Joe Sinsheimer

I'm relieved that Joe stepped up.

Updated with video, courtesy of the Dome. A.

I really admire the way Joe Sinsheimer does what he does. It'll be interesting to watch Mr. Merritt squirm and backpedal in the face of this new challenge.

Since Jim Black checked into an extended-stay facility in Lewisburg, PA the metaphors surrounding Joe Sinsheimer have been flying thick and thin. Guest number 50655-056 at the USP Lewisburg probably has a few choice metaphors of his own given that he once called a reporter "A sorry sack of s**t", a metaphor that was not forgotten by the NC Capital Press Corps.

Under the Dome wrote a piece called A new sheriff in town? noting that

Gary Pearce and Carter Wrenn agree that Joe Sinsheimer has become a force to be reckoned with in Raleigh.

Pearce called him Joe Sledgehammer saying that:

He’s honest. He’s not beholden to anybody. And he’s a hell of a good political researcher. He knows how to get information, and he gets it right.

Stronger ethics laws are great. But what North Carolina really needs to clean up politics may just be more Sledgehammers.

Joe Sinsheimer is continuing to do the hard work, pushing to get to the bottom of yet another stinky mess in the General Assembly. The Dome has a good take on the story:

I suspect that some of you know the mysterious pundit-turned-public-prosecutor, Joe Sinsheimer, but I don't. All I know about him is what I've read and heard over the past year. For example, Joe was featured this week on the State of Things (WUNC radio), which was reported by the Dome Blog today.

Sinsheimer first showed up on my radar in relation to Jim Black. He was on the case early and relentlessly, a bulldog, so to speak. He's often sought out by the MSM reporters, perhaps because he has a way of forcing dialog and putting elected officials on the spot.

His next foray into Democratic house-cleaning involved Representative Wright, where he called early and often for investigations and action. He apparently sent a letter to Speaker Hackney and, for whatever reason, Hackney felt compelled to respond. (I'm jealous. Hackney never answers my letters.)

And now Joltin' Joe is on a new trail of corruption, as evidenced by his calling out Verla Insko. Here's the text of the letter he sent Verla, posted on Squeeze the Pulp.