What Do Beer Wholesalers Want with McHenry?

January 22, 2007

What, exactly, does the National Beer Wholesalers’ Association want from 10th District Congressman Patrick McHenry? Let’s get it out in the open.

Congressman McHenry’s largest single campaign contribution in the 2006 election cycle was $25,000 from the political arm of the National Beer Wholesalers’ Association, whose website declares a high priority on electing and reelecting “pro beer” members of Congress. The website also makes a lot of noise about promoting the safe consumption of its product.

Fair enough, I guess, although it seems more than a little disingenuous for our congressman to take money from these folks, considering that he butchered primary opponent David Huffman in 2004 for his relationship to a “beer distributor.” Over and over, McHenry pounded Huffman on that theme.

The devil is in the details, they say, and I’m wondering if McHenry sits on a committee that will consider legislation the beer wholesalers consider important. In fact, the beer organization’s political action committee has as its number one legislative priority this year the DEFEAT of a proposal that would standardize the blood-alcohol level at .08% nationally for conviction in drunk-driving cases.

The beer people, of course, want any national blood-alcohol standard to be at .10%, or anything higher than .08, because the lower standard would directly affect the amount of beer some beer-drinkers might consume at one time—which, of course, hurts beer sales. It’s what they tell their political action committee members on their website.

Care to wager how Congressman McHenry might vote on any measure to nationalize the blood-alcohol number at .08 or lower?

In his two years, he’s already voted several times to “earn” his contributions from the petroleum, banking and pharmaceutical industries—by voting AGAINST the environment by allowing oil drilling off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, AGAINST credit unions which help average citizens and AGAINST the interests of senior citizens needing prescription drug help. All of these votes are clearly AGAINST the interests of the 10th District, too.

Just curious, where are the Mothers Against Drunk Driving on this matter? If you want safety on the highways, this relationship between McHenry and the beer wholesalers seems like something to get MADD about.