Keeter DUI postponed to February

Giving me more opportunities to post this lovely photo.

McHenry Deputy District Director Brett Keeter blew a point one three on Labor Day weekend and twice his court date has been rescheduled.

Mark your calendars for February 5, 2008, morning session. Room 3B.

Arraigned Offenses for Case Number: 2007014558 CR
Arraigned Defendant Name: KEETER, JAMES, BRETT
County: GASTON
Court Date: 02/05/2008
Session: AM
Court Room: 003B

Offense Code Description Statute
5405 Traffic DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED 20-138.1
4477 Infraction FAIL TO DIM HEADLAMPS 20-181
9955 Traffic CIVIL REVOCATION DR LIC (30) 20-16.5

McHenry parties with Delay

at the opening of his new company, First Principles. I guess Delay is trying to invoke the spirit of Thomas Paine who advocated for a government by election and representation rather than one succession and heredity.

But if you look at the list of party-goers, you have to think Delay has chosen his heirs. In crime and politics.

From the Crypt at politico.com

Tom DeLay: used to controlling a party

He wasn’t gone for long, but Tom DeLay has returned to Capitol Hill.

His new firm, First Principles, had its opening party last night . . .

They list the guests: Texans Sen. John Cornyn, former Rep. Henry Bonilla, Rep. Mike Conaway, NC's Rep. Patrick McHenry, as well as Pastor Rick Scarboro of Vision America, former Rep. Bill Paxon and Ken Blackwell.

Being D.C., things got started at 6 p.m. but went into the wee hours of the night — goers were probably encouraged by the fully stocked bar and cigars.

Hmm cigars.

Full disclosure, the photo is from an engagement party and not the Capitol Hill Tom Delay gala.

Xposted at Pat'sGone, BlueNC.

Sloppy seconds?

On Saturday, Minority Leader John Boehner came to a fund-raising breakfast for Congressman Pat. Thing is, he'd done a dinner for 5th District Congressman Virginia Foxx the night before.

Google Pat and John and you get only old stuff. Google Virginia and John and you get her inivitation.

Gee, wonder why John even came to the breakfast if he didn't want anyone to know or see them together?

Pat wants to delay Blackwater investigation . . .

Pat's tied to Blackwater, too?

According to the Crypt, Pat and six other Republicans asked Oversight and Government Reform Chair Henry Waxman to delay Tuesday's hearing into the Blackwater mercenary atrocities in Iraq.

The Political Chase speculates why Republicans might want to wait:

I bet they do want the investigation delayed until after those reports are “revealed.” Cheney probably needs a little time to stamp every document that is remotely related (or not) classified and vet the reports. Indeed.

So mayhap he is just doing his pal Dick a favor. But getting tied to Blackwater? Wow, that's a pretty fragile limb for someone who has little chance of winning a primary to be climbing out on.

Here's some info on Blackwater:

Excerpts from the Committee's Majority staff memo.

The Money Trail (or lack thereof)

Unprovoked attack on Iraqis that started the investigation.

Bush Administrations questionable use of mercenary troops over cheaper, more trustworthy, more controllable American soldiers

McHenry's chief consultant and voter fraud

Meet Douglas F. Stewart III, known as "Dee." He served as Congressman Pat McHenry's first chief of staff from January to May 2005. But he'd already started up a company called The Stewart Group. It's url was thestewartgrouponline dot com.

Funny thing, the week that McHenry's former housemate (and staffer) Aaron Lay was indicted, The Stewart Group Online disappeared from the internets tubes.

Another funny thing: Dee Stewart's connection to the McHenry voter fraud case isn't his only brush with questionable voter registrations. While the Lay case ended in a deferred plea, the other case still rests in the hands of Moore County District Attorney Maureen Kruger, the Gaston Gazette reported in May.

The Moore County Independent covered that story extensively but is no longer in business so I'm linking to the North Carolina Conservative's reprint of their article quoting the questionably registered voters and the candidate:

Pinehurst- A paid staff member of Joe Boylan’s May primary campaign said last week that she never intended to move to Moore County as a permanent resident but registered to vote here so she could cast a ballot for her boss. That could be a violation of state voting laws, elections experts say.

Reitler and Powell both got their positions with the Boylan campaign through connections with Dee Stewart, Boylan’s Raleigh-based campaign consultant. Stewart also served as campaign consultant for Congressman Patrick McHenry, first elected to represent the 10th Congressional district in the western part of NC in 2004. Some in the district have alleged that the McHenry campaign registered campaign workers from outside the state who were living temporarily in a Cherryville house owned by the Congressman during the race. According to the Gaston County Board of Elections, no challenges or official complaints were ever filed surrounding the allegations.

Reitler worked as a field operative for McHenry in 2004, but did not change her registration during the election. Powell is a political neophyte. The Boylan job was her first out of college, and came, she says, through a cousin who worked for Stewart’s consulting group. Reitler said the current scrutiny of her voting record reminded her of the allegations surrounding the McHenry campaign, which she called “silly.” She says her decision not to register to vote in the 10th District in 2004 shows that she acted legally when she registered to vote here late last year.

North Carolina Conservative wrote:

A confidential source, speaking on background, contacted NC Christian Coalition Chairman Donnie Young earlier this year. This source claims to have worked closely with persons involved in the McHenry and Boylan campaigns. The source has also been a candidate. He claims that certain persons volunteered to help his campaign, saying “We will poll to find out how many votes you need. Then, we will bring enough college students into your district, and register them to vote, so you’ll win.” The NCC contacted the source who spoke with Mr. Young, and he verified the information, saying “It wasn’t quite that explicit, but that was the general idea.” The source asked us to maintain his anonymity for fear of reprisal.

And for a guy who's worked for two congressmen (Robin Hayes and Patrick McHenry), who's appeared on every major television network, and who has worked for numerous North Carolina state legislature campaigns like Joe Boylan's, it's odd that when you google his name, not much shows up.

It's not like he's out of business. According to McHenry's campaign disclosures, Pat paid the Stewart Group $6,000 for "Development and Planning" every month for the last year.

Here's the current website "coming soon."

Here's the archives of The Stewart Group's webpages from December 12,2001 to April 23, 2007

Here's what Dee Stewart used to want people to know about him:

Dee Stewart is an experienced political strategist, prolific fundraiser and talented speaker. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and serves as President of The Stewart Group, Inc., specializing in campaign consulting, fundraising and public affairs.

Dee was born in Winchester, Virginia and was raised in Martinsburg, West Virginia, located in the Shenandoah Valley, a region where the Stewart family has lived since the early eighteenth century. He received his undergraduate degree in Government from Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina. His honors included: Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, Dean’s List, Presidential Scholars, Student Body Treasurer, 1992 North Carolina Bush/Quayle Youth Chairman and State Chairman of College Republicans. Also, Stewart received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management from the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business at Campbell University.

After graduating from Campbell, Stewart was appointed National Youth Coordinator of the 1996 Phil Gramm for President campaign, based in Washington, DC. In addition to creating collegiate political organizations for Senator Gramm (R-TX) in seventeen states crucial to the presidential nomination process, Stewart managed the youth caucus turnout operation in Iowa that accounted for 10% of the total caucus vote of the campaign.

Stewart served as a Field Director of the 1996 Robin Hayes for Governor campaign, based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the primary election, the campaign was victorious in 43 of 44 counties in which he oversaw grassroots operations for Representative Hayes (R-NC), thereby helping to provide the statewide primary margin of victory, 50%-46%.

In 1997, Stewart served as the Legislative Liaison of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. In this capacity, he raised a record amount of money for AUTOPAC, the Association’s political action committee. In addition, by fostering relationships between dealers and legislators, he helped guide landmark legislation through the General Assembly that strengthened North Carolina’s motor vehicle franchise laws.

From late 1997 until early 1999, Stewart served as Finance Director of the North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP). Through aggressive solicitation and prospecting, he retired the 1996 campaign debt (in excess of $300,000) in less than eleven months, while funding all fixed and variable expenses of the 1998 election cycle. In addition, Stewart organized the most successful NCGOP fundraising event on record, the Jesse Helms Silver Anniversary Tribute, which raised in excess of $100,000.

In early 1999, Stewart was named Executive Director of the Republican Party of Iowa (RPI), based in Des Moines. As Executive Director, he managed and coordinated the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, which was the best-attended paid political event in American history, drawing over 40,000 Republicans. The event raised over $1 million for RPI, a record amount for any political fundraiser in Iowa’s history. In addition, he oversaw the 2000 Iowa Caucuses, which were attended by more than 88,000 Republicans at 2,131 precincts. During Stewart’s tenure, the Iowa GOP maintained its congressional majority and its majority in the State House and State Senate. Also, George W. Bush attained over 48% of the presidential vote, the most of any GOP nominee since 1984. Stewart held the post of Executive Director until early 2001, when he returned to Raleigh and founded The Stewart Group, Inc.

In 2005, Stewart served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. In this capacity, he was charged with hiring and managing a successful staff in the Congressman�s offices on Capitol Hill and in the Congressional District. He also developed and implemented policies and procedures that help the staff effectively assist Congressman McHenry.

Stewart has appeared on the CBS Evening News, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC’s Today, CNN’s Inside Politics, MSNBC’s Equal Time, the Fox News Network, and C-SPAN.

He is married to the former Angela Joan Miller of High Point, North Carolina.

I guess the only question left is, why would someone work for years in politics and then all of a sudden remove any trace of existence from the public media?

Hey, Pat, where do you live?

So, Patrick, let's say just for argument's sake, that you didn't declare on your federal disclosure forms that Hickory condo (bought in 2005 and not reported then or since) because it is your personal residence.

(Not having to report a residence purchase or sale somewhat neuters the concept that taxpayers have the right to know if you got a sweetheart deal but I'll let that go for now).

Problem with that? According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections you've been voting from Cherryville the last three elections since you bought that property (and chose to exclude it from your disclosures.)



So, now we've got that pesky ol' voter fraud problem rearing it's ugly head. Which is worse? Voter fraud or lying in financial disclosures? Both are federal legal violations, right? But, the thing is you have other inconsistencies on your financial disclosures (I won't got into it now but does the address 4211 Pete Brown Rd. Ring any bells?)

Thank you, Bob Novak, kind of

[Photo from TPMMuckraker]

Bob Novak is my hero. What a muckraker! I thank the Lord he's all over Patrick McHenry's earmark hypocrisy. The "kind of" refers to his complete disdain when he writes this week that "no one -- and we mean absolutely no one" reported Patrick McHenry's latest spanking (and this time by his own kind, 249-174):

Meanwhile, events during the last week of June demonstrated that the celebrated transparency in the House is a sham. Amendments to strike transparent earmarks are brought up for a floor vote, they are overwhelmingly defeated and the news media completely ignore the story. Searches of Lexis-Nexis and Google News suggest that no one -- and we mean absolutely no one -- has picked up on the story of Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and the embarrassing fight he lost to keep an earmark in his district.

Now, I know, I know, he was only bringing it up to daintily point out that the Democrats are not doing as good of a job as he obviously wants them to do. (Isn't his idealism cute!) But it was just so adorable of him to use the words "Patrick McHenry" and "embarrassment" in the same sentence that I'll forgive him for being so blogodensious, and so tremendously hypocritical in his criticism on one party's comparatively minor failings in comparison to the party he so blindly (and so profitably) supports.

And if absolutely no one picked up on it, how did he find out about it? Did he read about it here or here or here or here or here or here? Oops, I forgot all those media outlets don't exist. He must have been right there in the gallery of Congress to witness the smackdown.

Oh, P.S., Mr Novak, I scrolled down to your comments on Al Franken. Why does he "claim" to have raised 1.9 million while his Republican opponent "announces" his and the primary candidate "declares?"

McHenry lectures president

Now, our Pat thinks he's an expert on the Middle East. Who knew?

This from the News & Observer:

WASHINGTON - With public support for the Iraq war plummeting and conditions in Iraq remaining dire, some Charlotte-area Republican lawmakers say President Bush needs a better message to the nation.
. . .
Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, said the president should have characterized the challenge as a "war against Islamic extremists" instead of a war on terrorism.

"Terrorism is merely a tactic. Islamic extremists are the ones actively targeting Americans because they loathe our culture, laws and freedoms," McHenry said.

"Certainly, the president has made mistakes in handling the Iraq war, but his end goal is clear and correct -- we must fight the extremists where they are. Fighting them in Iraq and Afghanistan is far better than fighting them here."

" . . . his goal is clear and correct" Wow. Don't know anyone who isn't on the bush gravy train who thought the understaffed surge would work or that the understaffed surge is working. But I guess Patrick knows something that the rest of America (and the military leaders) don't. Like how to stick his head up his you-know-what and spout the party line: "our president knows what he's doing . . . he just doesn't know how to talk about it." Yeah, that's the ticket.

Of course and no mention that the problem is that none of these people were in Iraq before we invaded, before Rumsfeld decided to send in less than half the troops all the real experts knew we would need. I don't see what was correct about that. But water under the bridge at this point.

The real story of voter fraud

While Pat's former roomie and staffer stands accused of illegally registering to vote, it's very, very interesting that of all the people in the whole wide world to be obsessed with voter fraud, we find one gentleman whom Pat admires above all others: Karl Rove.

From TruthDig.com:

WASHINGTON—It is time to stop referring to the “fired U.S attorneys scandal” by that misnomer, and call it what it is: a White House-coordinated effort to use the vast powers of the Justice Department to swing elections to Republicans.

This is no botched personnel switch. It is not even a political spat between the fired U.S. attorneys and Bush administration officials who deemed some of them insufficiently zealous in promoting the department’s law enforcement priorities. Connect the dots and you see an insidious effort to corrupt the American electoral system. It’s Watergate without the break-in or the bagmen.

The emerging picture is one in which widespread Republican claims of “voter fraud”—unsubstantiated in virtually every case examined closely by law enforcement officials, local journalists, state elections officials and academics—were used to stymie Democratic-leaning voter registration groups and create a taint around Democrats. The Justice Department’s own statistics show that only a handful of people were convicted of voting illegally since it began a “voter integrity” initiative in 2002. Its top election crimes official, a career prosecutor, has told the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that the proportion of “legitimate to illegitimate claims of fraud” hasn’t changed.

The “voter fraud” claims that White House political adviser Karl Rove promoted before last year’s congressional elections were in battleground states such as New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with closely contested races. He also has complained about alleged fraud in hotly competitive states such as Washington, Florida and Missouri. Curiously, states where elections often are decided by wide margins—New York, for instance—don’t turn up on his lists.

According to McClatchy::

WASHINGTON - Only weeks before last year's pivotal midterm elections, the White House urged the Justice Department to pursue voter-fraud allegations against Democrats in three battleground states, a high-ranking Justice official has told congressional investigators.

In two instances in October 2006, President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, or his deputies passed the allegations on to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' then-chief of staff, Kyle Sampson.

Sampson tapped Gonzales aide Matthew Friedrich, who'd just left his post as chief of staff of the criminal division. In the first case, Friedrich agreed to find out whether Justice officials knew of "rampant" voter fraud or "lax" enforcement in parts of New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and report back.

Here's the research on the likelihood that Karl's concerns about voter fraud are justifiable:

The Fraud about "Voter Fraud"

In an effort to downplay charges that the Bush administration engaged in blatant political manipulation of the Justice Department in firing eight U.S. Attorneys for failing to be adequately “loyal Bushies,” right-wing activists have posited that the reason these federal prosecutors were fired was that they failed to prosecute or investigate rampant voter fraud. Attorney General Gonzales claimed, “The president recalls hearing complaints about election fraud not being vigorously prosecuted.” However, the facts demonstrate that the dismissed prosecutors diligently investigated claims of fraud, and found no evidence to prosecute any crimes. Indeed, the evidence, including statements from Republicans and administration officials, indicates that voter fraud is not a significant problem in our elections.

In 2002, the Bush Justice Department launched the “Voting Access and Integrity Initiative,” which directed Justice Department attorneys, including those in the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, to prioritize investigations of alleged voter fraud. Despite being a top priority, the initiative resulted in only 24 convictions for illegally voting nationwide from 2002 to 2005, compared to the hundreds of millions of votes cast during that period. Republican former U.S. Attorneys and other Justice Department officials agree:

* Former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Washington stated that he conducted a “very active” review of allegations of voter fraud in the 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington, and testified under oath that “there was no evidence of voter fraud or election fraud.” When the Republican Party in Washington brought its own suit regarding this election, the judge rejected every claim, stating that he found no evidence of fraud.
* The long-time director of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch, Craig Donsanto, concurred with McKay that no federal crimes had been committed in that election. Furthermore, he has stated that “the number of election fraud related complaints has not gone up since 2002.”
* Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico, who was one of only two U.S. Attorneys to start a voter fraud task force in 2004, stated that, “After reviewing more than 100 complaints of voter fraud, I felt there was one possible case that should be prosecuted federally. … As much as I wanted to prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not disagree with my decision in the end not to prosecute.”
* Even FBI Director Robert Mueller concurs. At a Senate hearing on March 27, 2007, Senator Charles Schumer asked, “Since 2001, have there been any FBI investigations related to election fraud which you believe should have resulted in an indictment but did not?” Mueller responded, “Not to my knowledge … and nothing has come to my level.”

Virtually every academic study of voter fraud concludes that it is not close to being a substantial problem, if it exists at all. For instance, in states where alleged voter fraud was used as the justification for restrictive voter ID requirements, the supporters of voter ID have made the following admissions:

* The State of Indiana, and its Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita, in defending the state’s voter ID law in court documents, admitted that it could not find one single instance of voter impersonation fraud in the history of the state. Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20321 (S.D. Ind. 2006).
* The Republican Governor of Missouri, who had formerly been the Secretary of State (and run Missouri’s elections), admitted that elections in Missouri were “fraud-free,” before unsuccessfully defending the restrictive voter ID laws in court. Weinschenk v. Missouri, 203 S.W.3d 201 (Mo. 2006). Missouri’s current Secretary of State agrees, noting in a recent report that “As in previous elections, the absence of reports of voting impersonation or voting fraud in the 2006 election in Missouri was notable.”
* The State of Arizona and its counties, in defending their restrictive voter registration laws and voter ID laws, admitted that, of the over 2.7 million registered voters in Arizona, not one had been convicted of registering to vote illegally, and not one instance of voting by an ineligible non-citizen had led to a conviction.

This is the legal testimony of those who have the greatest incentive, and the greatest obligation (in order to justify the burdensome restrictions they impose on voters), to prove the existence of real fraud. And yet, they cannot prove it exists.

Here's what Karl wanted done to "combat" this "outbreak" of voter fraud Karl was thinking up in his head:

More evidence emerges every day that the myth of widespread ‘voter fraud’ was cooked up by Republican strategists (Do you smell a Rove?) as an excuse to pass restrictive measures like voter ID laws that disenfranchise eligible voters in vulnerable communities - voters who, quite frankly, are not likely to vote overwhelmingly Republican (minorities, the poor, the disabled, students and the elderly).

Let's review:

* Policies that erect barriers to voting.

* The politicization of the Justice Department’s voting rights section,

* The pressuring of U.S. attorneys to investigate civic organizations and campaigns that register voters in poor and minority communities,

*The subsequent firing of several U.S. attorneys who refused to engage in the voter fraud witch hunt.

All of these are part of a plan to keep certain voters from the polls and make sure the playing field is unevenly skewed to the Republicans’ advantage in 2008.

Voter suppression: political operatives associated with the Bush administration, led by Karl Rove, are the best in the biz. And they have used government agencies to turn it into a national, coordinated effort since they came into power. Attorney General Gonzales has been a primary enabler (cleaning up the DOJ is critical to ensuring fair elections). But even fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico said of the firing scandal, “I think all roads lead to Rove.”

Short of the president and vice president themselves, Karl Rove is about as high up in the Bush administration as you can go. Who else in the White House was involved, not only with the U.S. attorney firings, but with the ongoing concerted effort to fix elections via disenfranchisement and the misuse of the Justice Department? This is a question we must keep asking – for the health of our democracy, those involved must be held accountable.

Now, doesn't it look really funny that the only "real" voter fraud was taking place in the district and race where Rove's little buddy, Pat, won by less than a hundred votes?

Charlotte Observer gives the love to Pat -- why?

Today's Charlotte Observer has a long puff piece about Patrick McHenry by Lisa Zagaroli that leaves me wondering how much he or Campaign Chair Spokesman Jason Deans paid her.

Running less than a month after his former staff and roomie Michael Aaron Lay was indicted for voter fraud, it's obviously designed to address the fact that local Republicans don't like him. Since that embarrassing indictment, the McHenry folks have been very busy painting the investigation "political."

That's why the timing (and flattering nature) of the article is so suspicious. Everyone involved in the investigation from the original accusers to both investigating district attorneys are Republican, so their defense that it's political obviously needed more help. Cue Ms. Zagaroli to the rescue!

Not only is the piece long and full of flattering quotes from supporters. Zagaroli does not bother to quote either district attorney who both happen to be Republicans who donated to his campaign. She only quotes McHenry saying his political enemies are using this "ethical law student" and "good Christian" "in order to attack me."

Here's the quote she used to support her not-so-underlying theme:

"The bad blood is truly unbelievable," says Jeff Lominac of Conover, a Republican activist in Catawba County who helped out on McHenry's campaign and remains a fan. "Some of the established people in the county still run the party, and they don't like Patrick. The bottom line is they're still mad about 2004.

Lisa cleverly buys right into McHenry's favorite statistic about himself, that he's the youngest member of congress. This time it's the secondary reason for the internal political attacks that are victimizing his poor indicted former roomie and staffer.

"I think a lot of people take him the wrong way because he is young and he took something they wanted."

"Take him the wrong way." When he's advocating a military strike on Iran When he's ridiculing the speaker of the house for needing a larger plane to go a thousand more miles, when he's comes this close toblaming the democrats for the Foley's abuse of young men, it's hard to misinterpret him. I don't think anyone "takes" McHenry "the wrong way." Nice of Lisa to choose that quote, however. Don't you think someone should check her recent finances?

Here's more of that insipid and thinly veiled crapola of an argument:

McHenry thinks he understands why his antagonists are so mad.

"I didn't wait in line," he says of his decision to run for Congress before others thought he was ready. "There's sometimes this notion in politics that whoever's waiting the longest for a certain office deserves it. I've never abided by that concept. Democracy works."

And promoting their lame line of reasoning twice wasn't enough for Lisa. I think the Observer really needs to look into her checking account for a recent large deposit:

As the youngest of five children, Rep. Patrick McHenry learned that taking on his elders was the only path to getting what he wanted.

"I had to grab for my food against my older brothers and sisters," the Cherryville Republican says laughing. "It's a natural part of my personality and upbringing. Get in there and fight for what you believe in."

Here's their analysis of McHenry's character:

Dependably polite -- he opens doors, greets the U.S. Capitol police officers, hugs his waitress -- McHenry sports a traditional look on his not-many-inches- over-5-foot frame, blazers and cuffed pants, and wire-rimmed glasses framing a mostly gray head of hair that belies his youth.

"Dependably polite?" See any of the vids from television on YouTube and you tell me what you think of his manners. Zagaroli consistently chooses the most flattering aspects of anything McHenry has said or done:

He's a reliable Republican in most cases, but he notes that he's been willing to buck President Bush on two major issues -- the Central American Free Trade Agreement and versions of immigration reform he calls "amnesty with makeup."

Now in his second term, the conservative McHenry has proved unafraid of challenging the new Democratic leadership. He nips at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., he tries to outwit parliamentary proficient Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,

McHenry got noticed for drawing attention to the taxpayer-financed airplane afforded to Pelosi as leader of the House. In a floor speech in February, he began, "Our speaker loves to fly, and it shows," and he went on to suggest that her jet of choice would contribute to the global warming problem she has so bemoaned.

"He was the one who was first able to say it in a way that had impact. ... It came across in a funny way," says Danielle Doane, director of House relations for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington.

"Big Mac. He's got lots of spunk. He raises issues that need to be raised. He will defend his position enthusiastically, but with proper decorum and dignity."

REP. ROBIN HAYES, R-N.C., of Concord

Not every word of the article is flattering:

"To be a bomb-thrower, you have to be able to hit your target. He's not strategic. He has contributed to an impression in which people are often dismissive of him, almost at the outset."

REP. BARNEY FRANK, D-Mass.

But, for the most part, it's an embarrassment to the Charlotte Observer. It's a suspiciously timed, one-sided puff piece, a disservice to the citizens of the Tenth District.

Supposedly conservative McHenry spends our tax money on self-promotion

Not nearly as much as Virginia Foxx but it's pretty extensive. Does anyone really believe this isn't a publicly funded incumbent protection campaign expenditure?

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

House members of the North Carolina congressional delegation spent more than $1 million of taxpayer money on bulk mailings to constituents during the last Congress. Some sent thousands of pieces of mail and others sent none, according to congressional records.

The practice, known as franking, allows members of Congress to send communication to constituents, with the member's signature on the envelope, in place of a stamp.

. . .

According to Public Citizen, a national consumer watch-dog group, the average amount spent by House members is $55,000.

NC GOP convention: got $260 to spare?

And that doesn't include gas or lodging or the open bar everyone is going to need to survive all the complaining about the 2006 election losses.

And the top treat of the whole event is a speech Saturday night by whiny little Pat McHenry. For that kind of money, I wonder if they're offering a vomitorium.

Here's more info, according to the Stanly News and Press:

Workshops will include political training sessions, business training sessions and general sessions.

The political session will include voter vault training, GOPAC training and starting and building a strong Republican club.

The business sessions will include debate on the platform, resolutions, plan of organization and the election of the State Chairman and Vice Chairman.

Friday evening from 7-9, Robert M. Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Rep Robin Hayes, R-Concord will be the featured guest speakers at a dinner banquet.

Congresswoman Sue Myrick will be the featured speaker at Saturday’s luncheon and Congressman Patrick McHenry will be the evening banquet speaker.

Sunday morning, there will be a prayer breakfast, where Judge John Tyson of the N.C. Court of Appeals will speak.

To attend all sessions and events, the cost is $260, or sessions are $50 each, evening banquets are $75 each and the luncheon and breakfast are $30 each.

McHenry EXPOSED back up and running

Little Mr. Whiney Boy's empty legal threats couldn't keep 'em down. McHenry EXPOSED is back up and running.

Last week, the host was intimidated but McHenry has no influence in Sweden. According to McHenry EXPOSED

It will be our goal to investigate rumors and allegations and to only report on them once we have adequate evidence (tangible or intangible) to make our case. We will strive to establish adequate evidence, enough to present a case in court with the confidence of winning our case.

War Made Easy: McHenry's little role

Over at the Atlantic Free Press, Norman Solomon is posting exerpts from a new documentary film based on his book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death."

Patrick McHenry has a minor role in the section on the spin surrounding cutting and running:

NORMAN SOLOMON: And many propaganda lines become stock and trade of those who started the war in the first place.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: The party of FDR and the party of Harry Truman has become the party of “cut and run.”

REP. J.D. HAYWORTH: The American people will not stand for surrender.

REP. JEAN SCHMIDT: Cowards cut and run.

REP. PATRICK McHENRY: They're advocating a policy called “cut and run.”

KARL ROVE: That party's old pattern of cutting and running.

REP. CHARLIE NORWOOD: If we high-tailed it and cut and run --

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We won’t cut and run.

Cut and run.

Cut and run.

We will not cut and run.

Cut and run.

ANDERSON COOPER: Cut and run. Cut and run. How do you respond?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We will stay the course.

We must stay the course.

We stay the course.

We will stay the course.

And we're not going to cut and run, if I’m in the Oval Office.

NORMAN SOLOMON: All a president has to do is start a war, and these arguments kick in that you can't stop it. So it's a real incentive for a president to lie, to deceive, to manipulate sufficiently to get the war started. And then they've got a long way to go without any sort of substantive challenge that says, hey, this war has to end.

Aren't we all so happy to be "represented in Congress by such an insipid tool of an administration bent on killing and lying about why?

McHenry violates Constitution by mandating religion on coins

There's so much happening right now. The Attorney General using politics to hire and fire. Immigration issues on the front burner. Should the president get a blank check to continue the unpopular war in Iraq that he lied to the American people to support in the first place? But what is Patrick McHenry up to? He's all set to violate our constitution by foisting (co-sponsoring) his version of religion on the rest of us. The method: HR 2510 which will mandate that the words "In God We Trust" appear on the face, not just the edge of every coin.

Jim at Irregular Times wrote:

While our nation sets a new record debt every day, while Americans kill and are killed in Iraq, while New Orleans still stands littered with debris from Hurricane Katrina, while Americans go bankrupt because they can’t afford medical care, Virgil Goode and 88 other members of the House of Representatives are getting busy. Unfortunately, they’re not getting busy solving these problems. They’re getting busy using the machinery of government to impose religious mandates.

Fellow North Carolinians Walter Jones and Sue Myrick join 85 other Republicans in wasting our time and violating the Constitution.

These members of Congress have not only missed their lessons about the Constitution, which prohibits the use of government to establish religion. They’ve also wasted their time solving non-existent problems with coin edges and missed a chance to address actual problems facing the nation.

Aren't you glad they're saving us from the terror of having our national motto appear on the edge of a coin, instead of the face? I feel like all those other problems will just fade away now that we've got the coin thing settled.

McHenry watchdog site removed from internet

McHenry EXPOSED, a McHenry watchdog site Pat Go Bye Bye just partnered with this week was shut down at 3 p.m. this afternoon by the host.

Click here to see the server's message.

We received this email from the site administrator:

In an apparent attempt to silence the message of Patrick McHenry Exposed, our website was disabled today around 3:00pm EST. This effort was undertaken by our host provider, AlphaOne Tech (aka 4Gays Hosting). While no further information is available at this time, we do know that someone contacted the host and made them aware of the site. This person’s complaint was that the information contained on the website was false, misleading and potentially in violation of corporate libel and slander laws. The hosting company is not providing any further details and acted only to protect their own interests - they are not the enemy.

But not to worry, Congressman:

[The site administrator is] currently working with an ally out of the country to arrange for hosting. . . . The new website will have a totally different look - not sporting the McHenry for Congress theme... at the request of my own attorney. Once back online, the United States Government will not be able to remove the site, outside of petitioning Sweden to do so (the site of our new server).

Be sure to check out this take on the situation from McHenry EXPOSED partner Interstate Q.

Crossposted at BlueNC and Scru Hoo.

Print coverage of McHenry voter fraud questionable

I'll start with the Charlotte Observer:

In a May 19 Observer piece Marcia Young and Amy Rainey wrote:

"a grand jury indicted Lay because of questions about whether he had legal residence"

"Questions?" "Because of questions?" I think most grand juries hand down indictments "because of" evidence.

In that same article Rainey and Young wrote that McHenry

blamed the indictment on his political enemies.

And yes, that is a fair representation of our diminutive Congressman's response. However, if you're going to give space to his allegations of political attacks, I think it's only fair (not to mention a key to responsible and ethical journalism) to mention that the prosecuting district attorney Locke Bell is a Republican who donated $250.00 to McHenry's campaign.

It's not like these reporters didn't know. They covered that information in their May 15 piece (while writer Lisa Zagaroli failed to make that point in her May 13th report.)

The Observer's May 19th article ends with a timeline that has not appeared elsewhere in the press.

A look at Lay's steps during late 2003 and 2004.

December 2003: Lay applies to three law schools, including the University of Tennessee.

February 2004: Lay moves to Cherryville and notifies University of Tennessee of Cherryville address.

March 31, 2004: Law school acceptance sent to his Cherryville address.

April 15, 2004: Lay accepts offer to University of Tennessee law school but says he's still waiting to hear from other schools.

May 31, 2004: Lay registers to vote in Gaston County.

July 20, 2004: Lay votes in the Republican primary in Gaston County.

Aug. 17, 2004: Lay votes in second Republican primary in Gaston County.

Aug. 18, 2004: Fall courses at University of Tennessee begin, according to the school's registrar's office.

Oct. 1, 2004: Lay registers to vote in Knox County, Tenn.

Are we supposed to believe these reporters drove over to the University of Tennessee where they were shown documentation of Lay's address changes and law school application dates and reception of acceptance letters? It seems obvious this is Lay's version of the story. The source of all those details had to be from him or someone close to him. And, gee willie wilkins, there seems to be no attribution.

If Lay or his attorney showed them the original letters and their postmarks, I suppose they can report this information as "fact." But does that mean they don't have to cover the prosecutor's timeline? Or the timeline of publicly available evidence like the McHenry campaign's Federal Elections Commissions reports showing Lay to be receiving campaign payments at a Tennessee address?

[Graphic thanks to DonnieYoung2008]

I've been looking over the Hickory, Gaston, Shelby, Lenoir, and Morganton reports and post later this week on their fairness, impartiality or lack thereof.

And we still have no answer to the question: Why does the CBS Evening News New York office break the news on a Friday of a warrant issued the previous Monday? Why do two New York reporters know more about a Gaston County case than any reporter in North Carolina? Does that make sense to you?

Pat Go Bye Bye joins investigative team

A non-partisan watchdog coalition has launched a website to facilitate investigations of Congressman Patrick McHenry. So, of course, we here at Pat Go Bye Bye joined up and can't wait to get started. It's just: indicted former staff and rooomie, allegations of procuring beer for underage drinkers and the amazing stories about his campaign chair . . . where to begin?

Patrick McHenry EXPOSED was founded just this month "to hold our elected officials responsible for their own actions." Imagine that concept if it took hold. Something like democracy might really happen.

If you know of corruption or any kind of illegal activity on the part of Congressman McHenry or any of his legislative or campaign staff from even as long ago as the 2004 primary season, feel free to contact Pat Go Bye Bye or the folks at Patrick McHenry EXPOSED. And we'll get this party started . . .

Republicans eat their own

We all know some Republicans are going after McHenry. According to the following letter written by Hudson Republican Dennis Benfield, others are going full tilt after McHenry's accusers.
Two things stand out from Benfields post. First, this section makes more clearly my point last week that McHenry's legal problems are not limited to this one incident that led to a May 7 indictment of his former roommate and staffer:

. . . a number of his "associates" are having some legal issues. Laura Harvey, National Committeewoman for the N.C. Federation of Young Republicans, who lives in Iredell County--a 2004 McHenryite--resigned her post recently, amid an investigation into her alleged improper registration and voting in Mecklenburg County. Dee Stewart, McHenry's very-well-paid political consultant, is under investigation for similar voting irregularities in Moore County, and another loyal associate faces child porn accusations.

I hadn't heart the child porn allegations but that's fun, eh?

Here's where the infighting gets interesting:

For pointing these voting problems out in public letters-to-the-editor, I have been vilified by some of you as being "disloyal" to the Republican Party in Caldwell County. I'd like to have just a dime for every time I've heard the terms "sour grapes" and "get over it" applied to me. Some have asked newspapers not to publish my letters, while others want me thrown off the county GOP executive committee.
. . .
this is not about me; and it's not about David Huffman or Donnie Young. This is about preserving our system of representative democracy. It's difficult to teach about American government in the classroom, and then not to care about the growing controversies swirling around McHenry.
. . .
I'm not asking you to suddenly start liking or respecting me, if you don't now. However, you can't deny that I worked my tail off in 2006 for Republican candidates in Caldwell County. I have believed all along that these issues regarding McHenry's election are "Republican problems," and Republicans ought to solve them.

Republican problems, and Republicans ought to solve them. Just like I truly respected Karl Rove's electioneering advice, this Republican's comment sounds pretty good to me.

Worst person in the world

Finally, McHenry is getting the national attention we all knew he deserved. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann notes the stupidity of McHenry claiming to be the political target of a Republican district attorney who hosted a fundraiser for him.

I can't keep up with all the hits on poor Pat . . . What are the odds he hangs in there until he's sentenced?