Please see this important post: An interesting take on Lay, the facts as I know them and a ‘mea culpa’
Jump to Updates: Lay traffic ticket | McHenry, Deans & Lay official statements | “Politically motivated” attack | GOP Chairman statement | McHenry’s anti-gay past | Have any tips? | McHenry’s Wikipedia entry updated
More news on 26 year old Michael Aaron Lay, pictured right, (previous posts), aide to Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) recently indicted on voter fraud by a North Carolina grand jury and registered to vote at the home of McHenry.
Pictured right: Michael Aaron Lay, future convict
I’m sure somebody will end up claiming that Lay doesn’t live with McHenry. If that is claimed, then it just seems as though McHenry’s been getting secret night-time visits from his good “pal” Lay (src, emphasis mine):
While looking over the activities of Michael Aaron Lay during the 2004 election year my attention was drawn to a traffic ticket that he recieved in March of 2005. Originally, the ticket drew my interest because Mr. Lay continued to show his voter registration in North Carolina, but on the day of the ticket his residence, his vehicle registration and his license were all from Tennessee. Out of curiousity I pulled the ticket from Gaston County, and I noted the time of the infraction. Michael Aaron Lay was pulled over at 4:57 am on a Thursday morning heading down Highway 321 in Dallas, Gaston County. Presumably Mr. Lay was leaving his “home” in Cherryville on his way to I-40 and Knoxville, TN where he was attending law school. My question is this: Is it really appropriate and seemly for a 29/30 year old Congressman to be sharing his home with a 23/24 year old law student on a weekday/school night such that the young college student is up at 4:30 am and headed back to school at 5:00 am. In my opinion there are only a few good reasons for a young man to drive 3 1/2 hours on a Wednesday after classes to spend the night with someone and then get up the next morning at 4:30 and drive the 3 1/2 drive back to make his classes. I cannot imagine what legitimate tasks in this “Age of Information” could not be accomplished over phone, fax and internet. If this young man’s visit was not for inappropriate reasons, at least our Congressman should realize and avoid such an obvious “appearance of impropriety”. Michael Aaron Lay is a young man compared to Patrick McHenry. It should be obvious to the Congressman and anyone else that a single man in Patrick’s position would be well advised to avoid overnight guests who find it necessary to scuttle out of town on a school night before the sun is even up.
Wow.
McHenry has some answering to do… and now that his night-time friend is going down for breaking the law, there is no hiding.
Update: Other blogs covering the story:
- BlogActive.com (linked in a past post), with copies of voter registrations, pay records for Lay and other “men friends” of McHenry.
- DownWithTyranny.com
- PamsHouseBlend.com
- You Decide, with copies of original sources and complaints sent to the NC State Board of Elections & CBS News
- The ITT List
- Pat Go Bye Bye, including loads of coverage locally in Western North Carolina
- Rod 2.0
.
Update #2: Unless there is more evidence out there… this theory may not be as tightly sealed as one would hope. For one… Dallas, NC, where Lay was pulled over supposedly coming from his home in Cherryville headed to Knoxville, is not on the way to Knoxville from Cherryville, NC. Second… many campaign staff members live in campaign housing and switch voter registration (although this doesn’t excuse the multiple votes, i.e. voter fraud). Just thought, for the sake of being fair and balanced, that I’d throw this out.
Update #3: McHenry & campaign manager Jason Deans (one of those also registered to vote at McHenry’s home) and Lay have released statements, published in an article from the Hickory Daily Record (Hickory, NC), Sunday, May 13, 2007.
First from McHenry (my commentary in red):
McHenry and campaign manager Jason Deans issued statements through a staff member on Saturday.
“Aaron is an ethical law student whom I know to be a good Christian and law-abiding citizen [trying to root out the possibility of being a felon, huh?],” McHenry’s statement read. “It’s unfortunate that political opponents chose to target this young man in order to attack me. In the end, the facts and the law are on the side of this decent, law-abiding student, and he will be found innocent of this baseless attack.”
Deans called the indictment politically motivated and compared the allegations to the recent Duke lacrosse case, where three students were wrongly accused of sexual assault.
“This is the culmination of a three-year smear campaign against Congressman McHenry, his campaign workers and supporters,” Deans’ statement read. “This case is much like the Duke lacrosse case in that a politically-motivated district attorney sought an indictment against a young man without even granting him an interview.” [oh yeah, right... milk it for all it is worth and make North Carolina look even worse; great job buddy!]
“This whole episode is nothing more than a shameful political witch hunt that could sully a young man’s career. The congressman’s political opponents have repeatedly distributed misleading material about these false allegations, almost perfectly synchronized with the questionable actions of the district attorney.” [point the finger! point the finger!]
“Aaron is a law student with an outstanding reputation and a clean record. The district attorney believes he can destroy an innocent student’s career in order to advance his own. The law and the facts of the case will prove otherwise.” [the law says you can't register to vote in a place where you don't hold permanent residence... wow, you think a Congressman and his campaign manager would better know the law on voting and elections]
And from Lay’s attorney:
Thomas Goolsby, an attorney representing Lay, issued a statement regarding the indictment through McHenry’s office Saturday.
“We know the charge is unwarranted and look forward to our day in court,” Goolsby said. “Aaron is a fine young man with a flawless record.”
Update #4: McHenry is claiming the indictment is politically motivated. Too bad the D.A. is a Republican… although McHenry’s victory in the primary for his first-ever run for Congress in 2004 was quite tight (he won by 86 votes). Perhaps people are upset because they supported another candidate. It seems as though conservatives are the ones who have been complaining about this voter fraud (see: http://www.theconservativenews.blogspot.com/, as well as the statements in the Hickory Daily Record from Donnie Young, the local Christian Coalition leader). Ah… the wonderful smell of the usual North Carolina Republican tit-for-tat, knock down, drag out brawls. This is why the Democrats control our state government (all three branches of it).
Update #5: The Chairman of the Cleveland County (NC) Republican Party has released a statement, copied into comments at the original CBS News story on the McHenry-Lay voter fraud scandal:
Chairman Wayne King statement in regards to former McHenry aide
Kings Mountain, NC- Cleveland County Republican Party Chairman Wayne King issued the following statement in regards to the recent indictment of former McHenry for Congress aide, Aaron Lay.
King stated, “In 2004, I supported Patrick McHenry’s campaign for Congress. In fact, I often went to his house in Cherryville to volunteer for the campaign. I can personally attest that Mr. Aaron Lay resided there on a full-time basis. Aaron is a good friend of mine, and it’s shameful that District Attorney Locke Bell is trying to destroy his life for political purposes. I continue to support Congressman McHenry.”
My turn: Just because he was living at that house “full-time” during the election does not mean that he had intentions to reside their permanently (as North Carolina voting & elections law requires). Furthermore, his residency continued to be established in Tennessee (where Lay went to school and received paychecks from the McHenry campaign) throughout the campaign. Also, his “full-time” living at McHenry’s home during the campaign does nothing to address the concerns that he voted in two different primaries. This statement from Mr. Wayne King does nothing to address the indictment handed down by the grand jury. (By the way… there are some other good comments over on the original CBS story… again, more of the North Carolina Republican-Conservative tit-for-tat, disorganized whining and bickering).
Update #6: Seems as though there is a bit of confusion in the world over McHenry’s anti-gay past. At one discussion board a person states that he was “not aware of him being particularly anti-gay.” Well, besides the fact that this person must live under a rock… here is some of McHenry:
And from a October 2006 press release:
“From coast to coast, and yes, even in New Jersey and Massachusetts, families and people of faith are looking to those they elect to take action and protect marriage between one man and one woman from these deviant attacks,” Congressman McHenry stated. “Many states have adopted marriage protection amendments to their own constitutions and they should be applauded for that, but it is high time that Congress takes a lead and acts now to defend marriage at the national level.”
And from a July 2006 press release:
“Marriage, family and community are not catch phrases – they are the backbone of American society. Sadly, however, there is an organized effort by judicial activists and the radical left to destroy our traditional American culture.”
“Years of social science evidence confirms that children respond best when their mom and dad are married and live at home. That’s why marriage and family law has emphasized the importance of marriage as the foundation of family – to address the needs of children in the most positive, effective way.”
“We must defend what is sacred in our nation from the reckless actions of a dangerous few who seek to impose their liberal lunacy on our society. Fighting for families is a war worth waging.”
And let’s not forget the fact that McHenry routinely ignores requests for meetings from his LGBT constituents.
And for whatever rumors flying over McHenry being closeted and gay… and assertions that people are attacking just because he is Republican and gay… this is more about, if the rumors are true, a closeted gay man using his position of power and influence as an elected official to promote anti-gay agendas and perpetuate anti-gay hate & discrimination, writing it into law. For more see my past opinions column: Outing Capitol Hill.
It was also put quite well by Congressman Barney Frank: “The fact is, yes, the Republicans do think should be a crime. And I think there’s a right to privacy. But the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy … people who want to demonize other people shouldn’t then be able to go home and close the door, and do it themselves.”
Update #7: If you have or know anyone who might have tips and information on the McHenry-Lay Voter Fraud Scandal, please contact me at matt ‘at’ interstateq ‘dot’ com. As my blog says at the top: The Freedom of Speech & the citizens’ ability to hold their elected officials accountable are among the greatest gifts of our Republic. If there are illegalities and improprieties it is up to us – The People – to make sure our system provides justice and that we hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
Related Posts:
- Michael Aaron Lay not the only man at McHenry’s home
- Who is the man living with Congressman Patrick McHenry?
- See… I’m not the only one questioning McHenry’s “relationships”
Update 8, May 15, 12:30 EST: Someone has updated McHenry’s Wikipedia entry with information regarding the voter fraud scandal and more.
Please see this important post: An interesting take on Lay, the facts as I know them and a ‘mea culpa’
Technorati Tags: Patrick McHenry, Michael Aaron Lay, Jason Jent Dean, Matthew Allen Hamilton, voter fraud, gay, gay Republicans, Congress, NC-10, Cherryville, Gaston County, North Carolina
May 12th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Inappropriate? It’s not inappropriate for a 32 year old Congressman to be sleeping with a 24 year old law student. Nobody would be saying that if McHenry was sleeping with a 24 year old woman. In our anti-homophobic activism, let’s try to avoid being heterosexist ourselves. It may be inappropriate for McHenry to be sleeping with an aid, or it may be inappropriate that he’s a hypocritical Foley-ite. But let’s be clear about what actually is inappropriate here. And it has nothing to do with being gay or an 8 year age difference between consenting adults.
May 12th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Sam… address those concerns to the blog I quoted, http://patricklmchenry.blogspot.com/2007/05/more-mchenry-news.html.
I agree with you Sam… 24 & 32, not a big deal… A Congressman who claims to be standing against the ravages of the so-called “radical, homosexual agenda” possibly engaging in same-sex acts… That is inappropriate, a blatant act of hypocrisy and deceit and, on top of it all… He is helping others to commit illegal activities in the form of voter fraud.
May 12th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
*** not for attribution ***
Matt, I love your little conspiracy theories, it makes life so interesting sometimes just to see what wild-ass story you’ll come up with next.
Now, I understand that you don’t keep up with internal Republican politics a whole lot, but the situation we have here is actually pretty common these days. Campaigns are increasingly attracting younger staff by offering incentives like free housing. I would venture to guess that McHenry may have had multiple houses rented during the campaign for staff to live in, as many of them came in from across the country. Whether they all registered to vote there or not is anyone’s guess, but they were living there, so this current case is completely politically motivated (check out the guy’s site, he HATES McHenry). If you’re living and working somewhere, and don’t vote anywhere else, it’s not election fraud, it’s simply a ploy by a college dropout who holds a grudge because the guy he liked didn’t win. I digress.
But yeah, Vernon did the same thing for his staff in the last election, and a few of the 2008 campaigns are rumored to be offering free housing to their staff as well. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, I know you and your log-cabin friends would just love for McHenry to be gay, but it’s just not gonna happen, buddy.
May 13th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Thanks Ryan. This guy voted in TWO primaries. He is guilty of voter fraud.
I dare say most of what I say is right on spot and not conspiracies.
It is so good to know you’ll stick by your Republican employers.
I’m not a log cabin.
We need to hang out this summer sometime.
I’m done now with my series of short statements.
May 13th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Don’t mean to write like an arrogant Yankee, but….is all of North Carolina corrupt? I’ve been reading about how the entire Durham County Police Dept. (fallout from the Duke case) is corrupt and due for investigation (how many innocents are in prison?), and now this. (At least you have both major political parties represented equally, and all sexualities).
May 13th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Thanks Joe… I like being called corrupt, lol.
God only knows where this story is heading. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but refresh the page and see update #3 with statements from McHenry, Campaign manager Jason Deans and Lay’s attorney.
May 13th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Hey! Well….I guess SOME of the times you’ve been called “corrupt”, Matt (by the wrong people), you can have taken it as a compliment. But I don’t mean this “corrupt” in a good way. But, yes, I’ll follow the story, though I’ll admit only because I find it tittilating, as opposed to the Durham situation which I find shocking (and I’m glad you’re a…. Greensboro boy?).
May 13th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Yup… I’m certainly not from McHenry’s hometown. Born, raised and living in Winston-Salem and most actively involved in the community and activism in Greensboro.
May 13th, 2007 at 2:14 am
Well my next trip “down South” will probably be to Savannah, Ga. (yes, ever since I read that book..) but I’m glad to know I can visit you at your homestead someday without having to set foot in Durham County. And don’t worry, Matt, I won’t be one of those tiresome northerners hoping you’ll be serving me mint julep on the porch amid the magnolias and horses and with at least one uncle being a Colonel…etc. (as much as I’d love that).
May 13th, 2007 at 7:24 am
[...] Find loads more on this story at Interstate Q and Pam’s House Blend. Funny that the LGBT focused bloggers have so much interest in Pat… These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
May 13th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I came here from Blog Active, by way of Raw Story. Although I am not LGB or T, I have a comment. If Lay is a law student in Tennessee but ‘lives’ in North Carolina, it might be interesting to learn if he gets in-state tuition rates. You can’t have it both ways.
Wonder if he’s related to Kenny Boy.
May 13th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Yes sigrid, as I believe BlogActive points out, Lay was receiving in-state tuition in Tennessee.
According to a staff & wire brief in the Winston-Salem Journal, Lay is now living in Raleigh, NC, where he intends on taking the exam for the state bar and working for a law firm.
May 13th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
[...] Click here for the most up to date news on Michael Aaron Lay and the McHenry-Lay Voter Fraud Scandal [...]
May 15th, 2007 at 3:18 am
[...] Patrick McHenry’s night-time buddy [...]
May 15th, 2007 at 7:40 am
I don’t think writing
*** not for attribution ***
at the top of your post is going to protect your comments from being attributed to you. Blogs don’t work that way.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:34 am
LOL hahahahaha
Thanks Sam
May 16th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I personally know Aaron, and I just want you to know that I will be praying for you. It’s very heartbreaking to see you trying to ruin his life. He is a good, Christian guy that works hard for everything he earns. This bull crap information is not going to hold up in court, so all you’re doing is giving him a bad rep. About the whole in-state tuition thing, he’s been attending UT for many years before he started WORKING for McHenry. I’m sorry you are suffering from a bad case of homophobia. But many that suffer from homophobia, end up being homosexual. So what does this say about you? I’m 110% sure Aaron isn’t gay.
Again, I will pray for you.
May 16th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Me? Homophobia? Wow… did you even take a look at the site?
“But many that suffer from homophobia, end up being homosexual. So what does this say about you?”
Um. Duh. “Matt Hill Comer, LGBT Activist.” I’m gay. I know it. I’m not homophobic… but I am a person who doesn’t like hypocrisy in my government.
North Carolina law is very clear on voting and elections.
Aaron voted twice in the same primary.Aaron voted in two different primaries while registered to vote at a location that was not his permanent residence (Thanks to the commenter for the correction; any regular reader of mine knows I take corrections very seriously). He’s guilty.I could care less if Aaron is gay. I do care if Representative McHenry is gay, though. If he is… he is a hypocrite.
For more info, please take the time to read the site and look at the links to previous posts and stories, which (I’m sure of this from your comment) you haven’t taken the time to do yet.
May 16th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I have known Aaron for 20 years and he is far from gay, that I can assure you. He has been a student at the University of Tennessee for at least 8 years and a resident of Tennessee until he moved to NC to campaign for McHenry. He returned to Tennessee to finish law school and lived in Knoxville while finishing, not NC. I believe that the ignorance is overwhelming and I pray for those of you who get pleasure from ruining the lives of innocent people. It’s just too bad that none of you will ever have the privilege of meeting Aaron and finding out what a marvelous man he is. I feel sorry for those of you who talk so much garbage, it’s really pathetic that you have nothing better to do with your lives than make up stories.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
READ TFA!
He didn’t vote twice! He voted in two separate situations legally! The only question was to where he was registered to vote. According to State Law what he did was legal, and he had legal residency. He moved back to Tennessee after the election to finish law school. Maybe some of you need some law classes, or at least need to read more carefully.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Thanks Jason! I pray for the monkeys who parade around telling lies.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
“According to State Law what he did was legal, and he had legal residency.”
“Maybe some of you need some law classes, or at least need to read more carefully.”
Tell that to the grand jury.
And my bad… I messed up in the comment where I said he voted twice in the same primary. In previous posts I’ve been very careful with writing the facts; thanks for the correction: He voted in two different primaries while registered at a residence where he was not permanently residing.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
By the way… I’ve never said Lay was gay.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
[...] Patrick McHenry’s night-time buddy [...]
May 17th, 2007 at 9:17 am
“In previous posts I’ve been very careful with writing the facts”
That is something you should seriously consider continuing to do, especially when an innocent man’s reputation and livelihood are at stake. Lay will have a hard enough time clearing his name after all of this, why unnecessarily smear more grease on it?
“Tell that to the grand jury.”
I don’t have to. If you will kindly take a look at North Carolina law you will see that it states that a resident gains the rights to vote after 30 days of residency. Lay had been living in the state for over 215 days and it was only after he was talked out of politics by friends that he decided to move back to Tennessee and finish his law degree. So when the jury, however grand they may be, is informed of the 30 day permanent residency laws in NC they will realize that 215 > 30 as any sane people would.
I am liberal myself, and so generally I know what it is like to fuel the fire when a corrupt republican is caught; however, I believe in being an honest skeptic. In this particular case Lay is not at fault and did not break any laws. It is a stretch for our party to indict him to get at McHenry.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
“That is something you should seriously consider continuing to do, especially when an innocent man’s reputation and livelihood are at stake.”
I will continue to do that, as I always do.
“It is a stretch for our party to indict him to get at McHenry.”
I don’t know which party you belong to, you didn’t say. But from your words I’m going to first assume you are Democrat: The DA who sought the indictment is Republican, in a heavily Republican district. Our party isn’t indicting him. Second, if you are Republican… stop crying foul.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
[...] Matt on Patrick McHenry’s night-time buddy [...]
May 18th, 2007 at 9:55 am
[...] Most folks will remember Deans as the one who issued a statement with McHenry after the outing of the McHenry-Lay Voter Fraud Scandal. In that statement, Deans & McHenry stated: This is the culmination of a three-year smear campaign against Congressman McHenry, his campaign workers and supporters,” Deans’ statement read. “This case is much like the Duke lacrosse case in that a politically-motivated district attorney sought an indictment against a young man without even granting him an interview. [...]
May 20th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
It’s quite Ironic how a gay man can be so judgmental. You ask the world to be accepting of you and your lifestyle, but you make up stories and judge someone else in an effort to make the world “accept” you. Of course you would never see the irony in this. I know Mr. Lay and I know he’s not gay. In fact the picture that you conveniently cropped was a picture of him at a sorority party he went to as a date of one of the sorority girls. I also know that he has always intended on returning to North Carolina after he finished school.
Comment caught up in spam filter. Restored, 05/25/2007. ~MHC~
May 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Why did my previous comment get deleted? Can you not handle the truth? It is hyprocricy that a gay man who is an activist and asks straight people to accept his lifestyle without judgment to judge a man that he has never met and imply that this man is gay and corrupt.
You say that you hate hyprocricy in our government, well I encourage you to destroy the hyprocricy in your heart first, then worry about everyone else.
I’ve Known Mr. Lay for several years now and I always thought he was from North Carolina.
Why don’t you leave the interpretation of the law to someone that knows it. I mean do you even know what a Grand Jury does?
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3 (It’s from the Bible, not that I’d expect you to know what that is.)
May 25th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Technology? Urgh… What can I say? Don’t assume comments have been deleted. In fact… your comment got caught up in the spam filter (see screenshot).
Sorry about that and the comment should be back up.
I don’t delete any comments usually and when I do it is because they contain vulgarities or other obscenities.
Yes… I’m perfectly aware of what a grand jury does.
I did not “conveniently crop” any picture. Lay cropped it himself and it is (or was) the photo on his MySpace profile.
All your talk about the Bible and hypocrisy and not judging people sure doesn’t stop you from lashing out in anger and doing the same things yourself, huh?
And lastly… I state once again: I have never said Lay was or is gay. Those words have never come out of my mouth. Take what I say and interpret it as you will but know that your interpretations are yours alone. I’ve never said Lay was gay. If you take away that interpretation… good for you.
May 25th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
[...] Again… thanks to Brent. Here is his first comment that was caught up in the spam filter and which he *assumed* I had deleted. Here is where he responded and lashed out in anger. Here is my response. [...]
May 25th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Although you may have not said Mr. Lay is gay, you certainly implied it and did nothing to make anyone think otherwise. I believe that you called him “McHenry’s Night Time Buddy.” This is certainly enough to imply that you think he is gay.
Furthermore, I did not lash out at you in anger. I could care less if you deleted a comment of mine or if it got stuck in spam. It’s nothing to get angry about I merely addressed the obvious absense of my comment. I am, however, disturbed that you have taken to attacking a young man who is caught up in some political feud solely for exercising his rights.
How can you say that I don’t know what I’m talking about? True I may not have known about your spam filter, but I do know about this situation. I know Mr. Lay personally and I know that he has done nothing wrong.
As far as acting like a mature adult goes, I tried to engage you in an adult conversation about your own hyprocricy. Yet, you avoided the topic and instead accused me of “lashing out in anger” There was no anger directed towards anyone.
As far as the basic rules of civility, etiquette and respect go. I believe that you should at least address the hyprocricy of your own position.
I’m not judging you nor am I lashing out in anger. I’m merely asking you to address your hyprocricy. If you thought you read judgment or anger in my comment, then I think you are too thin skinned to be an activist of any kind.
Comment caught up in spam filter. Restored, 05/25/2007. ~MHC~
May 25th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Your Spam Filter Caught Me again.
May 25th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
I am, however, disturbed that you have taken to attacking a young man who is caught up in some political feud solely for exercising his rights.
You sound like McHenry. “Oh poor little me… I’m the victim of a political attack!”
The D.A. is a McHenry supporter. The grand jury that indicted Lay sits in an area that is HEAVILY pro-McHenry. This isn’t a political feud.
This is, however, a case where there was enough evidence of voter fraud to take the issue to trial and the grand jury saw that. I hope Lay has a good attorney.
I’m sorry we disagree. Ain’t living in America great!?
May 25th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
[...] There certainly has been a lot of discussion coming from friends of indicted McHenry aide Michael Aaron Lay. [...]
May 26th, 2007 at 4:05 am
Matt;
Just think how confusing voter registration is to college students who ARENT working on a political campaign.
We have a cutoff date to register of 25 days before election day.
Suddenly college kid says – where am I supposed to vote, can I vote here???
On a voter registration form, did you notice that there is a place to put your “mailing address” and another to put your “address of residence”?
Anyway, this could be a case of a guy having his life/career ruined because of some infighting.
I dont particularly like Patrick McHenry, his politics are horrible and he acts like an 8 yr old child on the floors of congress, right there on CSpan for all to see.
We should get the facts before hurting someone who might be innocent.
Comment caught up in spam filter. Restored, 05/26/2007. ~MHC~
May 27th, 2007 at 12:52 am
You still don’t address your hyprocricy as a gay activist asking not to be judged yet judging everyone else just because they disagree with you you.
From what I know of the situation the D.A. might be Republican, but he backed the other guy in the election and is bitter about the loss. Kind of like the Democrats after the 2000 and 2004 elections.
I hope Aaron has a good attorney too so he can sue your ass for libel.
May 27th, 2007 at 1:11 am
“From what I know of the situation the D.A. might be Republican, but he backed the other guy in the election and is bitter about the loss. Kind of like the Democrats after the 2000 and 2004 elections.”
Funny… I heard the D.A. supported McHenry and co-hosted a fundraiser for him.
“I hope Aaron has a good attorney too so he can sue your ass for libel.”
See here, as recently referenced at the top and bottom of the post (you do realize you are about 40 posts behind the current, most recent one, right?
“You still don’t address your hyprocricy as a gay activist asking not to be judged yet judging everyone else just because they disagree with you you.”
Maybe when I was younger (younger is a relative term seeing as though I’m only 21), I might have said that, as a gay activist, I don’t want anyone to judge me. Now, however, I think I’d say that, of course, people have the right to judge me. People have the right to judge my character and soul by my actions, by how I treat others or by how I respect others (or how I don’t do these things). I would say now that one shouldn’t judge another person as being immoral or somehow less than human because of his or her sexual orientation. Immoral because of their actions, yes… but not solely because of their sexual orientation.
That, by the way, is what my “mea culpa” is about… the link I just referenced to you (the one 40 posts more recent than the one we’re commenting on right now). On my blog and in EVERY aspect of my public life, I have (in the words of my friend) had to “go back and change, restate, temper, whatever, [my] opinions” and offer apologies and corrections. Just like every other time where I have thought things out by being confronted with differing opinions such as yours (this is referenced in that link), I have offered in this situation not only an apology and clarification, but also a retraction (although I didn’t use that word) to some of the things I had written. I’ve even taken the time to go back through each of the 20 or more posts mentioning this subject (as well as others) to add in links (in red font) pointing to the clarification and the mea culpa (in case you didn’t notice).
As for me being a hypocrite and as for my words being hypocrisy (yes, in case you haven’t noticed hypocrisy is not spelled “hypocricy”)… I don’t think so. Lay was working for the campaign of a man who sought to be a Congressman. Lay has been indicted. Did I make mis-steps along the way as I wrote about it, sure. Was I being a hypocrite by wanting to explore what is possibly illegal activity coming out of the campaign of a Congressman, as well as what was widely rumored to be (although probably not true – again noted in that link) that is about 40 posts more recent than this) – inappropriate behaviors between a candidate for Congress and his staffer? Absolutely not.
I’m sorry you have nothing better to do that rant and rave about something I’ve already apologized for, not to even mention the fact that you are ranting and raving on a website owned and operated by a college kid with no degree. I’m sure Lay and the Congressman have much bigger things to worry about than some 21 year old kid in Winston-Salem. Like I have the power to inflict serious harm on them? Yeah right. I’m sure the Congressman’s website gets more site hits in a day than I get in an entire month.
But again, as I mention in that link, feel free to hang around. I like having differing opinions. Yours certainly led me to offering that apology (in that link).
May 27th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Hi, Matt!
Yeah, so, Brent is right and you are wrong.
Let’s just have a small ‘keep it real’ moment – I read everything you had to say in your article (well, I’m not really sure if it counts as ‘journalism’, but we’ll just call it an ‘article’ for argument’s sake) as well as everything in the posts that follow and, well, Brent called you out – those were your implications and you committed libel.
YOU are the one that said (and I quote):
“My question is this: Is it really appropriate and seemly for a 29/30 year old Congressman to be sharing his home with a 23/24 year old law student on a weekday/school night such that the young college student is up at 4:30 am and headed back to school at 5:00 am. In my opinion there are only a few good reasons for a young man to drive 3 1/2 hours on a Wednesday after classes to spend the night with someone and then get up the next morning at 4:30 and drive the 3 1/2 drive back to make his classes.”
So, yeah, you said it.
Maybe if that’s not what you meant to imply, or if you are leaving it open to some sort of interpretation you should print a redaction …
That wouldn’t be a bad idea.
And furthermore, I mean, you’re gay, cool, whatever. But that doesn’t mean that everyone w/ a different viewpoint from you is anti-gay.
Just some food for thought.
May 27th, 2007 at 1:18 am
First of all what you quote as me saying was not me. See, in writing there is such a thing as “blockquotes” or indentions, where a person quotes something that another person said. What you quoted as me saying, was in a blockquote… meaning I didn’t say it.
Secondly, as I told Brent: This post is post # 2048. Take the time to see this post: Post # 2083.
And you are right… I don’t call this site a newspaper. I don’t call it a news site. It is a “blog” where I can write my opinions and thoughts.
Again… as I told Brent: See the most recent post.
May 27th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Please see this important post: An interesting take on Lay, the facts as I know them and a ‘mea culpa’
May 27th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Fine; I’ll write my own redaction: you did not write that.
You just added emphasis on that one section.
Forgive me for creating a ‘false implication’.
See, not that difficult!
Sorry, got caught up in the comment spam filter. Restored, 05/27/2007. ~MHC~
May 27th, 2007 at 2:00 am
See, not that difficult!
I issued my apology and clarification (see the most recent post, with links all up and down this comment thread, geesh) long before you asked for your “redaction.”
May 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Oh, and as a close friend of Aaron’s I am pleased to inform all of you that he has the best attorney in the area and this is just a slight bump in the road for him. Waste of time really, he’ll go to court, win his battle, and hopefully sue the pants of the idiots who slandered his name… wow how wonderful the law is.
June 19th, 2007 at 5:19 am
Whittle Scholar Scandal
You people call yourselves adults?? I am going to have to side with Matt. All this close friend of mine, and he has a good lawyer, and HE IS NOT GAY crap. If he’s gay or not who cares, I don’t give a crap if he’s your friend, and he would’nt need a lawyer if he did nothing wrong because a grand jury wouldn’t have indicted him. Unless the corupt are calling the corupt,corupt??? Yeah did you get all that. I also know Aaron (aka Chicken Boy but that’s a whole other scandal), I’ll admit I was shocked, but Aaron has always been extreamly political, it wasn’t the voting fraud that shocked me it was the indictment. Maybe all you close friends need to do some research before crying innocent he also has charges against him for enrolling at UNC as an instate student (which means you have lived in he state for at least 1 year)using Patrick McHenry’s address. this will not get thrown out because it’s a felony! PS there is no use in writing hate filled comment to me because I will never be on here to read to nonsense. Also for those of you who would like to do further research: Jellico, TN, Pioneer TN, or Whittle Scholar.
June 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 am
Brittany – what proof do you have of charges at UNC for enrolling?
What is the chicken boy thing?
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:00 am
What charges at UNC?
What about “chicken boy”??
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm
HAHAHA Brittany, you’ll never be on here to read nonsense, so why are you dishing it out on here… if you don’t really care then stay out of it.
April 8th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
In NC, in order to get deferred prosecution, Aaron Lay had to sign a written confession as to each charge. So he has admitted his guilt to the voter fraud felonies. The written confession may be in the criminal case “shuck” at the Gaston County Courthouse, or it may be in the DA’s private file on Lay. So he has admitted his guilt on those two felony charges. Not sure why the NC State Bar thought he was worthy of becoming a lawyer. They generally disbar felons.
And if you are not particularly familiar with the backroads of Lincoln County, it does make sense to get on 321 bypass and go through Dallas if you are trying to get from Cherryville to Knoxville, especially in the dark. Just drive on 150 to Lincolnton, go thru Lincolnton, then take 321 south to Gastonia to get on I-85 south, from which you can drive to Asheville on either 74 to I-26 or go to SC and get on I-26, and pick up I-40 in Asheville to Knoxville. So yes, the speeding ticket does suggest he was spending the night with his “friend” McHenry in Cherryville then hustling back from booty call to Knoxville for class. Law professors don’t like it when you miss class.
September 14th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
“He is a good Christian man.” How many times have we heard that tired old refrain lately with people who are corrupt to the bone. I’m to the point where I cannot tolerate anyone who has to make a point of their being a “good Christian”. Show me by the way you act and treat others, not by how loudly you might trumpet the fact.