Johnson announcement coverage roundup

The headline for the Hickory Daily Record:

Hickory Navy hero enters congressional race

And you've gotta like their lead:

A Hickory military hero officially embarked on a congressional campaign Wednesday.

The Raleigh N&O stepped back into Republican framing:

Former sailor, assistant DA announces run for McHenry's seat

A sailor? Since when does a military hero get downgraded to sailor? Oh, right, when the "mainstream" media is talking about a Democrat, of course.

CharO did one step better than their Raleigh cousin:

Ex-Wake prosecutor, a Hickory native, known for saving fellow sailor

Carolina Politics Online's lead:

Pledging to represent the values of North Carolina with character and integrity, Daniel Johnson announced today that he is running to represent North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District in the United States Congress.

And from the North Carolina Democratic Party:

Daniel Johnson served in the United States Navy from 1998-2000, receiving the Navy Marine Corps Medal, the Navy's highest peacetime award for heroism. For the past three years, Daniel Johnson served as an assistant district attorney in North Carolina. As a prosecutor, he began by prosecuting charges of DWI and other misdemeanors and rose to prosecute a wide range of felony cases that included drug trafficking, robbery, and murder.

“I will be a leader who is part of the solution in Washington, not part of the problem. I promise to rise above the divisive politics that have plagued our government for too long, and focus on representing the values and priorities of North Carolina,” Johnson continued. “This means making sure our kids have the heath care they deserve, our families and small businesses get the tax breaks they need, and our veterans are taken care of when they return home.”

Daniel Johnson earned an undergraduate and law degree from the University of North Carolina, where he met his wife, Creecy. He currently resides in his hometown of Hickory.

This is just a sample. Google Daniel Johnson and comment (where possible) on the article to let people know how excited we are about our candidate!!!!

The fun is just beginning folks.

It's official: Johnson announces!!!!

Jerimee has it at BlueNC.

“Running for Congress is a continuation of my service to America and the people of North Carolina,” said Johnson. “I look around the area I grew up in, and see people struggling with keeping their jobs, affording their health care and just making ends meet. It is time for a new brand of leadership – one that the people of this district can be proud of. I have the character and the experience needed to be an effective representative for my state.”

Dan Johnson, the 10th's next representative

From BlueNC by DharmaPup:

Daniel Johnson ... the next representative from the 10th district? God/Allah/YHWH/Shiva willing. Some interesting info from the Denver Post from some time back tells a little bit of his story:

Johnson joined the Navy to see the world, and this certainly was a good start. The USS Blue Ridge was being pulled from port by tugboat at Pusan, South Korea, last August when Daniel spotted one of his men in trouble. Seaman Steven Wright, 21, of Pine Bluff, Ark., was working the large cables connecting the tugboat with the ship and had become entangled. The tugboat began pulling Wright toward a small hole in the ship's side. That could have ripped him apart.

An official "summary of action" report noted that seven other personnel were on the scene but only Ensign Johnson rushed to the seaman's aid. When Johnson tried to loosen the cable from Wright's leg, his own legs got caught.

Each survived. However, Wright lost a foot and four fingers. Johnson lost his lower legs below the knee for his actions.

On September 24th, 1999, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Johnson received the Navy/Marine Corp Medal (photo) for his actions.

"It says a lot about him that he didn't hesitate. He just wanted to save the guy's life even if it meant risking his," Will Johnson said. "That was one of his men. That's what he was thinking about."

Here's another interesting article from All Hands, the magazine of the US Navy.

I'm just wondering how that great warrior and military hero Patrick McHenry (the hyperinflated little fart) will try to swiftboat Johnson if/when he runs. It'll happen ... shades of an AWOL Texas National Guard pilot calling a decorated Vietnam veteran unpatriotic. If he does step in (and I'm hopeful), he'll need all the help NC Dems can give.

Still, Johnson's own comment about his experience of recovering from his injuries seems to fit what he'll face if/when he runs against Patty:

"I now have more determination to focus on things that I didn't have before the accident," Johnson said. "Everyone has challenges you don't think you can overcome, but if you maintain a positive attitude and work toward it, life will turn out normal."

Navy hero considers running against McHenry

According to the Hickory Record:

HICKORY - A Hickory military hero may enter the 2008 race for Congress.

Daniel Johnson, 31, confirmed Wednesday he is considering a run for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry.

. . .

Johnson received the Navy Marine Corps Medal, the highest honor awarded to an officer during peacetime, following a 1999 accident on the USS Blue Ridge during which Johnson saved a fellow crewmate.

. . .

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johnson returned there to attend law school a year later.

Johnson said a run for Congress, like his Navy and legal careers, would be another avenue of service.

“So far, my entire professional career, I’ve been in one type of service or another,” Johnson said. “(A congressional run) would be another way to serve a lot of people in a wide range of issues. It’s very appealing and something worth considering.”

Sorry for the large blockquote but I seriously don't know what to edit out of what national columnist George Will wrote about Johnson in October 1999:

In his eighth month on board, on Aug. 23, he was the safety observer at the aft mooring station as Korean tugs pulled the Blue Ridge into position to leave the harbor at Pusan. A tug was reeling in the messenger line, a rope about an inch and a half in diameter that is attached to the hawser, the big rope -- about eight inches in diameter -- that bears the weight in tugging and mooring. The tug was moving away and reeling unusually fast. Too fast.

What happened next happened very fast. The leg of Seaman Steven Wright, 21, from Pine Bluff, Ark., became tangled in a loop of the messenger line which, under extreme tension from the tug, dragged Wright across the deck and pulled his leg into a "chock,'' an oval opening about a foot long and eight inches wide through which ropes pass. The tremendous torque from the tug could have pulled Wright through the chock, ripping him apart.

"This part is a little bit fuzzy to me,'' says Johnson about what he did. "I tried to free him up.'' The official "summary of action'' recommending the Navy and Marine Corps Medal says:

"Immediately, without hesitation, and in the face of known risk to his own life, Ensign Johnson ran to the assistance of the entrapped line handler who was in imminent peril of losing the lower part of his leg. ... None of the other seven personnel on scene attempted any similar act or endangered themselves to such a degree to come to the entangled Sailor's aid.''

Wright's life was saved because his leg was not. He was freed when the rope severed his leg (and four fingers above the knuckles). But before that happened, as Johnson struggled to help Wright, the violently jerking line entangled both of Johnson's legs, dragged him to the chock, and severed both limbs below the knee. He also lost a finger.

Why did he act as he did? He says, matter-of-factly, that officers are trained to be responsible for the well-being of their men, and besides, that's the way his parents -- they are at his bedside this day, having made the seven-hour drive from Hickory for another stay with their son -- raised him. He would rather talk about the prostheses that will soon be fitted to the stumps of his legs.

"They say that if I want to I can run a marathon. The only thing that will limit me is myself.'' He is thinking of going to medical school.

What lies are you going to tell about this fine man, Pat? What lies are you going to perpetrate this time? Because that's the only way you're going to win. It's the only way you beat Huffman in 04 and it's the only way you could possibly win against this guy.