Audio: McHenry clarifies his “two-bit security guard” comment; Update: Nutroots sourcing, a case study
posted at 7:02 pm on April 4, 2008 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend |
printer-friendly
He insists he wasn’t referring to a soldier. Here’s the clip from this morning’s Andrew Wilkow Show, cut and posted by Wilkow’s producer, Nick Rizzuto. Still a jerky thing to say of a foreign contractor, as McHenry’s office acknowledges, but if he’s telling the truth, what he was trying to do is describe the ironic flash of pique he felt when the guard denied him access to the gym. Why ironic? Because the building was hit by a mortar minutes later. (Watch this video of McHenry, shot on the scene as the gym burns in the background.) Your call, then. Either he was speaking semi-facetiously about a guy who ended up saving his life by doing his job or else he’s still pissed after the fact that he wasn’t allowed in to use the treadmill and get blown to pieces.
Update: How’d lefty bloggers come to the conclusion that McHenry was talking about a soldier and not a, ahem, “mercenary,” in their charming parlance? They wanted it to be true so they read it the way they needed to. Tom Maguire explains.
Update: Fearless prediction at 7:47, thirteen minutes before “Countdown” airs on MSNBC: McHenry will be the “worst person in the world” tonight and the lie that he was referring to a soldier will be gleefully repeated.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Jetison!
ronsfi on April 4, 2008 at 7:08 PM
I don’t believe this even remotely
Defector01 on April 4, 2008 at 7:09 PM
Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since I know nothing about him and find it hard to believe a person in his position would be such a jerk.
dmann on April 4, 2008 at 7:13 PM
I’ll take him at his word.
Zorro on April 4, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Ummm… he’s a Congressman.
ErikTheRed on April 4, 2008 at 7:18 PM
I can accept is point about trying to relate his attitude while tired and cranky. I’m glad he gave a solid apology and clarified the matter.
bj1126 on April 4, 2008 at 7:19 PM
Could be true. It’s still a half-assed thing to say, and indicative of someone who doesn’t think before he speaks.
He could have said something like this:
“…And here’s this regular ol’ security guard, probably not getting paid a whole lot, and he’s telling me, the US congressman, I can’t go in. At the time, I was irritated at him for going by the book. Now I’m thankful, of course. I went back and thanked him for doing his job. I won’t ever again complain like that.”
Splashman on April 4, 2008 at 7:23 PM
Yeah because need as many arrogant prigs as we can get.
ronsfi on April 4, 2008 at 7:23 PM
A poor choice of words doesn’t make up for the fact you didn’t think before you spoke!
upinak on April 4, 2008 at 7:25 PM
This was a stupid thing to say about any person over there acting in a security fashion. Just a stupid idiotic thing to say.
JellyToast on April 4, 2008 at 7:35 PM
I think he tried to give a basic human reaction, that most of us would have to being denied access to something. that said, I doubt he ever says something like “Two - bit” in the same sentence as our troops or contractors again.
jp on April 4, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Listened to audio; watched video. Sounds plausible.
Who here hasn’t referred to some clerk/guard acting like a jerk as “two-bit” or worse? TSA, anyone?
Should the congressman have to do penance in the public square for poor wording? (Guess so, judging by the comments.)
Nichevo on April 4, 2008 at 7:36 PM
He did say that. He just didn’t use those words. But the point was the same. And the first clue was when he himself told of being escorted to his room, instead of the gym, by the very supervisor he demanded the guard get.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 7:37 PM
Heh, turns out that not only was this not a soldier but a FOREIGN contractor…not even American.
man, Think Progress is a piece of work. I had McHenry pegged for Olberman’s “Worst person in the world” tonight, since he generally takes smears from thinkprogress for show material.
jp on April 4, 2008 at 7:43 PM
Lord only knows how the media disgusts me.
Texyank on April 4, 2008 at 7:44 PM
Oh, I’m sure he will be. Do you really think Olbermann fact-checks this stuff? I’ll have the clip later, guaranteed.
Allahpundit on April 4, 2008 at 7:45 PM
This guy is a public figure in a position of authority and responsibility. Why is it these politicians believe they can apologize, backtrack, quibble, obfuscate and outright lie then think they should automatically be forgiven. He’s no novice, and he knew exactly what he said. Drunken Hollywood dopers go to rehab and politicians apologize. Both behaviors have completely lost their effect.
rplat on April 4, 2008 at 7:46 PM
No one appreciates the “Don’t you know who I am” crap these guys trot out at inopportune times. I don’t think it matters that the guard was a contractor. The congressman should not have referred to him that way. It was disrespectful. Treat others as you want to be treated. The guard was doing his job. Nothing more, nothing less. mchenry owes the contractor an apology.
Terri on April 4, 2008 at 7:46 PM
Seems to me I may have made the same point the same way as Rep. McHenry. He may also have done as I would - the video of his speech may be truncated prematurely - and brought it back around by adding something like, “Well, that ‘two-bit jerk’ at whom I’d been so upset proved to be a personal hero to me, and I regret having being so impatient with him.” It’s called Christian humility when one, in essence, confesses a sin (”Judge not, lest ye be judged.”)and repents sincerely.
sondiehl on April 4, 2008 at 7:47 PM
See, this bugs me. What difference does it make if the person was a soldier or a foreign contractor? That wasn’t the point of the story the congressman was telling. He probably would have been just as pissed, at that time, at a soldier as he was a foreign contractor. That point in his story is when he was up on the mountain, and someone down below was trying to stop him from doing something he wanted to do. “Get your supervisor”. Arrogance. “Escorted to his room”. Comeuppance. Gym explodes. Thankful. He shouldn’t have referred to the guard as two bit. But otherwise, his story was compelling.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 7:49 PM
good point AP, look fwd to likely video.
on that note, I’m originally from McHenry’s district and know a little bit about him. he is considered a rising star and the left has had their eye on him. They had a long bio on him in washington monthly I believe a few years back. He recently dated or does date, one of Rove’s assistants. anyway, he’s on the inside. The libs have him pegged as a future House GOP leader, possible speaker or majority leader 10 yrs down the road or so and could have a very long career since he’s only in his early 30’s. Plus he has a name that resonates in american politics….so keep an eye on this one.
jp on April 4, 2008 at 7:50 PM
in context of the political game Think Progress is playing up or attempting to, it matters.
jp on April 4, 2008 at 7:52 PM
but good point, I was just highlighting the political side of it. Had the story been reported as “Foreign Contractor” “smeared by McHenry”…I doubt Think Progress would’ve touched it.
jp on April 4, 2008 at 7:55 PM
And everyone took the bait and ran with it. Because if the story was bad when a soldier was possibly involved, it is still bad when a foreign contractor is involved.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Think Progress probably knew it wasn’t a soldier to begin with. But, regardless of what they knew, they played gotcha and did it very well.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 7:58 PM
Agreed; because there is no real change in behavior and thus all the “apologies” are becoming more and more empty.
Branch Rickey on April 4, 2008 at 8:23 PM
He’s a liar, an arrogant bureaucrat that was caught demeaning people that are not at “his level”. Worthless, think about it, there are hundreds of people that could do what he does, and we would not have to deal with a “two bit” politician.
This is exactly the guy you make an example of, we want our leaders to respect hard workers…this guy is a jerk.
right2bright on April 4, 2008 at 8:23 PM
Caught? Who caught him? I could have sworn he outed himself as being arrogant.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 8:32 PM
right2bright on April 4, 2008 at 8:23 PM
Branch Rickey on April 4, 2008 at 8:34 PM
If we want to have credibility when criticizing libs/dems/marxists, then we have to hold our own to an even higher standard… and we should never never never make excuses for our own idiots… we should just dispose of their careers as quickly as possible.
This McHenry person has been dirty from the moment he entered politics… time to cut him loose before we ALL look like hypocrites. Trust me on this one.
Gartrip on April 4, 2008 at 8:50 PM
I don’t trust anyone. Can you give us some evidence of him being ‘dirty’?
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 8:59 PM
I don’t trust anyone. Can you give us some evidence of him being ‘dirty’?
Well, you can certainly google him. He’s was tied to a couple of national scandals last year… and had his own issues here in NC with how he won the primary (by 86 votes)…
We like to think of him here as a little Alex P Keaton in grandpa’s ties, but without the ethics.
Gartrip on April 4, 2008 at 9:06 PM
I held off commenting on the first thread, and now I’m glad I did. I was set to crucify this guy for being another self-important combat zone tourist.
I see now that he was trying to tell his story from the perspective of a guy who learned a valuable life lesson. He’s not a great speaker, which is probably why people didn’t get the irony in his tone.
joewm315 on April 4, 2008 at 9:17 PM
No thanks. Before today, I didn’t even know his name. He isn’t my congressman. I can’t vote for him. And someone who throws out This McHenry person has been dirty from the moment he entered politics ought to be able to give me some specifics without google.
Sue on April 4, 2008 at 9:29 PM
Last night at the Catawba County Republican meeting I sat in front of Lance Sigmon. When the candidates in the room (McHenry was not there) gave their introduction, the first thing Sigmon did was start hitting on McHenry and said that McHenry referred to a US Soldier. He told everyone to go to his web site http://www.sigmonforcongress.com and see the video. He or his supporters are the people that taped it probably. The dude is out for the blood of McHenry and is a Sheriff Huffman man. McHenry and Huffman 2004 runoff split our part wide open and is still at it today.
I will be glad when this is all over.
ps. Catawba County is a Sanctuary County for illegal aliens. We have all Republicans on the County Commission and the Sheriff is Republican, but they say they can’t do anything about it. Funny how “non english speaking” folks work on some of their farms!
livermush on April 4, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Taking him at his word. Next…..
moxie_neanderthal on April 4, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Still a d*ck move. Just another jerk case of “do you know who I am?.” Whatever, Congressman.
Cuffy Meigs on April 4, 2008 at 10:53 PM
PM
That is the point. Those who are against him in our 10th district have zero facts and only personal opinions. Just like the comment I quoted.
One way he won by 86 votes in a runnoff is that my family and I voted for him.
livermush on April 4, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Reposting this from the other thread:
I could be way off here, but I know McHenry personally, so I don’t think I am. The whole story is him talking about NOT taking soldiers, contractors, etc. for granted. Yes, he was cocky in the beginning because he felt safe. Thankfully, the guard required him to provide credentials, otherwise he might have been in the gym when the rocket hit. He was getting to the incident being a very humbling experience for him.
I’d like to see the whole speech. It’s too easy to pick the part where he talks badly and then not show the part where tells about realizing his foolishness, which is likely the case here.
simon on April 5, 2008 at 12:43 AM
Thank you Allah!
MayBee on April 5, 2008 at 1:27 AM
Congressman. Arrogant. Don’t know.
Johan Klaus on April 5, 2008 at 1:42 AM
To put this dog to rest, I can assure you it was a Triple Canopy Peruvian contractor. They are highly professional and I am very grateful to them for keeping me safe at night for the past 10 months. Security is very serious in the Green Zone, and this is another example of some holier-than-thou politician type coping an attitude.
LT Nixon
Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq
LT Nixon on April 5, 2008 at 2:31 AM
I dont give any self serving politician on either side the benefit of the doubt. I believe this jerk was speaking his mind. It doesnt matter to me whether the guard was a contractor or not - he’s doing the job he’s paid to do and in this day and time, that’s saying something.
My suggestion to McHenry is get back to Washington and do the job YOU’re paid to do.
Nitwit.
abcurtis on April 5, 2008 at 7:49 AM
Yeah, he did. He was making that point precisely. But, no one wants to accept that because it ruins all the righteous indignation.
a capella on April 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Maybe the same way that right wing bloggers thought up and repeated a ridiculous claim about a Canadian Green Party member. The right wing bloggers read the Green Party activist’s post as a scary Orwellian document suggesting 1984 style spying on neighbors. All the Green Party activist said was that a good way to see who may vote Green in the next election so you could lobby them is to notice who participated in an evironmental action. I takes major parnoia to turn that into something sinister:
http://rjjago.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/the-green-party-is-watching-you/
And, yes, sadly Hotair repeated this silly calumny. We have no right to be indignant.
thuja on April 5, 2008 at 11:07 AM
thuja on April 5, 2008 at 11:07 AM
There is a difference between jumping to conclusions about someone’s intentions and jumping to conclusions about, uh … facts. The latter can actually be known.
BuzzCrutcher on April 5, 2008 at 11:27 AM
I expect five-year-olds to whine about what somebody else did to them as a way to justify why they’re doing something wrong. That’s normal behavior for a five-year-old. I don’t expect it from adults.
The political left in general gets itself into high dudgeon every time any conservative says a single word that might, by a little dishonest twisting, be made to sound uncomplimentary toward US troops. Why? Because the left has been wholeheartedly supporting the US’ military and political enemies for at least 70 years, counting from Walter Duranty’s whitewash of Stalin’s show trials and continuing through the false accusations against US soldiers in Iraq. The attempt at moral equivalence would be lame on its face, but when it’s understood that what’s being attempted is nothing more cogent than a five-year-old’s whining that “She did it too!” it becomes truly pathetic.
When are these folks going to grow up enough to feel even a little bit of shame about acting like spoiled infants?
philwynk on April 5, 2008 at 12:24 PM
thuja wrote:
Count me paranoid with the rest then. I find the Greens’ proclivity for mob activism extremely troubling. They seem to want to scrub away the last vestiges of representative democracy under a wave of mob rule.
What you call “a good way to see who may vote Green in the next election” seems remarkably like the Church Lady scanning the heads of people praying in the church to identify whose head is bowed properly. Self-righteousness is hideous regardless of whose party it occurs within.
Beyond that, yours is just another lame attempt at moral equivalence, with is the Left’s favorite game when attempting to divert attention from the fact that they’re actually representatives of the tyrannical philosophical system that’s responsible for the murders of more than 100 million innocents during the 20th century. Somehow I’m not impressed with the equivalence. But do try again someday, the knee-jerk, infantile whine reminds us what we’re really dealing with.
philwynk on April 5, 2008 at 12:33 PM
need to fix the site
It’s been causing both IE and FF to crash repeatedly today.
corona on April 5, 2008 at 12:34 PM
His going to the gymn is the hard to belief part…His words give away his true feelings about our combatants who are trying to bring peace to Iraq. He wouldn’t last a day in Iraq on combat duty…He would likely never even get there as I don’t think he could make it through boot camp…
Nozzle on April 6, 2008 at 6:14 PM
I’ll repost, since freedom of speech is being censored here at hotair. McHenry sucks, I’m from NC and he’s under investigation for campaign fund raising fraud. He’s a twirp and did I mention he sucks? He’s the typical pretty boy politician who’s more at home at prep school than at a pot luck dinner with the folks. Please don’t remove any more posts because I’m slamming a republican.
THE CHOSEN ONE on April 6, 2008 at 10:48 PM
All these folks taking him to task for being arrogant…well, I sure hope ya’ll remember that the next time a cop gives you a ticket, or a security officer refuses you entry somewhere, or tells you it’s time to move on. Because I’ve seen that type of arrogant behavior more times then I can count in the last 20 years, it’s very common. What I HAVEN’T seen is the person coming back and appologising afterwards. THAT is rare. Which, apparently, this guy did. Sure, only because he realised if that officer hadn’t done his job then he’d be dead right now, but if it taught him a lesson in humility then he’ll be a better person for it.
And speaking of humility, let us not forget “ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUALL…”. That includes privates and security officers.
wolfva on April 7, 2008 at 6:24 AM