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 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?

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 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!

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.

McHenry Endangers Troops, Then Blames Them

Earlier this week, McHenry posted a video that violated Green Zone military security in Iraq and may have led to several deaths, including that of a colonel.

Now, according to the Charlotte Observer, he's blaming the Pentagon for not briefing him. But the Pentagon is contradicting him.

A Pentagon spokesman said he didn't know what McHenry was told in Iraq, "but we routinely brief our operational rules to our visitors in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"We do not as a matter of policy discuss attacks in a way that would provide the enemy any better understanding of the effectiveness of their attacks," said Lt. Col. Todd Vician.

VoteVets has called on congress to censure him for endangering troops
And Brandon Friedman, vice president of Vote Vets has suggestedMcHenry resign and enlist:

And frankly, at this point, members of the military are tired of covering for these chickenhawk wannabe-heroes who go around looking for glory the easy way. We're tired of them starting wars they can't finish and we're disgusted with their enthusiasm to use a military which they don't understand in the slightest.

To be quite honest, it's only because McHenry is a Congressman that the Pentagon and MNF-Iraq spokesmen were so lenient with him.

If Patrick McHenry wants to tell war stories so badly, he should resign his Congressional seat and go enlist. He's only 32. That way, he could get some training--so that next time he's in a combat zone trying to be a tough guy, he won't be such a bumbling, self-promotional fool about it.

Again here are the initial remarks about his visit to Baghdad that started McHenry's downward spiral:

And so in the morning, I got up early — not that I make this a great habit — but I went to the gym because I just couldn’t sleep and everything else. Well, sure enough, the guard wouldn’t let me in. Said I didn’t have the correct credentials. It’s 5:00 in the morning. I haven’t had sleep. I was not very happy with this two-bit security guard. So you know, I said, “I want to see your supervisor.”

Support Daniel Johnson.

Write a letter to the editor using the links on the upper left.

McHenry Violates Green Zone Military Security

I can't say it any better than this headline at Alternet: "GOP Rep Reveals Details of Green Zone Attack; Did he Get U.S. Soldiers Killed?"

From Vet Voice, (an website by American veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan):

In an effort to bolster his own national security credentials in the midst of "Sniper-gate," Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) gave away intelligence information last week that could have aided Shi'ite militias and/or other terrorist organizations in targeting the Green Zone. Only two days after McHenry promoted a video of himself in the Green Zone describing in detail the effectiveness of the rocket attacks on Easter Sunday, the area was hit with a barrage that killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded 17 others. It was the deadliest attack on the Green Zone so far this year.

The backstory: McHenry spoke at a Lincoln County event of how he was turned away from the Iraq Green Zone gym. He went on to describe an attack during his visit. Here's the video of him calling the military sentry "two-bit," and going on to describe a rocket attack while he was in the Green Zone.

The campaign of Republican opponent Lance Sigmon contested Pat's version of events, quoting a Pentagon spokesman who said, according to the Sigmon website:

the facts were somewhat different, emphasizing that there were no fatalities from that rocket attack.

As the mainstream media picked up the two stories, McHenry defended himself using a video posted at his official Congressional website. According to Thoreau at BlueNC:

The video shows McHenry right after the blast in front of an unnamed structure, describing the events of the blast- including some key information about not only what in the Green Zone was hit, but explaining his current position as smoke rose behind him.

From Vet Voice:

In a post earlier this morning, I detailed how 32-year-old Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) had not only violated OPSEC procedures while in Iraq, but also endangered American troops located in the Green Zone. McHenry--a fervent war supporter who has never served in the military--was apparently content to promote his Baghdad adventures at the expense of U.S. troops on his Congressional website, during public appearances, and on YouTube.

He did this until he got called out today.

Once the video started appearing on sites like VetVoice, The Huffington Post, and AlterNet, McHenry's office immediately removed the video from both YouTube and his website, leaving the sites above with dead links. It's unclear as to whether McHenry had the video pulled out of a sense of new-found responsibility to America's Armed Forces, or whether he just thinks he can sweep the fact under the rug that he got caught trying to burnish his own foreign policy credentials at the expense of troops serving in combat. Calls to his office requesting information on the reason were not answered, as none were attempted until after close of business this afternoon.

Vet Voice's Brandon Friedman (whose post was picked up at Alternet) tries to give McHenry the benefit of the doubt, that perhaps his mistakes are honest and caused by ignorance, not malice. But even people who don't know McHenry's pathetic, hypocritical history are having trouble making excuses.

I'd like to think that Congressman McHenry realized what he did wrong and that he feels genuine remorse. However, if that were the case, I would have expected an apology to have been issued in conjunction with the removal of the video--though none was. That leads me to believe that McHenry pulled the video because he's more worried about the damage this could do to him politically--not because he's concerned about how his actions could affect the troops or their families.

Here's more from Thoreau at BlueNC

The irony? Patrick McHenry has previously bashed ABC news and other groups for giving out key information online... just as he just did. In fact, he was quoted as saying the following:

In a carefully worded request, seven House GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., asked the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to "look into the releasing of sensitive information and its impact on the security of our nation, the performance of our government agencies, and the viability of our diplomatic relationships overseas."

Since the video is rightfully no longer available here's Huffington Post's transcript:

McHENRY: Good morning. You see, right over my back here (points), there was a rocket attack this morning. According to our folks here, there were eleven rockets, uh, one hit just over my head, another hit a parking lot, and another hit the gym. Well, interestingly enough, I wasn't able to get into the gym this morning because I didn't have an ID that was appropriate. And so I was escorted back to the room and just a few minutes later, that's when the rocket attacks occurred. So, uh, small wonders. . .what a small blessing. . .a big blessing on Easter Sunday morning. So, thanks so much.

But will the people of North Carolina's 10th district boot this loser? As a DFA staffer wrote: For Republicans the Rules Don't Apply.

Support Daniel Johnson. Write a letter to the editor. 10th District press is failing to cover this story adequately. (See list of newspaper LTE links in left column.)

McHenry's lies, pandering, disrespect for military hit mainstream media

Here's the MSNBC video

Daily Kos

Think Progress

BlueNC


PoliGazette

Feel free to add your own!

Wanna "weekend retreat" with McHorny?

Got $9200? You'll be part of Congressman Patrick McHenry's "Congressional Circle." Your benefits include "Private Washington, DC retreat" with Pat, including "meals and a reception." And what else????

It also gets you a"two complimentary tickets to all campaign events" and the "Annual McHenry Christmas Party," "free subscription" to an exciting campaign newsletter called the McHenry Campaign Insider (a fiction writer wouldn't make this stuff up), a commemorative pin," and (not last and not least) a semiannual conference call "update."

And supposedly campaign contributions don't buy access.

(Click on graphics and keep clicking for larger versions.)





What I want to know is what will it cost to get me a weekend with DUI staffer Brett Keeter and how many diamonds does he rate.

Cross posted at BlueNC and ScruHoo.

McHenry "stacking the district" with incompetent allies?

That's what news@norman is saying:

McHenry has been stacking the district with his puppets for several years in a power-grabbing machine-building scheme that is alienating many in the party, including a number of folks in East Lincoln who are now leaning towards McHenry’s opponent, Lance Sigmon.

He has more to say about insider Republicans:

While the primary campaign is beginning to heat up, Mitchem, Funderburk and McConnell reportedly had their pictures made with the Pillsbury Doughboy (aka McHenry) at a recent county GOP function.

That makes it appear to me as though the young, abrasive congressman is giving them the wink-wink in the GOP primary against more intelligent, thoughtful and community-minded candidates.

McHenry calls green zone soldier guard "two-bit"

Can't make this stuff up.



And, apparently, his story about a nearby rocket attack doesn't jive with the official military either. From Sigmon for Congress:

However, official U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said the facts were somewhat different, emphasizing that there were no fatalities from that rocket attack.

[Ed note: it was a guard and not an American military soldier so I've corrected the headline.]

Things Look Bad for Pat

Things aren't going so well these days for the 10th's Pat McHenry, aka Patty McHorny (for those of us who like to get in some image framing with our news).

This started as a quick and easy short post but as the list grew and grew, I decided to present it in three parts. Starting with:

The Little Things

Yellow Brick Redux gave Patrick McHenry the Laziest Politician Award Gold for "Feeding at the Public Trough while accomplishing nothing." They noted that in the 110th Congress, Pat proposed one "feel-good" bill, four "bills that did something" and 6 amendments to bills. The poorest record for the entire NC state delegation to Congress.

Even Republicans like news@norman like Democratic opponent Daniel Johnson better.

Old time Lincoln Republican leader Jonas Harvey Jr. endorsed his primary opponent Lance Sigmon.

And last, but certainly not least, poor Pat lost 49 - 11 to Lance Sigmon Catwaba straw poll

Next in our series "Things Look Bad for Pat"

Part II: The National Situation for Republicans

"Photo Op" McHenry avoids debate with Iraq trip

I guess it's a good excuse to avoid debating a respected conservative opponent. And I suppose for security, he wasn't "allowed" to say where he'd be. But Democrat congressional candidate Daniel Johnson hit the nail on the head about Pat McHenry's recent publicity stunt to be seen with non-district troops in Iraq. From the Statesville Record & Landmark:

Hickory attorney Daniel Johnson, a Democratic candidate for McHenry’s seat, is not sure trips like this are necessary.

“I think a lot of politicians like to have their pictures taken with the soldiers in Iraq,” Johnson said.

Of course, Johnson, a decorated former Naval officer would know all about that . . .

“Iraq is one front on the war on terror,” he said. “And the question becomes, ‘Do we have enough troops and forces to deal with the other fronts?’ ”

Johnson said he believes the Taliban has been able to “re-establish a foothold” in Afghanistan.

“And al-Qaida, the people responsible for 9/11, are still out there,” he said.

Johnson said trips like the one made by McHenry are valuable only if “new” information can be gathered.

“But my concern is that too many politicians are going over there for the photo ops,” he said.

And why didn't McHenry go to Afghanistan? Not enough publicity boom for the risk? Those troops and those citizens have been virtually forgotten by both legislators and the press.

No word on the trip's cost to taxpayers, of course.

McHenry and Foxx regularly vote against children

According to the Statesville Record & Landmark:

[Iredell] county’s two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are among the least apt to vote for legislation favoring the youngsters.

Reps. Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry both scored 10 percent on matters deemed by the Children’s Defense Fund Action Council to be those that most affect the lives of children in the United States.

. . .

Only 37 House members scored 10 percent or lower.

“Whether members of Congress are liberal, conservative or moderate; Democrat, Republican or independent, children need all of them to vote, lobby, speak for and protect them,” CDFAC President Marian Wright Edelman said in a released statement.

Nice.

McHenry leaves US to avoid debating Lance?

According to PGBB commenter joyfulrunner (with thanks):

A friend of mine called his office to find out where he was that was so important that he could not attend - he was told that McHenry was "out of the country". Maybe he should stay out!!

Okay, maybe he had already planned the junket before the debate was scheduled. No wonder they were so touchy about it. Obviously, they don't want people to know. Is it because he's traveling abroad on your dime? Or because of where he's going in particular.

One would guess it's not Iraq since NC Congressmen went there just last month. Of course, if that is the destination, it would explain the secrecy (for security one would suppose).

And we know veterans pretty much despise him these days. But if it isn't Iraq, what could it be that would require such coyness? Public records will give it away, McHenry folks. Can't keep it secret forever . . . . and why do you want to?

Anyone else make the call? I'd love to hear if they're telling different things to different people. Or, if they think they can keep his travel secret, especially if we're paying for it (as is the case for most Congressional foreign travel)

Here's his contact info on your representative in Congress:

Washington, D.C. Office:
Phone: (202) 225-2576
Fax: (202) 225-0316

Hickory Office:
Phone: (828) 327-6100
Fax: (828) 327-8311

Pat refuses to attend debate

Hickory Record's Andrew Mackie wrote: "McHenry spokesperson said he couldn’t attend due to a non-disclosed scheduling conflict."

I guess it isn't the funeral or he would've said so.

Anyone want to find out where he is going to be hanging out?

If you use the EMAIL ME option on the upper left and ask for confidentiality I guarantee it.