Myrick, McHenry endorse in the 9th District

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick has endorsed Republican Jim Pendergraph in the race for her 9th District seat.

"I know of his integrity and where he stands on the issues," Myrick said of Pendergraph. "He's an average guy - one of us. He's spent his entire life in service to people and defending the rule of law. If ever in history we needed people like that in Congress - it's now."

Meanwhile her colleague, Republican U.S. Rep Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, has endorsed former state Sen. Robert Pittenger. McHenry will headline a Friday fundraiser for Pittenger at Zebra restaurant.

"I served with Robert in the North Carolina Legislature," McHenry said in a statement. " No one gave stronger leadership and specific solutions to address our state's enormous fiscal mess than Robert."

There are nine other Republicans running for the seat.

Romney allies rush to defense after new Democratic ad targets him in N.C.

Supporters of Republican Mitt Romney from around the country rushed to his defense today after the presidential candidate was targeted in a new TV ad that began in six markets including Raleigh-Durham.

The ad is taken from a new Democratic website called "Mitt v. Mitt." It shows the GOP presidential candidate making seemingly contradictory statements on issues such as abortion and health care while a narrator describes "two men trapped in one body."



The Obama campaign has been hammering Romney in North Carolina and other swing states, a sign that he's the only GOP candidate the Democrats are worried about at this point. A recent poll by the Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling of Raleigh showed that Romney, alone among the GOP candidates, led Obama in North Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, like allies in several other states, came to Romney's defense in coordinated conference calls with reporters. He defended Romney while criticizing President Obama.

McHenry hits back at conservative census critics

On Census Day, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has shot back at fellow conservatives who have urged people not to send back their census forms.

"I’m worried about this year’s census," he said in a news release. "I’m not
worried about ACORN rigging the count – we already succeeded in kicking them out
of the census. I’m not worried about the President’s attempt to run the census
out of the White House – we beat that power grab back last year. I’m not even
worried about privacy – this year’s 10-question census form is the shortest in
memory. No, what worries me is blatant misinformation coming from otherwise
well-meaning conservatives. They are trying to do the right thing, but instead
they are helping big government liberals by discouraging fellow conservatives
from filling out their census forms."

McHenry, ranking Republican on the census subcommittee, was responding to reports like one in the Houston Chronicle this week about a partisan "enthusiasm gap" in completing the census. Some prominent conservatives including Texas Rep.on Paul and TV host Glenn Beck have questioned the census. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has said it could make it easier for the government to round up people and them in internment camps.

"Boycotting the census also offends me as an American patriot," McHenry wrote. "Our society spends too much time talking about what government owes us; and not enough on the duties of citizenship and the hard work required to keep our freedom.
Filling out the census is one of the few things our Constitution specifically
asks of U.S. citizens and it is our duty as Americans to take that
responsibility seriously.Anyone who tells you that this year’s census is
unconstitutional and that you are not required to fill out the form completely
is flat out wrong. ...

"We have been largely successful in keeping this count apolitical and it
would be a tragedy if some of our ill-informed friends handed Democrats a
victory at the last minute."

Ulysses S. Grant: A 10th District issue?

Even Ronald Reagan is controversial in the 10th District Republican primary.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry proposed putting the former president's picture on the $50 bill, bumping that of Ullyses S. Grant after more than 80 years.

“President Reagan was a modern day statesman, whose presidency transformed our nation’s political and economic thinking,” McHenry said in a statement. "In polls of presidential scholars, President Reagan consistently outranks President Grant.... one such poll of bipartisan scholars which ranked President Reagan 6th and President Grant 29th."

McHenry's idea got some media attention. But at least one of his opponents doesn't think much of it.

“As much as we all admire President Reagan, I seriously question why Mr. McHenry thinks this is a priority when nearly one in five people are out of work,” says Mooresville Republican Scott Keadle. “... McHenry should focus on the economy and the unemployment rate instead of pandering to voters.”

Liberal or conservative: Where N.C. members of Congress rank

Just in time for the election, the National Journal has issued its voting analysis of members of Congress.

How do Carolina lawmakers rank?

Republican Richard Burr is the 9th most conservative member of the Senate, according to the analysis. He gets his highest conservative score on economic issues.

Democrat Kay Hagan ranks in the middle. She's got the 42nd most liberal voting record, or the 55th most conservative of the 100 senators.

In the House the magazine ranks North Carolina's House delegation among the "centrist" delegations, and South Carolina's as conservative.

Here are the rankings for Charlotte-area House members:

-- Republican Patrick McHenry: Tied for 17th most conservative in the 435-member House.
-- Democrat Larry Kissell: 214th most liberal; 217th most conservative.
-- Democrat Mel Watt: Tied for most liberal.
-- Republican Sue Myrick: 34th most conservative.
-- Democrat John Spratt of York: 165th most liberal; 266th most conservative.

Make that two rivals with more cash than McHenry

Turns out Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has two GOP challengers with more money.

Since we reported today that Scott Keadle has more on hand than McHenry, rival Vance Patterson also has weighed in. His new FEC report shows that like Keadle, he has loaned his campaign $250,000.

Patterson, a Burke County businessman, showed nearly $248,000 on hand. That compares to almost $260,600 for Keadle and $149,000 for three-term incumbent McHenry.

Hayes' jobless vote: Good politics?

Most House Republicans voted Wednesday against a bill to extend unemployment benefits by three m0nths. The bill fell three votes short of the two-thirds required for passage.

Voting with every Democrat -- and just 48 other Republicans -- for the measure was Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, who represents North Carolina's 8th District.

Voting to extend unemployment benefits is good politics, particularly in a district hit hard by the economic downturn and a vanishing textile industry. It's probably no coincidence that of the 10 Republicans in races rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report, seven -- including Hayes --- joined Democrats in supporting the bill.

The vote also gives Hayes ammunition in his latest attack on Democratic opponent Larry Kissell. In a new ad, he's criticized Kissell for not paying payroll taxes for his campaign workers.

“Extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do, but we have to realize that these benefits are primarily funded by employers who pay taxes into the trust fund,” Hayes said in a news release today. “Larry Kissell wants to be in congress so he can vote on issues like unemployment benefits. But his campaign has manipulated the system to avoid paying the taxes that fund these unemployment benefits. The irony here is so thick you could cut it with a knife.”

Kissell's campaign says all of its employees have been treated as independent contractors who pay their own taxes, although field workers hired this month will be full-time employees whose taxes will be paid by the campaign.

ADDENDUM

Another Republican who voted to extend jobless benefits was Rep. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville. Unemployment rates in 9 of his ten 10th District counties exceed the state average.

McHenry also faces what could be a tough fight against Democrat Daniel Johnson.