Mike McIntyre

Candidate spent $1,000 on clothes

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:02:24 -0500

Sarah Palin wasn't the only one with new clothes thanks to donors.

North Carolina Republican Congressional candidate Will Breazeale also used campaign money for clothing, according to a complaint that a watchdog group filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said Breazeale and five other candidates each spent hundreds of dollars on clothes, violating a ban on personal use of campaign money, the Associated Press reports.

The group had earlier complained about spending by the Republican National Committee on the GOP vice presidential candidate.

According to campaign finance reports, Breazeale's campaign spent $1,000 in clothing for Breazeale at Fisher's Men's Store in Elizabethtown on Oct. 4, 2007.

A spokesperson for the campaign did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

Breazeale lost to longtime Democratic Congressman Mike McIntyre in November.

N.C. Dems vocal about Dingell, or mum

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:02:14 -0500

During this two-week battle for power on the Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan has been more open than U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

Dingell has been more willing to give interviews on the matter. He publicly announced a long list of supporters and slammed Waxman as a "left-wing Democrat" who doesn't understand manufacturing, Barb Barrett reports.

Waxman has stayed fairly quiet. And while he is close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another California representative, she didn't disclose publicly whom she supported either.

It was generally expected that Dingell would receive support from moderate and conservative Democrats, along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Waxman was expected to win the backing of more liberal members.

Tough to say whether the differences in the candidates' style on transparency translates to caucus members' transparency on the vote itself, but let's review:

Reps. Mel Watt and Mike McIntyre both publicly supported Dingell. U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler was on his whip team. Both McIntyre and Shuler are conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield serves on Energy and Commerce under Dingell and was reportedly lobbying for him as well. Watt and Butterfield serve in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Reps. Brad Miller and David Price, along with Rep.-elect Larry Kissell, all declined to say who they supported.

(Butterfield, it should be said, also declined today to reveal his vote.)

The National Journal ranked Price in March as being more liberal than 90 percent of the House; it ranked Miller as being more liberal than 78 percent of House.

Rep. Bob Etheridge, a conservative Democrat who isn't a Blue Dog, hasn't yet responded to requests for comment on his vote.

McIntyre, Shuler backed Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:03:42 -0500

The Blue Dogs, a crew of House Democrats who champion fiscal conservatism, were reported earlier this week as backing U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan in his battle to defend his chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

That's true, at least, for North Carolina's members, Barb Barrett reports.

Blue Dog Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, cast his ballot for Dingell.

"Congressman McIntyre supported Congressman Dingell because of his deep respect for the seniority system and his personal relationship with him," said McIntyre's spokesman, Dean Mitchell.

The state's other Blue Dog, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler of Waynesville, served on Dingell's "whip team," meaning he was tapped to help round up caucus votes for the Michigan lawmaker.

Previously: Watt backed Dingell; Price, Kissell mum.

Which Congressman was most popular?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:49:18 -0500

Which North Carolina Congressman was most popular?

That depends on how you break down the numbers, but U.S. Rep. David Price clearly won the largest number of votes in the November elections.

The Chapel Hill Democrat snagged 265,751 votes. The next most popular were Reps. Sue Myrick (241,053), Brad Miller (221,379), Howard Coble (221,018) and Mel Watt (215,908).

The numbers are slightly different if you look at percentages, though.

From that perspective, Watt was the most popular, winning 71.6 percent of the vote, followed by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (70.3), Mike McIntyre (68.9), Coble (67) and Bob Etheridge (66.9).

Either way, the least popular was Rep.-elect Larry Kissell, who picked up just 157,185 votes, or 55.4 percent.

Generally speaking, the newer members of Congress were less popular than the older ones.

Obama campaign going to the (Blue) Dogs

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:48:32 -0400

Barack Obama is reaching out to the Blue Dogs.

According to the Washington Post, the Democratic presidential candidate took a break last week from campaigning to call each of the 49 conservative Democrats who belong to the Blue Dog Coalition.

Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas is not likely to bring Barack Obama many votes on Nov. 4. Neither is Rep. John Tanner of Tennessee or Rep. Allen Boyd, a farmer from the Florida Panhandle.
But the three could play a big role in the success or failure of the next president, one reason Obama took a break from campaigning last week to call each of them, among the leaders of the "Blue Dog Coalition," a group of conservative-leaning Democrats who are committed to balancing the federal budget. The group's 49 members already wield significant power in the House, and their ranks are expected to expand in the next Congress.

In North Carolina, Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre are Blue Dogs.

They have also been the two members of North Carolina's Congressional delegation who have had the weakest ties to Obama during the primary and general election campaigns here.

Close (and not-so) ties to Obama

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:56:10 -0400

How closely tied are North Carolina's Congressional Democrats to their presidential nominee?

Though all but one of the state's seven Democratic representatives will cast their superdelegate vote for Barack Obama, they're at slightly different levels.

Here's where they stand, from closest to least close:

G.K. Butterfield: Switched endorsement from John Edwards before the South Carolina primary. Stumped in Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia. Participated in multiple teleconferences. Talked to reporters. Served on "Truth Squad." Attended rallies. District backed Obama by 63 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working. Campaigned for Obama in Raleigh. Spoke on conference call.

David Price: Defended Obama. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. District backed Obama by 66 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working. Campaigned for Obama in Raleigh.

Bob Etheridge: District backed Obama. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out. Attended Obama rally. Campaigned for Obama in Raleigh. Spoke on conference call.

Brad Miller: Wife sat behind Obama for acceptance speech. District backed Obama by 63 percent Stayed neutral before primary, endorsed shortly afterward. Campaigned for Obama in Raleigh.

Mel Watt: Previously skeptical of black candidate's chances. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. Served on "Truth Squad." District backed Obama by 78 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech.

Mike McIntyre: District backed Clinton. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out.

Heath Shuler: Received $10,000 from Obama's PAC in 2006. District backed Clinton. Endorsed Clinton after primary. Staff says he's been too busy to think about race since then.

Roll call on bailout bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:22:49 -0400

Here's how N.C. House members voted on a bailout of the financial markets, a bill that passed the House on Friday with a 263-171 vote.

FOR: Democrats Mel Watt, Bob Etheridge, David Price and Brad Miller; Republicans Howard Coble and Sue Myrick.

AGAINST: Republicans Robin Hayes, Virginia Foxx, Patrick McHenry and Walter Jones; Democrats G.K. Butterfield, Heath Shuler, and Mike McIntyre.

After the jump, what they said.

Butterfield leans against new bailout bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:01:01 -0400

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, one of three N.C. Democrats to oppose a bailout of the nation's financial institutions, said Wednesday he's still inclined to vote against the new version being considered by the Senate.

"At this point, I’m still leaning against voting for the bill," said the Wilson Democrat. "Over the past few days, I have been working with my colleagues to offer changes that would address the need to stabilize families and rural communities. We need a bill that helps the people who are hurting the most, not a bill that only helps the people who created this crisis. I also want greater assurances that this package will correct the problems."

One of the most significant changes in the Senate bill is raising to $250,000, from $100,000, the amount of bank deposits that would be protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Lisa Zagaroli reports.

The bill also has a number of other new provisions, such as disaster aid and mental health addiction coverage.

Congressional leaders are hoping the new additions will win over enough lawmakers to support a $700 billion program that allows the government to buy up troubled assets from banks that are in danger of failing due to bad mortgage debt. But there are some concerns that lawmakers who supported a bill that only addressed the economic crisis will be dissuaded from voting for a bill that has unrelated items attached to it.

All of N.C. Republicans voted against the House version on Monday, and they were joined in opposition by Butterfield and Democratic Reps. Heath Shuler of Waynesville and Mike McIntyre of Lumberton.

State Dems split on bailout bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:04:49 -0400

N.C. Democrats split Monday on a massive government intervention into the financial services industry, while all of the delegation's Republicans voted against the failed attempt.

"Too many people had too many problems with it," said Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican. "They were very uncomfortable."

The Democrats who opposed the bill were Reps. Heath Shuler of Waynesville, G.K. Butterfield of Wilson, and Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, Lisa Zagaroli reports.

"Unfortunately, the rush to respond has resulted in a plan that is too risky and gives away too much without any guarantees that the problems will be corrected," Butterfield said. "While people talk about stabilizing the markets, we should be focused on stabilizing families and our rural communities. I am particularly disappointed that the package failed to include the measures needed to prevent more home foreclosures such as providing bankruptcy judges with the power to modify the terms of mortgages."

The failure of the $700 billion bailout bill, on a vote of 228-205, came amid news of Wachovia’s purchase by Citigroup.

Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat from Charlotte, said while the White House hadn't been able to convince the American public that drastic measures were needed, he believed the intervention was necessary.

"It would be politically irresponsible and substantively irresponsible to not do what people sent me here to do which is cast responsible votes," he said. "You can't always stick your finger up in the air."

Who are the Blue Dog Democrats?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:46:49 -0400

Answer:

A group of conservative Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1994 to help conservative Democrats present a unified front on issues such as the national debt and taxes.

There are several explanations for the name.

One is that it is a contrast to staunch Democratic loyalists known as "yellow dog Democrats." (The name "yellow dog" is derived from the joke that those Democrats would vote for a yellow dog before voting for a Republican.)

Another is that conservative Democrats had been "choked blue" by the liberal and centrist side of their party at the time.

And a third is that it refers to the blue dog paintings by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue.

Currently, U.S. Reps. Mike McIntyre and Heath Shuler are members of the coalition.

McIntyre joined when he was elected in 1996; Shuler, upon his election in 2006.

Brief:

A group of conservative Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.