How can Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC2) think he can lay hands on someone for asking a question like that? Why did that question make him so angry? Look how much he believes in his own capacity and right to intimidate! Quite aside from the manhandling, where does Etheridge get the idea that someone who asks a question is required to divulge his name? Is he completely deranged? Does he not remember what a camera is? Has he never heard of YouTube? I bet he has now.
ADDED: Here's how WaPo's Dave Weigel minimizes the story:
But without any name or organizational support, just by riling up a member of Congress, the students have created the first conservative meme of the week. They seem to have learned from organizations such as ThinkProgress that any video of a member acting strangely, no matter how grainy, is grist for the Web.And Weigel is aptly embarrassed by the first comment:
You refer to this dismissively as "video of a member acting strangely." Sorry, this isn't so easily dismissed. It's video of a member acting thuggishly, committing an assault and battery. And it's video of a member who has the arrogance to claim he has a right to know the identity of someone who asked me a question on the street. He doesn't have any such right. What he has is the dangerous notion that he's exempt from the laws of the District of Columbia and from the dictates of a civil society. And by your so cavalierly dismissing his outrageous behavior, you're complicit.Of course, the big question now — for anyone with a Weigel-y mentality — is: Who's Rob_?
Posted by: Rob_ | June 14, 2010 10:52 AM...
MORE: This came in the email:
I'm Rob_(Rob gave me permission to copy this.)
I know your question at the end of the Etheridge post was facetious, but I figured I'd answer it anyway. I'm Robert Cantor, a retired lawyer and amateur photographer in Rockville, Maryland, unaffiliated with Andrew Breitbart or any other political or journalistic operation but fascinated both by Etheridge's outrageous behavior and the way it was covered in the media. Not only did Weigel mischaracterize it and treat it dismissively, but others like CBS chose to edit down the battery to eliminate Etheridge's very rough grabbing of the young man's neck as well as the repeated requests from the young man that Etheridge let him go. The New York Times, following the pattern of its coverage of Van Jones and Helen Thomas, waited to report anything about the incident until Etheridge had apologized, then made his apology the story and reported little about the incident itself. Thank goodness for Glenn Greenwald, who had the integrity to call for Etheridge to be arrested and the courage to call out the commenters to his post who defended Etheridge.
Posts
444 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 444 of 444Raleigh's Channel 11 late news had this on early in the show. The video clip was very short, but clear he was manhandling the guy, followed by his apology and comments from his opponent and the local Repub chairman.
I'm sure the whole district could see it.
I enjoyed all the quotes in this thread, Trooper.
As for this one:
"I wish that someone had told me about the problems of running a business; that I would have to pay taxes, meet a payroll, deal with government... I wish I had had a better sense of what it took to do that when I was in Washington." -
- Senator George McGovern
This goes back to something I said around 200 comments ago (wow): Requiring anyone who works for the government--legislator or bureaucrat alike--to have at least five years' experience in the private sector (preferably at the management or entrepreneurial level) would be very beneficial to our nation. (And term-limiting everyone back into those jobs after a short time would be the icing on the cake.)
Never thought I'd say this, but Greenwald nails the issue perfectly.
So which is the greater "assault":
a) Grabbing someone in the street, attempting a headlock, and taking his cell phone, or
b) Asking someone if they'd like to see some porn on your computer?
Care to bet which one gets prosecuted? Is that racism? Elitism? Both?
What are the rules on a Congressman resigning in North Carolina? Can the Governor (currently a Democrat) appoint a replacement? Can the replacement assume his/her predecessor's place on the ballot?
If the answer is "yes" and "yes", the Axelrod trolls should maybe switch gears. Because this is going to take Etheridge down.
Man, you know the shills are working overtime when even Glenn Fucking Greenwald is saying this Congressman committed battery and should be arrested.
Amazing. The lawyers, law professor, and legal commentators are all saying the same thing, but Ritmo is just smarter than all of us. He just KNOWS better. Why? There must be some instinctive, intuitive knowledge of law that only he possesses.
Seriously, this argument about battery is something that any 1L could clear up. But Ritmo keeps backpedaling without shame. At what point does humility kick in such that you admit that you're wrong? Does Ruth Bader Ginsburg need to get in here and correct you?
And then there's Garage, now making the farcical claim that Etheridge was assaulted. Hell, dude, even Etheridge isn't making such a claim. Fuck, at what point will you take a moment of self-reflection and think "Jesus, why the fuck am I expending such effort to justify this guy's behavior when even he won't defend it?"
While scrolling through over 400 comments about the definition of "assault" is just fascinating, no, really, perhaps we could cut to the chase.
I'm in Etheridge's district. I give not one shit about the legal definition of assault here. Sorry about that. I do, however, care that our representative in congress looks to be a ginormous, entitled, out-of-touch ass. I will therefore vote to remove said ginormous ass from office, and encourage others to do likewise.
You guys can argue semantics and law all you like. At the end of the day, it's the images that will count, and the images? They are very, very bad.
wv: bilisti - what Etheridge went on his questioners.
You know the solar flares must be heating up again.
Greenwald sees an assault and battery and calls it for what it is.
Bill Maher calls the media too stupid to understand the issues in the Palestine / Gaza / Israel flap ....
And still Ritmo chews up 25% of the comments denying what his lying eyes can see on 2 videos.
So. Did the kid get his camera phone back? Is that why it took a couple days to get these out and up?
And how was it it ended up in Etheridge's right paw?
Good night.
wv exporsig
What two young guys in suits did to Bob Etheridge.
JAL wrote: "And still Ritmo chews up 25% of the comments denying what his lying eyes can see on 2 videos."
And still doesn't realize Etheridge is the Representative of North Carolina's 2nd District. He never even bothered to check his geography, let alone the law and the evidence.
garage mahal said...
AC245\To ward off your bullshit, tell me precisely where in the youtube/weekly standard clip that shows the SEIU assault. Don't weasel out, you ticky-tack roof-running buck-tooth little rat, tell us at what time stamp the "assault" occurs.
Hey Chunky, I've already shown you leftard assault tactics. Get a grip on reality and just own up to the fact that you are a factually illiterate dirt clod, okay? Jesus, you are finished here. You are gasping for air and you have nowhere else to go. Your commentariat is a festering boil on the blogosphere.
I cannot believe that anyone is defending this member of Congress.
There's a useful test I try to use always. It goes like this: if the political event/issue/whatever happened the other way around, would you come to your defense or attack the way you do? In other words, would you make the same lame defenses if this member of Congress would have been a Republican?
The useful idiots here amuse me to no end.
400+ comments demonstrates what's wrong with our legal system. Hint: it's not the system.
And then there's Garage, now making the farcical claim that Etheridge was assaulted.
Eh, no I didn't. Not even close. I said he was an asshole and I hope he loses.
In other words, would you make the same lame defenses if this member of Congress would have been a Republican?
And, in fact, a vaguely similar act is in the news today, so you can judge in Real Time!
Linky linky MadMan?
GMay,
I think MadMan is referring to an allegation that Meg Whitman pushed someone, sometime, somewhere. I doubt if there is a video.
The problem is, there are too many comments in this thread (We know who to blame about that!)
Link.
Vaguely similar, interesting timing of the reporting.
BTW, the story of the NC Rep's shoving garnered about 2 column inches in the local paper. It may have garnered more coverage if it was a WI Rep was doing the shoving. But the only person I can picture shoving anyone from Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation (because we're all sooo polite, you know; heck, one of them is named Kind!) is Obey? Maybe Sensenbrenner? None of the others though.
Wow, $200,000? Is it possible to make a career of being shoved? Appears lucrative. (As long as you can make sure to get shoved by Republicans.)
Would it surprise anyone if the students got a similar buy-out? I imagine his campaign would pay it.
Vaguely similar? Yeah, I guess that's vaguely similar. Both were assault and battery cases. One is readily apparent, the other is an unproven allegation.
So we're bringing up something that happened 3 years ago as "in the news today". And this "news" is about allegations of assault and battery of which there doesn't seem to be any proof. And it certainly didn't involve any elected officials.
But hey, let's suppose for a minute that Whitman actually shoved an employee. That would be assault and battery. Textbook case. Don't even need to be 1L to know that.
But I'm sure Ritmo will be here any minute defending Whitman because no one was "offended".
In my opinion Etheridge needs alcoholism rehab/recovery.
Behavior + those baggy baggy eyes = convince me.
Methadras oozed...
"Seriously, old boy, your dementia ladened delusions sure are coming on strong lately. Listen, you rancid old fool, you could rub the last two functioning neurons you have left to form a coherent thought much less try and defend your leftard cohorts assault and battery. You're so mired in your repugnant ideology that you now need to go out of your way to manufacture a defense of the indefensible. You reap what you sow, dead-bolt. ya motherfuckin' betcha."
And the literary award for the most incoherent expression of rage and confusion goes to...the envelope please...."Methradras"
Now that Glenn Greenwald has manned up on the subject, even the gibbering loons over at the Huffington Post have finally managed to face up to the obvious, as well.
HuffPo columnist Adam Goldstein: "I don't care if it's a Republican operative--congressmen shouldn't assault Republican operatives. I don't care if it's an ambush interview--congressmen shouldn't attack ambush interviewers. I don't care if it's the ghost of Richard Nixon, foaming at the mouth rabid and wearing nothing but a placard accusing Etheridge of being of questionable parentage. No matter who this is, Etheridge doesn't have the legal right to put hands on him for asking a question."
HDHouse said...
And the literary award for the most incoherent expression of rage and confusion goes to...the envelope please...."Methradras"
I want to thank the leftard academy for giving me this opportunity to express my unmitigated rage at it. I especially want to thank Schtickmo, Garage McChunky, and how could I ever forget High-Dementia House for his snarky witticisms that almost always mean nothing and for constantly presenting me with material that he totally fabricates out of whole cloth. Without these priggish fools helping me along in my craft and making me a better, poignant leftard hater just by brandishing their ideology alone, I don't know where I'd be today. Thank you to them, my agent Jesus Christ, I'd like to thank God, and to my wife, who is sitting right there to the left because she is my rock star and I get to sleep with her every night. Thank you, good night.
Garage:
And then there's Garage, now making the farcical claim that Etheridge was assaulted.
Eh, no I didn't. Not even close. I said he was an asshole and I hope he loses.
Deepest apologies. It was HDHouse making that claim.
Methadras said...
"..thank the leftard academy for giving me this opportunity to express my unmitigated rage at it. . I don't know where I'd be today...."
Lost no doubt.
@Blue@9
unfortunately there is a difference between assault and battery. You perhaps should read up on it. your comments might not be so silly if you had some grasp of things.
My local NBC affiliate (nbc4la.com) also edited the clip down to just the wrist-grab and one or two "Who are you" seconds.
@Mike..
giving the entire thing far more time than it was worth...
garage mahal said...
Weekly Standard, Washington Examiner, a Youtube proving nothing, and a google search? I hope you ain't a lawyer! All pre-packaged bullshit right-wing talking points. Blah blah blah.
Keep laughing and posting, you racist, Jew-hating little turd. The more you talk, the more people get to see the real you.
I've had more support here than you have,you libelous little dipshit. To think I had a tiny sliver of hope for you debate even remotely honestly.
You've posted absolutely no evidence to support your fantasy, and absolutely nothing to dispute the evidence I've posted.
garage mahal said...
AC245\To ward off your bullshit, tell me precisely where in the youtube/weekly standard clip that shows the SEIU assault. Don't weasel out, you ticky-tack roof-running buck-tooth little rat, tell us at what time stamp the "assault" occurs.
Sorry, you racist, Jew-hating little turd, but I am under no more obligation to remedy your expansive ignorance than I am to remedy MUL's. I've posted the evidence supporting my claim and debunking your "rampaging Republicans" fantasy.
You can hunker down in your bunker and ignore it, but it's there for everyone else to look at for themselves. They can check the objective evidence I've provided, note the complete absence of any evidence you've provided, and then decide for themselves whether to believe your delusions or their own lying eyes.
They can check the objective evidence I've provided, note the complete absence of any evidence you've provided, and then decide for themselves whether to believe your delusions or their own lying eyes.
You got nothing dickface. You think a few opinion links from the fever swamps prove your point, but they don't. You have offered absolutely nothing to support your case. You made the claims that ACORN and SEIU were assaulting various people, but you can't provide jack shit to support it. A VIDEO CLIP ALONE PROVES NOTHING MORON. Why do you even bother? Are you sure politics and blogging is your thing? Maybe try something else. And again, I sure hope you aren't a lawyer, [for some reason I think you are, or think you are] because I pity the poor bastard that picks an absolute dunce like you out of the yellowbook.
You got nothing dickface. You think a few opinion links from the fever swamps prove your point, but they don't. You have offered absolutely nothing to support your case. You made the claims that ACORN and SEIU were assaulting various people, but you can't provide jack shit to support it. A VIDEO CLIP ALONE PROVES NOTHING MORON. Why do you even bother? Are you sure politics and blogging is your thing? Maybe try something else. And again, I sure hope you aren't a lawyer, [for some reason I think you are, or think you are] because I pity the poor bastard that picks an absolute dunce like you out of the yellowbook.
Temper, temper, Mr. Buchanan. I'm not even Jewish, so there's no need for you to unload all your rage onto me. Save some of your anger for the Jews you believe are occupying D.C.!
I made the claim that your rampaging Republicans fantasy was based wholly on your irrational hatred and had no basis in reality. Your inability to produce any evidence demonstrates my assertion was correct.
I also pointed out that, incidentally, Democrats are cheering on assault and battery cases, and provided a link to TPM to prove it (a visit to just about any of the left-wing sites that addressed this topic will provide further confirmation).
Finally, you insisted I remind you of various instances of SEIU and ACORN thuggery - despite the fact that many of them have been covered on this very blog (and that you've commented on them to laugh at the black man who was assaulted). Again, I provided a variety of links to evidence (as did Methadras, though I didn't check his links out) which backed up my claim.
Finding this sort of proof is easy for me to do, because my claims and assertions are grounded in reality, and there are objective facts to back them up.
Since the fantasies you're advocating are contrary to what happens in the real world, it must be very difficult for you to find anything to support them -- which is probably why you still have offered no evidence whatsoever that Republicans have, or would, excuse and cheer unprovoked physical assaults (as "righteous smackdowns") in the same manner that Democrats did in this instance.
I can't make you act grown up (you claim to be 45?) or act honorably in this situation and just admit you were wrong. You have to make that choice yourself.
Instead, it looks like you've chosen to act childishly by spamming the remainder of this thread with repetitive, bitchy, whining, name-calling comments in an effort to cloud the discussion and hide your inadequacies.
I made the claim that your rampaging Republicans fantasy was based wholly on your irrational hatred and had no basis in reality. Your inability to produce any evidence demonstrates my assertion was correct.
And, I asked if you up to the challenge, remember? I can provide cites that support my case. I did the google search on Althouse, there are dozens of hits. There are over 10,000 such hits on google. Is there really anyone on Althouse that disputes that SEIU thugs, or ACORN thugs gets erroneously brandished around? It's like, Soros paid commenters.
Finally, you insisted I remind you of various instances of SEIU and ACORN thuggery - despite the fact that many of them have been covered on this very blog (and that you've commented on them to laugh at the black man who was assaulted). Again, I provided a variety of links to evidence (as did Methadras, though I didn't check his links out) which backed up my claim.
Your only real source was a youtube clip of an altercation in St Louis that proves nothing. It is wildly inconclusive, and in fact, if anything, shows a SEIU employee [Reverend Elston McCowan] pushed to the ground first, which he was treated for a dislocated elbow. In the clip, there is no evidence he was Gladney was punched, or anything remotely that could be called an "assault", he was on the ground for 2 seconds! Literally, 2 seconds. He bounced up and was walking around talking to reporters, and mentioned nothing about being assaulted that night. I repeatedly asked you to point to the time stamp in your evidence of the assault, which of course you can't do, because it doesn't fucking exist.
So now that I've debunked your "evidence", do you still want the cites from me on SEIU/ACORN thugs erroneously being uttered here?
That's just not true garage. It was easy to find union thugs on youtube?
Right or wrong is so beside the point.
Everyone here knows that this will not go to trial. We can argue all day and night whether his status as a congressman is what makes it unlikely that this would go to trial or whether it is something else entirely.
I claim it won't go to trial because the "victim" already got the only thing he really wanted anyway: bad publicity for the congressman.
Plus, to stand before a court and claim that someone's (that someone being the person you accosted) physically harmless, non-sexual contact with you caused you to nevertheless feel offended takes a real big... what's the word? Oh yeah: Pussy!
I know the right is more sensitive these days than they will ever admit, but their continued interest in quaint things like dignity relegates their bitching about this to cyberspace and out of forums where they have to prove how "hurt" they were. Big men don't cry and all, you know. At least not in public. Behind their monitors, however... that's a different story.
But big people, if they had any self-respect, would admit that accosting others is not dignified behavior either. Kids should fucking learn to respect people, public space or not.
That's what I believe. Go ahead, knock it. I don't care. Pollo may be baffled by trying to figure out whether I actually have or lack convictions. But I find it equally baffling that he would propose that the letter of a law or even how things are commonly prosecuted is how morality needs to be defined.
Yes, it's a silly, awkward, unpopular stance I've taken. Deal with it. Also, try arguing against what I've said, based on what I said - and not based on what predetermined conclusions you feel should somehow be required.
Buchananite, you still offer no evidence to support your claims, nor any evidence to contradict mine.
Even Rick Ellison Ryan Wilson Thomas Ellers Ellensburg has your number:
Given that this was a Democratic Congressman assaulting citizens who are perceived to be right-wing, I obviously knew that some people would rush to justify what he did; that's part of the reason I posted this. But even I'm surprised by the extent of the eagerness to defend a clearly illegal and indefensible assault based on the political ideologies of those involved (just check the comment section for how extreme that mentality is, and I've seen it elsewhere). Some are honest enough to admit that because the victims here were right-wing advocates, they should be presumed to have provoked this and got what they deserved (who knew that the law of assault depends upon the political affiliation of aggressor and victim?), while others -- amazingly -- continue to fantasize about all sorts of events that they claim probably happened off camera to mitigate or justify the Congressman's actions, even though: (a) I linked to the unedited video above which shows that no such thing happened and (b) Rep. Etheridge has now issued a statement and not even he claims there were any such mitigating or justifying events that were concealed as a result of dishonest video editing. But still, the claim persists.
Some people obviously cannot accept that a Good Democrat could possibly do something bad to a conservative, and they'll continue to deny reality -- or just invent realities that don't exist -- to justify that.
Buchananite, you still offer no evidence to support your claims, nor any evidence to contradict mine.
So, for the last time, can you give me the time stamp in your link that shows the "assault" on Gladney? This should be so easy, the clip is only a few minutes long. You offered it, not me. Can't do it?
Tell ya what Ace, whip out your cellphone to take a picture of me and I'll be glad to steal it and show you how easily I could put you on the ground and/or ensure that wrist never functions properly for the rest of your life from that very position the congressman had.
The fact that GMay takes pleasure in entertaining violent scenarios, and equates the infliction of actual, lasting debilitating physical harm with being offended, says a lot about him.
For the record, the first definition of "offend" is this:
To cause displeasure, anger, resentment, or wounded feelings in.
I do not trust arguments about matters regarding self-control, restraint and the equality of all men before the law when they are made by someone so unhinged as to not perceive the difference between hurting someone's feelings and inflicting permanent bodily harm on someone.
But surely GMay believes such people are more fit to govern. Unbelievable.
Kudos to the honest lawyers upstream who admitted that some cases of battery are so trivial as to merit nothing more than a nominal amount. Perhaps receiving a dollar in exchange for provoking someone to jab their fingers into GMay's chest sounds like a profitable exercise to him. It also makes him a loser.
So now that I've debunked your "evidence", do you still want the cites from me on SEIU/ACORN thugs erroneously being uttered here?
(Since you've "debunked" all the "evidence", you should offer your expert services to the defense team of Elston McCowan and Perry Molens - the two SEIU Local 2000 staff members who attacked Kenneth Gladney - because they were charged with assault by the St Louis County prosecutor's office and are currently awaiting trial.)
garage mahal said...
So, for the last time, can you give me the time stamp in your link that shows the "assault" on Gladney? This should be so easy, the clip is only a few minutes long. You offered it, not me. Can't do it?
At this point, Tubby, you are nothing more than a willfully ignorant pig. A pig who deliberately wishes to see no evil, speaks nothing but evil, and pretends he didn't hear any evil. You've completely and utterly ignored the SEIU violent attacks on their own nurses union and the video I provided herein. You know how I know about this? I was given this video because I have a lot of friends and family in Dearborn. Two of my relatives actually work in this hospital and are believe it or not, SEIU members and I've repeatedly warned them about this mafia-run organization. Even your vaunted ilk have reported on it and I'm posting that for you to see the petty lies you utter and defend, you bloviating coward.
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=360BC72C48C9AFEBE59C4F4AD890CBCF?diaryId=5307
Also, here is the video I'm giving you again, so you can see with your own eyes the thuggery that these sub-human vermin employ and which you defend, you piece of rancid whale shit. Take a look at it again and this time move your crisco-ladened eyelids out of the way so you can actually see it this time, okay?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hznSuacEN_I
Not to mention this SEIU bussed in mob to attack on someones private property and terrorize a kid in his own home.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c3f_1274449476
You don't have a leg to stand on anymore, you worthless coward. Your cowardice is on display here daily at this point. Leave this country, it isn't for you anymore. Get out of my country. This country is made for real men made of real mettle, that isn't you. It doesn't need yellow spined defenders of leftard origins.
@HDHouse
unfortunately there is a difference between assault and battery. You perhaps should read up on it. your comments might not be so silly if you had some grasp of things.
Holy shit, are you for real? I'm the one who laid out the legal difference for you just a page back. Jesus, kid, the legal professionals are talking, so please STFU.
the two SEIU Local 2000 staff members who attacked Kenneth Gladney - because they were charged with assault by the St Louis County prosecutor's office and are currently awaiting trial.)
You cannot show me on the video where Gladney was attacked. Why is this so hard for you?
Buchananite, I have already pointed you to a variety of videos showing the SEIU and ACORN thuggery. They were not limited to the Elston McCowan and Perry Molens assault on Gladney.
Methadras has also provided several videos which he claims show additional attacks by SEIU members.
I've also pointed out that reality contradicts your claim that all evidence that the Gladney assault has been "debunked." Elston McCowan and Perry Molens, the two SEIU thugs who attacked Kenneth Gladney, were charged with assault by the St. Louis county prosecutor's office and are currently awaiting their trial.
My claims continue to comport with reality. Your claims continue to show how out of touch with reality you are.
You've still offered no evidence to contradict any of my claims. Nor have you offered any evidence whatsoever to support yours (despite my several requests that you do so).
Since we're at the point that all I'm doing is having to repeat myself (my claims are supported by evidence; you've offered no evidence to contradict my claims; you've offered no evidence to support your claims), I'll go ahead and repeat one other thing:
I can't make you act grown up (you claim to be 45?) or act honorably in this situation and just admit you were wrong. You have to make that choice yourself.
That you choose not to do so is exactly what I would expect from someone like you.
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