Rep. McHenry calls U.S. soldier in Iraq a ‘two-bit security guard.’»

[LiberalNation]

What an asshole.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/04/rep-mchenry-calls-us-soldier-in-iraq-a-two-bit-security-guard/

During a public appearance on Saturday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) belittled a U.S. soldier in Iraq who was following orders and wouldn’t let McHenry go to the gym without the proper credentials. McHenry referred to the guard as a “two-bit security guard“:

We spent the night in the Green Zone, in the poolhouse of one of Saddam’s palaces. A little weird, I got to be honest with you. But I felt safe. And so in the morning, I got up early — not that I make this a great habit — but I went to the gym because I just couldn’t sleep and everything else. Well, sure enough, the guard wouldn’t let me in. Said I didn’t have the correct credentials.

It’s 5:00 in the morning. I haven’t had sleep. I was not very happy with this two-bit security guard. So you know, I said, “I want to see your supervisor.” Thirty minutes later, the supervisor wasn’t happy with me, they escort me back to my room. It happens. I guess I didn’t need to work out anyway.

McHenry also claimed that a person died from rocket attacks during his stay in the Green Zone. A U.S. embassy official, however, said “that there were no fatalities from that rocket attack.”

[LiberalNation]

update, turns out to not be a very reliable source tho I wouldn't trust the weekly standard either.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/04/think_progress_screws_up_again.asp

Today she runs a story about North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry under the headline: "Rep. McHenry calls U.S. soldier in Iraq a ‘two-bit security guard.'"

Well, it isn't true. Think Progress provides the video, but at no point does McHenry indicate that the "security guard" is an American soldier. In fact, if Amanda had bothered to call McHenry's office, she would have learned that the security guard was one of the foreign contractors so reviled by the left--an individual who in any other circumstance Amanda would likely label a "mercenary." I did call McHenry's office and the congressman's press secretary offered this statement from his boss:

It was a poor choice of words to describe the foreign contractor, but anyone who was there knows that I delivered a speech praising the heroism and sacrifice of those who are serving our country in harm's way.

The choice of words does not paint McHenry in the most flattering light...calling a security guard a "two-bit security guard" isn't exactly a classy move. But once again, Think Progress has failed to maintain even the minimum standards of the profession. How Amanda got from "security guard" to "U.S. soldier" is unclear.