U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry was running late at the airport.

And just like any Congressman on the go, McHenry decided to create his own parking space at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to save time, the Gaston Gazette reports, including a full-size image of the offending Ford.

It probably wasn't the best thing for him that his SUV was sporting not only his Congressional license plate, but also a McHenry for Congress sticker, which would save any passerby with a camera phone the effort of looking up which member of Congress represents the 10th district.

On Monday, spokesman Brock McCleary e-mailed a Gazette reporter to say the 10^th District Republican was running late and couldn’t find a parking place ("He made a mistake in not leaving the vehicle in a proper parking spot … It has been moved.").

Granted, we’re not exactly dealing with Watergate here. The fact is, though, a car without government plates might not last an hour parked illegally at an airport. This thought probably occurred to at least some of the people who toted their luggage past a four-wheeled double standard.

Previously: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's VW "Thing" and its questionable parking spaces develops a paparazzi following.

Four U.S. House members from North Carolina signed a letter calling for the firing of an education official charged with advocating school safety.

The letter to President Barack Obama was signed by 53 Republicans who say that Kevin Jennings is unfit because he has been "promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America’s schools," according to a copy of the Oct. 15 letter published by The Hill.

Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings’ career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

The signers from the state delegation are Sue Myrick (R-Charlotte), Walter Jones (R-Farmville), Patrick McHenry (R-Cherryville) and Virginia Foxx (R-Banner Elk).

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U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has raised $340,000 in his bid for re-election.

McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, has $158,000 in his campaign account, according to federal election records. McHenry received $200,000 in political action committee contributions and $139,000 from individuals.

Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle has loaned himself $250,000 to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.

Notable contributors to McHenry include George Johnson of South Carolina, the CEO of Extended Stay America hotels ($2,400); Robert Gallagher of Charlotte, the CEO of Good Will Publishing ($2,400); the American Society of Anesthesiologists ($5,000) and a PricewaterhouseCoopers committee ($5,000).

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry will face two opponents from his own party.

McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, has upped his profile in recent months with attacks against ACORN and President Barack Obama's "czars." 

The district is as safe as it gets for Republicans and so McHenry's real challenge will come in the primary, reports The (Morganton) News Herald.

Vance Patterson, 59, an entrepreneur announced his candidacy last week. Patterson will also have to best Iredell County Commission Scott Keadle, a Salisbury dentist who is also running for the seat.

Hickory-based blogger Joe Womack noticed on his Facebook news feed that he wasn't seeing many messages from his Congressman, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry.

The abrupt end followed some comments Womack made on McHenry's page about why the nation even needs health insurance companies, Womack writes on his "Pretty Penny" blog. Then Womack realized what had happened:

"I had been "de-friended," he wrote.

A message from McHenry's page explained that McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, keeps a page for friends and another "fan" page for everyone else.

If the online slight is still stinging next year, Womack could always de-friend McHenry on election day.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has lately been known for his take-no-prisoners attacks on Democrats.

But the Cherryville Republican recent found some time for a little Wii bowling and boxing with reporter Patrick Gavin for a regular feature on Politico.

McHenry was, ahem, game, and did his best to ham it up.

"Most journalists are playing Wii right now because they don't have a job," McHenry quipped. (Ouch.)

"As a journalist you should be going left, but as a Republican I should be going to the right," McHenry said of bowling strategy. (Zing!)

Dome won't spoil the outcome of the match, but we will say it wasn't close.

THE ANTI-CZAR CZAR: Rep. Patrick McHenry helped Republicans rail against President Barack Obama's "czars," which he says are making huge decisions and should be confirmed by the Senate. Democrats were quick to mention that a few years ago, McHenry met with President George W. Bush's drug czar. It may be time to appoint a special czar to sort out this czar mess.

CHEF U: The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law has sued the state over its support for Johnson & Wales University, a private culinary and hospitality school in Charlotte. The center says the $10 million promised by then-House Speaker Jim Black amounted to little more than a patronage gift from Black, who went onto to federal prison fame. The school will argue that educating students is a public purpose. Dome expects testimony to focus on proper hollandaise preparation techniques. The case is a real potboiler.

BREAKER, BREAKER: A last-minute letter from Gov. Beverly Perdue sure got the attention of the N.C. Building Code Council, which voted to keep a special circuit breaker in the building codes.

IN OTHER NEWS: The real "Norma Rae" has died. Former Treasurer Richard Moore has taken a gig at a San Diego investment firm. An appeals court ruled that former Gov. Mike Easley was wrong to borrow highway money to shore up the state's finances.

Daniel Johnson, the disabled Navy veteran who challenged Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry last year, has returned to Raleigh, to practice law.

Johnson, 33, left his job as a former Wake County assistant district attorney in 2007 to return to his home town of Hickory to challenge McHenry, Rob Christensen reports. But even in a big Democratic year, he could only win 42 percent of the vote in the strongly Republican 10th district.

"It was a fascinating experience," Johnson said. "It was a very rewarding experience. I want to stay involved and help other candidates."

Johnson is a highly decorated veteran who lost both of his legs while saving the life a crewman in Korea in 1999. He was a former staffer for then-Georgia Sen. Max Cleland.

Johnson said one reason for returning to Raleigh that his wife, Creecy Johnson, has gone to work in the state attorney general's office.

Johnson has opened up a solo criminal defense practice.

"I'm focusing on getting a practice up and running," he said.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has launched both a YouTube channel and a Twitter account to chronicle her work in the U.S. Senate.

For now, her last Tweet is from "the office of Sen. Kay Hagan," with updates posted by staff. Example: "welcoming a great group of North Carolinians for this week's Carolina Coffee," Barb Barrett reports.

Hagan had a campaign Twitter account last year, posting about her platform, her daily travels and occasional jabs at the competition ("This is what a Republican-run, special interest-based economy looks like," she tweeted a year ago.)

Her YouTube channel has a pair of videos so far. One welcomes viewers; the other features her biography.

"Tools like YouTube and Twitter will allow me and my office to share information about the most pressing issues facing North Carolina and our country and keep constituents updated about the latest news in the Senate," Hagan said in a statement. "North Carolinians can use these tools to keep up with me while I am in Washington and traveling across the state."

Also on Twitter:

Sen. Richard Burr's campaign

Rep. Virginia Foxx

Rep. Sue Myrick

Rep. Patrick McHenry

Rep. Walter Jones 

Update: Post includees Rep. Walter Jones' Twitter feed, which was inadvertently left off the list.