Republicans against Patrick McHenry

Patrick McHenry has been screaming his head off about how he doesn’t like the government’s bailout plan. Of course, this is just pretty much expected:

“The fact is we can provide the needed support to the markets, while maintaining our duty to protect the American taxpayer, and ensure that those who made serious mistakes are not rewarded,”

Mistakes? Oh, like subprime lending mistakes and stuff? Somewhat ironic.

Patrick McHenry has taken over $800,000 from the Banking industry, says the Democrats in a new press release. That’s right- the man has taken over $800,000 from subprime lending companies. Don’t believe the Democrats? I don’t blame you- but the numbers are entirely accurate.

Not only has McHenry taken big money from the industry, but before the crisis he was complaining about “too much regulation” on the banking industry. Naturally, because he was getting big bucks from banks outside of his district, he wanted to protect them from nasty Mr. Government preventing them from doing things bad-

In an October 27, 2005 op-ed in the Charlotte Observer, at a time when modest regulation of an out-of-control industry might have prevented the current crisis, McHenry praised the subprime industry and argued against ‘burdensome regulations’ on such lenders. Now we’re all paying the price.”

And look what happens when we don’t have enough restrictions! We’re now in what is close to the biggest banking crisis in the history of the United States!

Thanks, Patrick! Your habit of taking money from banking industries and literally doing nothing regarding the signs of failure on the Financial Services committee has led us to this crisis!

Just so you know, in this crisis, Washington Mutual has failed and is now controlled by the government, various smaller banks have apparently failed, and now Wachovia, one of NC’s biggest banks and employers, might fail. You better make sure your money is safe, lest McHenry jeopardize your savings!

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Just for fun, “Someone” has posted a genuine Patrick T. McHenry signature online for $20. That’s right- the “famous” Congressman who rarely graces his own district with his presence and the man who’s famously caused more trouble than Mark Foley has a signature for you- for the low low price of $20.

Just for reference, you can have an Elizabeth Dole signature for $4, a Jesse Jackson signature for $5, the First Lady’s for $13, Dan Quayle’s signature for .99 (heh), and the signature of the President of France for $10.

Damn, Patrick, talk about being expensive.

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Recently, the news hasn’t been so nice to Patrick McHenry. I wonder why.

In the Morganton News Herald, McHenry was lampooned for his “Town Hall Meetings”, where he failed to provide an actual solution to Energy- rather, it seems, the “meetings” were just staged political rallies where McH stood up and parroted how he was fighting for gas prices- ignoring how he voted AGAINST regulating the Oil industry. They posted another article to this effect when he voted against regulation.

On News@Norman, not only was an editorial posted about how John McCain would be better without McHenry (including how McHenry mentioned he would be “physically ill” at the thought of McCain for President), but also an editorial attacking McHenry on how he accepts thousands of political interst dollars and votes against the interests of the district. Needless to say, it seems like people are angry.

Of course, McHenry has his own way to fight back- a poorly made ad talking about how McHenry is “fighting for us”. Since when? If that’s true, I’d like some of that $25,500 he took from Oil companies before he voted against regulation- I could use it for beer.

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You know that Patrick McHenry guy and his many town hall meetings where he “meets with the people”?

Me either.

Laughably enough, despite the huge amount of press McHenry has been spilling regarding his “Town Hall Meetings” on Energy and the like, no-one but ardent McHenry supporters have been going. Of course, some may argue this isn’t exactly a surprise, considering his poor reception in the district.

Above: McHenry at CVCC giving his Energy speech. Most of the attending are ardent McHenry supporters anyway.

Above: McHenry with Homeschoolers. During his initial election, there were MANY more homeschoolers.

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Now, naturally I can’t say too much- but if anything, this simply proves that his approval ratings have gone down so quickly that his town hall meetings are turning into complete time wastes. During the elections in 2004, McHenry speeches like this were packed with people- it just goes to show you what happens when you embarrass your district so badly they don’t even want to see your face.

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Apparently, Democrat Daniel Johnson must read this blog (or someone’s aware of it)- the NC Democratic Party decided to pick up where I left off noting McHenry’s doublespeak regarding oil prices with a new press release, noting, among other things:

-McHenry voted “no” to requiring oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres that they already hold leases for, which could produce 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily (H.R. 6251, 6/26/08). Drilling on these public lands could double U.S. oil production and cut oil imports by one-third.

-McHenry voted “no” to cracking down on oil speculators that artificially inflate the price of oil (H.R. 6604, 7/30/08).

-McHenry voted “no” to releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (H.R. 6578, 7/24/08). Each time the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been tapped or deposits suspended, the price of oil has dropped by at least 19%.

-McHenry voted “no” to tax credits for investment in alternative energy (H.R. 2776, 8/4/07).

-McHenry voted “no” to cracking down on gas price gauging (H.R. 1252, 5/23/07).

-But McHenry says “yes” to $25,500 in campaign donations from oil and gas companies.

Now, it kinda sucks to have Democrats picking up on this, but there is something to be said about what they are saying. Despite all this talk about Democrats blocking proper oil legislation, the only thing McHenry has done with the oil industry is take their money.

Nowadays it can take over $100 to fill up a decent sized truck. Thanks, McHenry!

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Just for fun- top hits on our site, RepublicansAgainstPatrickMcHenry.com:

• 134.205.2.142 – The Pentagon (Seriously, and supposedly they visit us daily)
• 143.228.129.7 - The United States House of Representatives via a Blackberry (Hi McHenry!)
• 143.228.129.9 - The United States House of Representatives
• 156.33.157.115 - The United States Senate Sergeant at Arms
• 156.33.66.65 - The United States Senate Sergeant at Arms (2)
• 192.43.248.17 - The Democratic National Headquarters (Haha, what?)
• (IP hidden) – The North Carolina Admin office of the Courts (Uh oh)
• (IP hidden) – The State of NC Department of Transportation

In the last two months we’ve had over 30,000 people see our stuff- and that’s in the 10th District. Keep spreading the news!

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Even after being featured in news@norman and The Hickory Daily Record, Patrick McHenry and his cronies are STILL editing our favorite online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

You would at least think they would pretend to do it quietly.

From the Edit Record:

1. User “Potus128″ tries to add the laughably titled blog “Patrick McHenry Rocks!” to the list of links.
2. User “Ystava” decides to make it more “NPOV” (“Neutral Point of View”) by removing anything negative about McHenry… and adding a quote that essentially means “Daniel Johnson can’t win!”.
3. After a long hard revert battle over a few days with Ziegfest, Ystava decides to edit using his IP- the same one used that Wikipedia admins got angry at for removing huge chunks of information- the very same internet address that tried to remove McHenry scandals such as the “green zone video” This is, as we stipulated, possibly Jason Deans.
4. “Potus” reappears, same edit as “Ystava” and the IP.
5. Same deal, same “Jason Deans” IP.

(Note: “Ziegfest” is a reader of ours returning our site on here, considering our coverage and our attempt to keep balanced and sourced material)

Lessons to be learned from this?

1. Patrick McHenry is spending far too much time on the internet. Sure, our readers are too, but McHenry is using staffers- you know, the ones not working to better the district.
2. Wikipedia has been good to us. I appreciate the users fighting hard to keep our site up. We try to remain as fair and balanced as possible- and we always are up for comments if we are wrong. We aren’t a “unfair biased blog”- we’re a group of individuals looking to point out truths- not delete them from online encyclopedias.
3. We won’t back down. The truth hurts. Even if it’s a Republican, it’s important to tell the truth- as our Mothers told us back in the day. I don’t care how much it hurts to admit it, it is always best to tell the truth if you mess up rather than to try to hide it. I learned this in gradeschool when I stole cookies- McHenry hasn’t yet.

Anyway, we’ll keep close eyes on it. We’ve helped “Ziegfest” send in a request for the Wikipedia admins to check it out- so keep your eyes peeled.

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When Patrick McHenry was asked why he donated his campaign over $170,000 (a donation which made his campaign funds larger than his opponents), he claimed that it was a “personal investment in his fight for good jobs and lower gas prices.”. So what’s McHenry been doing in Congress?

A few days ago, Patrick McHenry decided to vote against H.R. 6604, the Commodity Market Transparency and Accountability Act. This act, in essence, requires recordkeeping and holds foreign boards of trade to meet specific US requirements, such as access to electronic trading systems. As well, it directs the GAO to do an investigation into the “regime” that manages energy commodities- in layman’s terms, figure out why the hell gas prices are so high, and make sure the foreign oil barons aren’t tricking us. The worry is that people overseas are manipulating gas prices, which is why it’s so expensive to fill up nowadays.

Of course, anyone can see that it’s a reasonable bill- and 61 Republicans supported the bill, leading a huge majority of 276 to 151. Unfortunately, it wasn’t passed- you need two thirds vote- and guess who didn’t vote for it?

That’s right, Patrick McHenry. Unwilling to work with “them dimmercrats”, McHenry decided that Western Carolina could suffer higher gas prices as he literally made sure the discussion died down.

Of course, McHenry got angry that the Democrats picked up on this, and then tried to create more discussion (because he wanted to start the discussion, presumably) and came out swinging complaining about how a 5-week vacation was declared.

Long story short? McHenry refused to actually vote for a solid energy exploration bill that would have conservatively examined the oil issues we have today, and instead opted to allow foreign oil barons to manipulate our gas prices (through the “Enron Loophole”) and enjoy their big profits as normal American families struggle to afford everything from groceries to transportation.

Oh yeah, and McHenry has recently gotten $58,000 from the oil industry toward his campaign.

Thanks, McHenry!

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Republicans have long stood for hard line financial management- we’re often the proverbial bankers of the world, reigning in excessive spending and working to manage finances in a world where Americans dig themselves deeper into debt. Sometimes, though, some Republicans tend to treat money like water- and it shows.

Patrick McHenry was planning to champion his own fundraising ability until the Lenoir News-Topic picked up on a very interesting tidbit of information: Patrick McHenry has been loaning himself money to the tune of $175,000, in an addition to a $90,500 loan made from his first campaign. That’s right, folks: while gas prices are rising and the world struggles in intense debt, McHenry has been loaning his campaign more money than many make in 5 years.

But the big question is where the money’s been flowing. Rebecca Yount, one of McHenry’s “spokespeople” (McHenry never talks to the press himself), claims that the money is “personal investment in his fight for good jobs and lower gas prices.” Is that true?

According to Open Secrets’ Page on Patrick McHenry, McHenry’s money hasn’t been going to Western NC at all- in fact, most of it is spent on lavish meals and payoffs to other campaigns. I’m not kidding. To this author’s knowledge, the most Patrick McHenry has ever spent in Western NC has been at the prestigous Lake Hickory Country Club, for $503 (excluding payments made to employees/rent/glossy mailers/etc).

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So where has McHenry been spending his big money? Here are some of the bigger numbers:

$45,838 - Paid to The Oorbeek Group, for “Fundraising” (evidently not going so well)
$62,471 – Paid to The Stewart Group, mainly for “Planning & Development”. Of what?
$33,288 - Paid to Wiley Rein, LLC, for legal retainers. If you’ll remember, this is after he was potentially linked to an NRCC money scandal- so that’s “cover your butt” money.
$16,000 – Paid to Revolution Media Group for “Planning & Development”. Of what?
$12,000 – Paid towards Response Consulting flyers- you know, those glossy mailers you throw away.
$33,871 – Paid to GR Seppala & Associates for “Fundraising” (not going so well either)
$16,287 – Paid to Integrated Communication Strategies, Inc for “Fundraising” (Again, not doing such a good job)
$70,500 – To the NRCC for “Contributions”. That’s right- the biggest lump of his cash isn’t even being used for his campaign.
$49,823 – Platinum Business Card (For “Service Charges”…? I’m glad I don’t have that card…)
$10,101 – The Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC. Including one night worth $4,843. That’s a LOT of beer.
$2,132 – Congressional Institute “Retreat” (AKA Vacation)

Oh, but it gets dirtier.

- Remember “The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree”, that came forward in late 2007 claiming McHenry was a wonderful candidate? He spent nearly $5,000 there in November.

- McHenry spent $702 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The 9:30 Club is a venue that “presents top-name rock, punk, hip-hop and country acts nightly.” Sounds political, doesn’t it?

- McHenry has spent $4,843 on a meal. That’s right- and because it’s not listed as an “event expense”, that means it was basically unrelated to the actual campaign. That’s one hell of a meal.

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Of course, McHenry claims that he’s making a “personal investment”. In what, specifically, other than concert tickets and $4,843 meal charges?

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Patrick McHenry staffer Jason Deans has recently been caught editing the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia to hide information about Patrick McHenry.

To summarize, Wikipedia is essentially an online encyclopedia that allows anyone to add or remove information so long as it is properly sourced somewhere online (for example, much like a college paper, you have to properly tell where you got your information). Information that is not cited (or obvious) is removed, and information that is properly cited is protected. Basically, the idea is so you can trust information on Wikipedia.

Of course, “Truth” and “Patrick McHenry” have no place together in the same sentence except for “Patrick McHenry tries to hide the truth”. Why?

As evident by the revision history of Wikipedia on the “Patrick McHenry” page, staffer Jason Deans (on McHenry’s payroll) has been trying to “spruce up” McHenry’s page- including removing information cited from popular magazines such as Roll Call, as well as adding unimportant information including a self-promoting blurb of the following:

McHenry credits his victory to his grassroots campaign which was developed by his political consultant Dee Stewart and executed by his campaign manager Jason Deans.

Accordingto the Wikipedia Revision History above, these edits were done by an account “Jason Deans”, as well as by mysterious accounts that continue to try to remove information about McHenry’s ties to Countrywide, his controversy regarding giving alcohol to minors, the real outcome of the Michael Aaron Lay charges, as well as other information regarding McHenry scandals.

Of course, Wikipedia owners and administrators have noticed this, including messaging one of the IPs Jason Deans used (65.40.234.49, which traces back to Raleigh, one of Deans’ hunting grounds), asking him “Can you justify un-doing that edit?”. Of course, he refused to answer.

This isn’t the first time McHenry’s tried hiding the truth from Wikipedia. Democrats initially picked up on how some Congressional IPs were being used to edit his info, as well as some IPs that looked suspiciously like Jason Deans, other McHenry staffers, or even Patrick McHenry himself. Some good examples from the site:

1. McHenry smooths over the Aaron Lay Article
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=185722400&oldid=179391133
Someone on an IP from Reston, VA- that is, a stone’s throw away (or a nice morning drive-to-works away) from Washington DC. Note how it stresses the “former” aide part about Aaron Lay, and makes sure to includes McHenry’s argument in return- not something Wikipedia usually does, as they only care about facts. And they even nicely clean up his profile for him!

2. Voter Fraud? What Voter Fraud?
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=180300739&oldid=179391133
Suddenly, out of nowhere(!), someone named RLB2002 starts magically deleting the Voter Fraud allegations section of McHenry’s Article! User RedShiftPA tries to restore it, but RLB2002 will not be satisfied.

3. I’m not gay!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=180694684&oldid=180365766
RLB2002 is back again to hide allegations that McHenry might just be a little light in the loafers.

4. No seriously, no voter fraud.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=181610503&oldid=180694684
IP 96.231.121.248 comes on the scene to mysteriously delete the Voter Fraud section again. Where is this IP? Make a guess.
Washington DC.

5. And we hate that Drama Queen girl
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=181664094&oldid=181617228
Suddenly, IP 65.194.118.11 (coming from Verizon Business, STRAIGHT OUT OF WASHINGTON DC) magically edits the article to remove both the voter fraud section… and the link to Drama Queen’s blog.

6. More Voter Fraud deletion!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=181859294&oldid=181768190
IP 65.194.118.11 (straight out of Washington, DC again) deletes the Voter Fraud section. Again.

7. We will deny you ever worked for us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=182147298&oldid=181883846
Aaron Lay section edited again. From Washington DC IP 96.231.121.248, naturally. And there’s more info about what McHenry said.

8. They never lived here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=182387305&oldid=182181597
IP 75.199.91.223 out of New Jersey (?) decides to try to hide about McHenry’s housemates-with-benefits. Who vote for him. Illegally.

9. They didn’t live here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=next&oldid=182432942
Again. Ip 65.194.118.11 out of DC, voter fraud, removes it, etc.

10. POORLY NEUTRAL POORLY SOURCED CONTENT
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=next&oldid=182856047
IP 65.194.118.11 this time posts a comment on their removal of the information: “Removed non-neutral, poorly-sourced content”. Apparently, the truth hurts McHenry.

11. It’s not the size that matters, it’s the motion in the ocean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patrick_T._McHenry&diff=next&oldid=184597070
IP 65.194.118.11 out of Washington DC would like you to know that McHenry is perfectly sized and can please any man he wants to.

Of course, we Republicans will be keeping an eye on McHenry’s little edits, and will be fixing them every time he tries to hide information. The Internet isn’t an advertising mechanism, Patrick- stop trying to make it one.

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