Incumbent Lehigh Valley Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (R. Pa.), who represents the Pa, 7th Congressional District is facing allegations that he embellished his work in the private sector. According to The Guardian,, the DCCC has accused him of "fabricating" a career that he never had.
The article cites several sources indicating that Mackenzie claimed on several occasion to have a real estate license (he did have one for two years) and to have worked in real estate.
According to The Guardian, Mackenzie's LinkedIn profile showed him as having experience in real estate sales, but his current profile only lists his experience in the state house and Congress.
The DCCC statement, in part, asserts:
“Ryan Mackenzie was already disgustingly caught lying about his age on his Tinder profile by nearly 10 years. Now it looks like Mackenzie and his allies have embellished his résumé and fabricated a career in real estate that never existed. ... The truth is that Mackenzie is a career politician who has seemingly never worked a day in his life outside of politics and straight up does not understand the challenges that working Pennsylvanians are facing.”
A Mackenzie spokesperson said that references to real estate sales were "passing mentions."
This race is gonna' get ugly.
UPDATED 10:20 AM :
Mackenzie has responded to the Guardian article written by reporter Michael Sainato, and is demanding a retraction. It does appear to me that those who suggested that the Guardian is biased are right, but it also appears that the news outlet got its facts wrong.:
Michael,
I saw your article published today and it revealed something you did not disclose when reaching out to us - that the accusation about Congressman Mackenzie’s early career experience was coming from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and that it isn’t backed up by anything other than their statements and opinion.
We have all of the documentation to support that Ryan Mackenzie did complete the required real estate coursework at Lehigh Carbon Community College, passed the real estate salesperson exam, carried the proper real estate license in Pennsylvania for 2 years, and entered into a contractual agreement with a broker to provide referrals to them while he worked full-time in two other jobs.
Like so many other young people, the congressman tried out different fields of work, including being a licensed real estate salesperson as a side gig while working full-time. Any accusation from the DCCC is easily refuted with the documentation we have and it is purely politically-motivated on their part.
We request a retraction of the article or update to reflect the factual information.
Mackenzie himself addresses the reporter:
“Your recent article driven by the unfounded accusations of a purely political organization (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) whose identity you refused to reveal until publishing falls far short of any journalistic standards. and, more importantly, ignores the facts that entirely disprove your writings. As noted in our original conversations with you, those facts are clear: I completed Pennsylvania’s rigorous process to earn a real estate sales license; I signed a contract with a real estate company as a referral agent while holding two other full-time jobs at the beginning of my career; and I successfully referred clients for sale. I have never claimed more or less than those facts. Further, you chose – despite being shown that I was not responsible for their creation – to attempt to credit me with biographies and promotional items written by other organizations.”
"Documentation showing that I held a PA license for real estate sales, my contract with the referral agency, and an example of a completed referral sales contract are attached. Names and addresses have been blacked out to protect the privacy of private citizens. We would request a retraction of the article or update to reflect the factual information and would encourage you, in the future, to not rely upon accusations from a partisan political organization as the basis of your reporting."
The guardian article makes zero sense. Mackenzie had his license And they acknowledge that. Brooks should be a little more concerned about paying his family back before he tries to swing at Mackenzie! If this is all Brooks has then Mackenzie‘s gonna win.
ReplyDeleteNothing on Brooks running a whites only illegal gambling operation in Nazareth?
ReplyDeleteLooks like Bob Brooks is in trouble. The scandals are gonna start Hurting him. So many people I talk to Think he’s too scandal ridden.
ReplyDeleteDccc is showing their butt as they scrape the bottom of the barrel for dirt. Obviously running scared because they've figured out what a loser crook brooks is. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh first thing in the morn, BO.
ReplyDeleteA hit job by the British tabloid is a good endorsement for Mackenzie. The Brits have some serious political issues of their own, why are they getting involved in Pa. politics? A huge opportunity for Mackenzie to rip foreign influence in our elections. Go get them Mackenzie..
ReplyDeleteThe ugly things in this race are Crooksy Brooksie, the DCCC, Andrew Tupone, and the amount of out of state money Democrats are spending to try to unseat Mackensie .
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian is generally racist and false. Bernie is an easy mark for phony and/or biased stories.
ReplyDeleteChatGPT, Does Bill Gates fund The Guardian?
"Yes, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides specific grant funding to The Guardian."
The Guardian has a left center bias but is factually accurate. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-guardian/ I have no problem with the Bill Gates grants. It is one of few news sources with no paywall.
DeletePerhaps there is a reason for not having a paywall…. Doubt people would pay for such riveting reporting.
Delete"The Guardian has a left center bias but is factually accurate."
DeleteOopsie. I love when "own goal" yourself. Silly little tubby. Carry on. You're always good for laughs.
I heard from one of Bob’s campaign staff that he was brought on to try to rescue a losing campaign. They aren’t confident they can turn things around because of Bobs list of scandals.
ReplyDeleteI believe this story is a desperate attempt to change the subject especially with more damaging information coming out.
I always believe everything anonymous people say. I will repeat this comment as fact at every opportunity.
DeleteThank you for bringing clarity to the issue.
Bernie --Whats going on with the court case for Brooks? When is the hearing on the mother-in-law issue suspose to happen? Hopefully before the election
ReplyDeleteMackenzie is always bragging about how broke he is. Who, then, paid for his plastic surgery ?
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian LOL
ReplyDeleteIt says he never worked a day in his life outside politics. Sounds like Bernie Sanders.
ReplyDeleteOr sleepy Joe or Shumer
DeleteLet’s be fair about politicians these days who have never held “real” jobs…..neither party has a monopoly on career politicians. Thats a big part of the problem these days. Ryan M is a Trump bootlicker and has never had a job; Brooks has so much baggage he probably needs a luggage cart to get around. What a choice we have.
DeleteMackenzie is smarter than this Brooks when he’s sleeping, never mind when he’s awake. He supposedly embellished his resume, BROOKS STOLE MONEY FROM HIS FAMILY!!! The choice isn’t hard for me.
ReplyDeleteMany career politicians have never worked a day in their lives. Mackenzie included. This is true. You can cite several examples across the Lehigh Valley from both parties. It's far too common.
ReplyDeleteIt’s time Justin Simmons comes forward and tells the public why he and fellow arch-conservative Ryan Mackenzie had such a severe falling out.
ReplyDeleteTell us more.
DeleteBob Brooks is a Socialist.
ReplyDeleteThis is irrelevant MacKenzie is toast. The Republican party will be hit by a blue tsunami in 67 days, and Ryan will be washed back to Macungie. The massive budget deficits, unconstitutional tariffs, and an illegal war he supported lost my vote.
ReplyDeleteN'yuk, n'yuk...as if he ever had your vote!
DeleteWhere did you see this letter from Ryan Mackenzie to the reporter? Did he or his campaign share it with you directly? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteHis campaign sent it to me after I published my story. The reporter obviously was playing games.
DeleteWhat?! Someone lied on a dating app?! That's the first time anyone has ever done that!
ReplyDeleteFour observations, based only on the post and update:
ReplyDeleteThe MacKenzie campaign spokesman’s initial response, in this post, was solely that the previous work was only a passing mention. If there is documentation of the work history as presented later, why was that not part of the first wave retaliation? It might have saved the blogger and many commenters time and stress. Or was the initial response compressed and edited as printed for the blog?
In the blog post update, the statement about the Guardian appearing to be biased is joined by the conjunction “but” to the statement that the Guardian may have gotten its facts wrong. Conceptually, the second statement does not counteract the first. I believe it amplifies the first, and the conjunction should be “and.” By using “but, “ it makes it sound like getting the facts wrong is an extenuating circumstance for being biased. Or just add a “not only” near the beginning of the sentence.
Buried Lead: MacKenzie had two jobs, apparently approximating a single full time equivalent, that we do not yet know about.
When you say you have four observations, it would help the reader if you iterate them, one-by-one. Let me respond to the extent I understand you:
Delete1) The initial response posted in the Guardian article was very obtuse. I had no idea what Aurand was trying to say. Now he may have said more and his campaign obviously did, but the reporter fails to disclose that in his story.
2) Yes, the conjunction should be "and." The story was both biased and inaccurate.
3 &4?) You are suggesting something here, but I'll be damned if I have a clue what you are trying to say.
“Fat finger” between points three and four. Suggesting that there are two jobs held that we readers do not know about. Guardian/DCCC seems like they saw a job citation and claimed that it was false, which claim now looks to have been refuted. In the course of correcting that, we hear about two other jobs. Would we like to know them? The campaign statement and Mr. MacKenzie’s own statement use slightly different phraseology in describing the work..Were they each full time? We’re they concurrent? That is all.
DeleteThe two other jobs MacKenzie was working "At the same time" are probably in politics or campaigns which is why he doesnt actually say what they were.
DeleteFourth, this whole effort by Guardian and /or others reduces the election process to a conflicted morass of distorted reality. By the way, the Tinder age issue was hashed out two years ago in the previous campaign. Please tell me you have something other than the word of an opposition political party.
ReplyDeleteOh, now I see Point 4.
DeleteIf only Lisa Boscola had succeeded Charlie Dent this congressional district would be way better off than since that time
ReplyDeleteYes, the whole world would be a better place and all dreams would come true.
DeleteI don’t know about all my dreams coming true, but I would take Lisa B all day long over Wild, Mackenzie, or Brooks. Had she entered this race, I think she woulda won handily…in May and November. Mackenzie’s in a big polling hole and Brooks is…well….ick. Nobody's perfect but at least Lisa isn’t a party-line-toting, far left/right extremist, with outstanding civil court issues that appear scummy.
DeleteBernie, arent you going to publish the list of "Referals" and documents he MacKenzie said he attached so the people can view?
ReplyDeleteNo. It has been clearly established that the Guardian misrepresented the facts. I am very disappointed in what I previously had bookmarked as one of my favorite daily reads.
DeleteThanks for your honesty . The challenge these days is finding credible news sources.
DeleteBut you ran faster than Hussein Bolt to publish a phony story by a comically fake news outlet. Stick to trashing your old girlfriends. What an idiot you are.
DeleteDid you pull a muscle trying to spread the phony story as fast as you could? Sloppy sloppy sloppy.
DeleteI think you meant Usain Bolt. But your point is correct.
DeleteWho cares about his Tinder profile. Now you find a Grindr profile - that would be news.
ReplyDeleteThe Congressman is a political ally of many who contend that elections asre "rigged" or suspect despite volumes of evidence to the contrary. The Congressman, to the best of my knowledge has not denounced those folks.Seems sanctimonious to demand a retraction in this situation. Guess it depends on who is doing the "misrepresentation."
ReplyDeleteGotta say that all the talk about Politicians not working a real job is wrong. Many politicians on both sides work very hard. Many local politicians receive little or no income and spend lots of hours on Government. I may disagree with their decisions, but I respect the work ethic of many elected officials. Maybe those who make these claims should take the time to find out what these officials actually have to magage- in addition to all the criticism.
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly true of school board members, who get nothing but grief. It is also true of borough council members and township supervisors. They are basically volunteers and do spend a lot of hours. It is once you get to the rarefied air of city and county office that you start getting people who basically do nothing. But even there, some are very dedicated.
DeleteWe have one of the biggest state governments in the country. Our state reps and state senators are paid over a 100k now. With per diems and a car it’s really a lot more. Plus they get a pension and gold plated health care. I don’t think very many of them are killing themselves lol.
Delete