Thaddeus McCotter

McCotter was born in Detroit, Michigan, and is a 1983 graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School in Redford. His mother, Georgia Joan McCotter, was the city clerk of Livonia.{{cite web | url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=596067412 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801015629/http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=596067412 | url-status=dead | archive-date=August 1, 2012 | title=House Session: May 19, 2003 | publisher=C-SPAN | date=May 19, 2003 | access-date=August 7, 2011 }}

He received a B.A. from the University of Detroit in 1987 and a J.D. from the same school in 1990.

McCotter had a private law practice and was a Schoolcraft College trustee before being elected to the Wayne County Commission in 1992. While on the commission, he worked to change the county charter to require that new taxes require the approval of two-thirds of the Commission and 60% of voters.

McCotter was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1998. As a state senator, he helped apportion the U.S. Congressional district from which he was subsequently elected in 2002.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

• Committee on Financial Services
• Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
• Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
• Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade

• Congressional COPD Caucus
• House Sovereignty Caucus (co-founder)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Shortly before the midterm elections in November 2006, McCotter made a $250,000 contribution to the National Republican Congressional Committee. After the elections, when the Republicans became the minority party in the House of Representatives, McCotter was elected chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking post among House Republicans. The other Republican seeking the post was Congressman Darrell Issa of southern California.

McCotter was a member of both the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership and the conservative Republican Study Committee.

In May 2007, McCotter, along with 55 other Republicans, voted for a bill written by House Democrats aimed at stopping energy price gouging, against the wishes of House Minority Leader John Boehner, who labeled the bill "as pointless political pandering".{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053102102_2.html | title= Boehner leads effort to polish GOP brand | newspaper = The Washington Post| date=May 31, 2007| access-date=October 14, 2009 | first=Jonathan | last=Weisman}}

McCotter was a supporter of the United States' involvement in both the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. In his 2011 book Seize Freedom!, he wrote that the wars "were never separate wars; they have always been battle theaters in the War for Freedom."[http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Thad_McCotter_War_+_Peace.htm Thad McCotter on War & Peace], On the Issues.

On September 22, 2008, McCotter became the first Republican in the House of Representatives to oppose the $700 billion Paulson bailout plan, calling it "American socialism".{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} A week later, he and 132 other Republicans voted against the bill.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

At the end of July 2009, McCotter introduced a bill to allow pet owners a $3,500 tax deduction for pet care costs.[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3501: H.R.3501 – Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006214413/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3501: |date=October 6, 2013 }} Bill Text 111th Congress (2009–2010) Library of Congress.

The bill, called the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act, was criticized by Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center as "the poster puppy for all that is wrong with the tax code."Howard Gleckman, [http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2009/12/01/happy-act-the-poster-puppy-for-whats-wrong-with-the-tax-code/ Happy Act: The Poster Puppy for What's Wrong with the Tax Code] Tax Policy Center. December 1, 2009.

McCotter supported union-friendly measures including collective bargaining agreements for government jobs and card check, although he later said his vote for the so-called card check method was a mistake.[http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/08/04/michigans-mccotter-keeps-critics-allies-guessing/ Candidate profile: Michigan's Thaddeus McCotter keeps critics, allies guessing], Des Moines Register. August 4, 2011.

McCotter was elected in November 2002, defeating Democratic Candidate Kevin Kelley of Redford, to the 108th Congress. He was reelected in the 2004 Congressional elections. McCotter ran unopposed in the 2006 Republican primary. His opponent in the November 2006 general election was Democrat Tony Trupiano, a progressive radio talk show host from Dearborn Heights. McCotter, Trupiano, Libertarian Party nominee John Tatar, and U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee Charles Tackett met only once for a recorded League of Women Voters public forum in mid-October. In radio and direct-mail advertisements, McCotter criticized Trupiano's position on illegal immigration, and he was reelected with 55 percent of the vote.

In November 2008, McCotter defeated Democrat Joseph Larkin, Green Party candidate Erik Shelley, and Libertarian John Tatar. McCotter won 51 percent of the vote to Larkin's 45 percent.{{cite web|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/house/map.html|title=House of Representatives Map – Election Results 2008|work=The New York Times}} In November 2010, McCotter defeated Democrat Natalie Mosher with 59 percent of the vote to Mosher's 39 percent.{{cite web|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/house|title=House Map Election Results 2010|work= The New York Times}}

{{main|Thaddeus McCotter 2012 presidential campaign}}

In May 2011, McCotter confirmed that he was considering a run for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20110524/NEWS15/110524015/McCotter-gets-serious-about-possible-bid-president?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE|title=Rep. Thaddeus McCotter gets serious about possible bid for president|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=May 25, 2011|access-date=May 24, 2011}}[https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/05/24/rep-mccotter-ponders-2012-presidential-run/?mod=google_news_blog Rep. McCotter Ponders 2012 Presidential Run], The Wall Street Journal. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.

By late June, sources indicated that McCotter would enter the race.{{cite web | last=Burns |first=Alexander |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58168.html |title= Thaddeus McCotter to file for president Friday |work = Politico |date=June 30, 2011 | access-date=August 7, 2011}}

On June 23, 2011, a McCotter representative bid $18,000 for a site at the Ames Straw Poll Auction in Iowa.[http://theiowarepublican.com/home/2011/06/23/thaddeus-mccotter-creates-chaos-at-straw-poll-auction/ "Thaddeus McCotter Creates Chaos At Straw Poll Auction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626142210/http://theiowarepublican.com/home/2011/06/23/thaddeus-mccotter-creates-chaos-at-straw-poll-auction/ |date=June 26, 2011 }}, The Iowa Republican. June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.

On July 1, 2011, McCotter announced that he had filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a candidate for president.[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303763404576420132232884332 "Michigan GOP Rep. McCotter Unveils Presidential Bid"], The Wall Street Journal. July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.

On July 2, 2011, McCotter announced his candidacy at WAAM Freedom Fest in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, outside of Detroit.{{cite news | title= Thaddeus McCotter 2012 announcement is unusually understated | work = Politico | last= Barr | first= Andy | date= July 2, 2011 | access-date= July 3, 2011 | url = http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58259.html }}{{cite news | title= Little-known Republican McCotter opens White House bid | publisher = Reuters | last=Whitesides | first= John | date=July 2, 2011 | access-date = July 3, 2011 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-campaign-mccotter-idUSTRE7602Y120110703}}{{cite news | title = Thaddeus McCotter jumps into presidential race. Thaddeus who? | work = The Christian Science Monitor | last = Guarino | first = Mark | date = July 2, 2011 | access-date = July 3, 2011 | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2011/0702/Thaddeus-McCotter-jumps-into-presidential-race.-Thaddeus-who }}

Throughout his campaign, commentators suggested that McCotter's lack of name recognition nationwide would hamper his chances of winning the nomination. In opinion polls that included McCotter, he received less than one percent and he came in last place in the August 2011 Ames Straw Poll. On September 22, 2011, McCotter announced the end of his campaign for the presidential nomination, and said that his exclusion from presidential debates had hindered it. Given the lack of media coverage of his campaign, McCotter called the end of his presidential campaign "death by media." He said he would endorse Mitt Romney and would run again for his 11th congressional district in 2012.{{cite web|title=McCotter drops long shot bid for GOP presidential nomination | work = The Detroit News | url=http://www.detnews.com/article/20110922/POLITICS03/109220448/McCotter-drops-out-of-race-for-GOP-presidential-nomination | access-date = October 20, 2011}}[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/09/thaddeus-mccotter-presidential-race-drops-out/1 "McCotter drops W.H. bid, endorses Romney"], USA Today. September 22, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

In April 2011, McCotter was the only member of Michigan's 15-member congressional delegation who did not confirm he was running for reelection.{{cite web| url= http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/04/17/news/doc4daa5c9302a82349463583.txt| title= Most of state's congressional delegation to seek re-election| date= April 17, 2011| access-date= April 20, 2011| work= Morning Sun| archive-date= March 15, 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120315225128/http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/04/17/news/doc4daa5c9302a82349463583.txt| url-status= dead}} He indicated interest in running against incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in 2012, but in May 2011 announced that he would not campaign for the position.[http://www.detnews.com/article/20110515/METRO/105150322/1409/McCotter-won-t-run-for-Senate "McCotter won't run for Senate"] The Detroit News. May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.

After announcing his intention to run for reelection, McCotter was expected to win the Republican nomination easily, but on May 25, 2012, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced that he had failed to submit enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the August 7 primary ballot. Although McCotter had submitted 2,000 signatures, the maximum permitted by Michigan law for congressional primaries, a preliminary review indicated that fewer than the required minimum of 1,000 were valid. According to a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's office, several of McCotter's petition signatures were duplicates. Michigan election law stipulates that if duplicates are found, both the original and duplicate are ruled invalid. McCotter had the option of running as a write-in candidate in the primary election or as an independent in the general election if he failed to qualify for a primary ballot spot.{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Kathleen|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20120525/NEWS15/120525063|title=Thaddeus McCotter may not appear on election ballot|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|access-date=May 26, 2012}}[http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/breaking_congressman_thad_mcco.html "Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter short on signatures for 2012 bid to retain his seat"] mlive.com May 25, 2012

At the time the apparent fraud was uncovered, McCotter was on a congressional trip to Taiwan. On May 26, a source within McCotter's campaign told the Detroit Free Press that McCotter conceded that the signatures would be ruled invalid, and that he was considering a write-in effort.{{cite news|last1=Gray|first1=Kathleen|last2=Laitner|first2=Bill|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20120527/NEWS15/205270569|title=U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter to consider a write-in campaign in GOP primary race|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|access-date=May 27, 2012}} McCotter confirmed this to Nolan Finley of The Detroit News, adding that he did not understand what happened with the signatures on the petitions.Schultz, Marsha. [http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120528/POLITICS02/205280328/1022 State looks into possible fraud in McCotter petition signatures foul-up]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The Detroit News, May 28, 2012.

Later that day, state officials announced in two separate reviews that more than 85 percent of McCotter's petition signatures were invalid. The Secretary of State's office said its review revealed only 244 of 2,000 signatures were valid. Numerous petition sheets appeared to have been copied—in some cases, as many as three times—and in some cases a different canvasser's name was attached to one of the copies. Michigan elections director Chris Thomas conducted his own review, and said there was evidence signatures from 2010 petitions had been cut-and-pasted onto the 2012 sheets.Schultz, Marisa. [http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120529/POLITICS01/205290388/1022/POLITICS Just 244 of 2,000 McCotter signatures valid, petition review finds]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The Detroit News, May 29, 2012. Thomas also said that McCotter had only turned in 1,830 signatures, and all but 244 were invalid. His office's review revealed that dozens of petition sheets appeared to have been copied in what he described as an "unprecedented level" of fraud.{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Kathleen|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20120529/NEWS15/120529029|title=All but 244 of McCotter's 1,830 submitted signatures were invalid; official calls it 'unprecedented' fraud|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|access-date=May 29, 2012}}

Late on May 27, the Secretary of State's office announced that it found the potential fraud egregious enough to ask state attorney general Bill Schuette to look into the matter. In an op-ed that ran in the May 29, 2012, Detroit News, McCotter announced he would mount a write-in campaign in the Republican primary for his seat. He also acknowledged that the signatures in question were indeed invalid, based on his own legal team's review. Likening himself to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, McCotter said that he was running a write-in campaign to "clean up my own mess."McCotter, Thaddeus. [http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120529/OPINION01/205290318/1022/politics McCotter: "You clean up your own mess"]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The Detroit News, May 29, 2012.

On June 2, McCotter announced that he was ending his bid for reelection and would leave the House at the end of his term. In his statement, he said that he felt obligated to fulfill his duties in Congress and assist Schuette and Johnson in getting to the bottom of the petition fraud. These obligations, he said, made mounting a write-in bid for Congress impossible. "One can't clean up a mess multitasking," he said.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/mccotter-opts-against-write-in-campaign/2012/06/02/gJQAVM4CAV_blog.html McCotter opts against write-in campaign] The Washington Post, June 2, 2012. McCotter was the first sitting congressman since the late 1940s not to qualify for his party's primary.Nichols, Darren A. [http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120526/POLITICS01/205260338/1022 McCotter's spot on GOP August ballot in question]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The Detroit News, May 26, 2012.

A month later, on July 5, The Detroit News reported that McCotter had spent much of the time since his presidential campaign failed writing a television pilot script for a comedy/variety show starring himself, to be called Bumper Sticker: Made on MoTown. It featured characters with the same nicknames he used for members of his staff and a guest appearance by conservative commentator S. E. Cupp. "They take pot shots about McCotter's ill-fated bid for the White House while spewing banter about drinking, sex, race, flatulence, puking and women's anatomy", the newspaper wrote.{{cite news|last=Schultz|first=Marisa|title=TV pilot an outlet for Rep. McCotter|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120705/POLITICS02/207050379|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=July 5, 2012|access-date=July 6, 2012}}

On July 6, 2012, McCotter resigned from the House. He said:{{blockquote|[T]his past nightmarish month and a half have, for the first time, severed the necessary harmony between the needs of my constituency and of my family. As this harmony is required to serve, its absence requires I leave. The recent event's totality of calumnies, indignities and deceits have weighed most heavily upon my family. Thus, acutely aware one cannot rebuild their hearth of home amongst the ruins of their U.S. House office, for the sake of my loved ones I must "strike another match, go start anew" by embracing the promotion back from public servant to sovereign citizen.}}

He also wrote:{{blockquote|I do not leave for an existing job and face diminishing prospects (and am both unwilling and ill-suited to lobby), my priorities are twofold: find gainful employment to help provide for my family; and continue to assist, in any way they see fit, the Michigan Attorney General's earnest and thorough investigation, which I requested, into the 2012 petition filing.}}

While McCotter was not suspected of any wrongdoing, several of his staff members were charged with crimes.Blake, Aaron (July 6, 2012). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/thaddeus-mccotter-unexpectedly-resigns-from-congress/2012/07/06/gJQAfxqWSW_blog.html Thaddeus McCotter unexpectedly resigns from Congress by Aaron Blake]". The Washington Post. District Director Paul Seewald pleaded guilty to falsely signing a petition and was given two years of probation. Deputy District Director Don Yowchuang pleaded no contest to ten counts of felony forgery and was given three years of probation.[http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/01/18/2-ex-mccotter-aides-sentenced-in-election-scandal 2 Ex-McCotter Aides Sentenced In Election Scandal], Detroit.cbslocal.com, January 18, 2013. Scheduler Lorraine O'Brady pleaded no contest to five counts of falsely signing a nominating petition and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. District Representative Mary M. Turnbull pleaded no contest to the felony of committing an illegal act and was sentenced to two years of probation and one day in jail.Gus Burns, [http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2013/07/ex-thad_mccotter_aide_receives.html Ex-Thad McCotter aide receives no jail time for role in petition fraud scandal], mlive.com, July 23, 2013.

McCotter's resignation left the 11th district unrepresented until the November elections, when Democrat David Curson was elected in a special election to finish McCotter's term.{{cite web|last=Trujillo|first=Mario|title=Michigan Rep. David Curson's campaign wins him a brief tenure on Capitol Hill|date=December 10, 2012 |url=https://thehill.com/capital-living/new-member-of-the-week/136604-michigan-rep-david-cursons-campaign-wins-him-a-brief-tenure-on-capitol-hill/|publisher=thehill.com|access-date=December 31, 2012}} Republican Kerry Bentivolio succeeded Curson in January 2013 as the representative of the redrawn 11th district.Pergram, Chad (November 7, 2012). "[https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bentivolio-will-succeed-mccotter-but-not-just-yet Bentivolio will succeed McCotter, but not just yet]". Fox News.

In January 2014, McCotter launched Thaddeus McCotter's Freedom Asylum, a radio program on FM 92.7 & AM 1400, The Patriot in Detroit. It was canceled by June 2014.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

In June 2017, McCotter served as an election observer in the Puerto Rico political-status referendum."Rep. Young to Serve as Election Observer in Upcoming Puerto Rico Political-status Referendum". US Fed News. June 15, 2017. McCotter regularly appears on the John Batchelor Show radio program, on Cumulus Media, across the United States.

• Seize Freedom!: American Truths and Renewal in a Chaotic Age, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2011
• Bumper Sticker: Made on Motown (unfinished television pilot)

McCotter is a practicing Catholic.

{{cite web|url=http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CMI37915|title=Representative Thaddeus G. 'Thad' McCotter (MI)|publisher=Project Vote Smart|access-date=October 14, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214182550/http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CMI37915|archive-date=December 14, 2006}}

In December 2005, McCotter joined with several other Congressmen to form the "Second Amendments", a bipartisan rock and country band set to play for United States troops stationed overseas over the holiday season. He played lead guitar. In June 2006, the band played at President George W. Bush's picnic on the White House lawn, where Bush was quoted calling McCotter "that rock-and-roll dude".

{{cite web| url= https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060615-17.html| title= President and Mrs. Bush Attend Congressional Picnic|date=June 15, 2006| access-date= October 14, 2009}} McCotter was once in a band called the New Flying Squirrels.Puchala, Jessica. [https://archive.today/20130209151200/http://www.wzzm13.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=95536&catid=82 Stones keyboardist jams with Michigan's McCotter, other House members.] WZZM 13. July 17, 2008.

{{Portal|Biography|Michigan|Politics}}

• List of federal political scandals in the United States

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/representative-thaddeus-mccotter/mccotter-strike-another-match-go-start-anew/10151111945933132|title=Strike Another Match, Go Start Anew|first=Thaddeus|last=McCotter|website=Facebook |access-date=August 16, 2012}}}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikinews category}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070328182347/http://mccotter.house.gov/ Congressman Thaddeus McCotter] official U.S. House website
• {{C-SPAN|1003595}}
• {{CongLinks | congbio=m001147 | votesmart=19847 | fec=H2MI00037 | congress= }}
• [http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_12+P20003109 Campaign finance reports and data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007092415/http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_12+P20003109 |date=October 7, 2013 }} at the Federal Election Commission (presidential)
• [http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/candidate.php?id=N00013808 Financial information] at OpenSecrets (presidential)

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Category:1965 births

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