too. So why don't people see you that way?

I know it's not your fault. You've tried very hard to publicize your importance. In just the last few weeks alone, you bragged to an audience at a Republican dinner that you had berated a security guard in Iraq. And then there's that video you put up on your website--the one in which you proved your importance my broadcasting all the secret operational military information you had.

But, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working. If anything, it's backfired. Your own local newspapers are calling for your head.

We need to turn that around. Below, you'll find my suggestions for other ways to make yourself seem important.

Gp to the post to read his excellent suggestions (and for links to the very real and not-so-funny sources. I recommend the one about Lindsey Graham for the not-easily -offended.

Straw Poll results from Newton Conover

micandacam has promised to report on the event. But for now here are the results from scharrison at BlueNC

Presidential Race
Candidate % of Votes
Obama 54
Clinton 43
Edwards 3
Biden Single write-in vote

US Senate Race
Candidate % of Votes
Neal 53
Hagan 47

Commissioner of Labor
Candidate % of Votes
Anderson 57
Donnan 37
Richardson 6

State Auditor
Candidate % of Votes
Wood 63
Atkins 37

Insurance Commissioner
Candidate % of Votes
Goodwin 87
Smith 13

Gubernatorial Race
Candidate % of Votes
Perdue 53
Moore 47

Lt. Governor Race
Candidate % of Votes
Smathers 38
Besse 27
Dalton 24
Dellenger 10

State Treasurer
Candidate % of Votes
Cowell 48
Weisel 38
Young 14

Superintendent of Public Instruction
Candidate % of Votes
Atkinson 90
Davis 10

: