Who is Bob Etheridge? The quick but incomplete answer is that he is — for the time being, anyway — a Democratic congressman from North Carolina.
The answer is incomplete because it needs to be supplemented by the fact that he is also someone who, when politely addressed on the street by a student, reacts by physically assaulting him.
Check this out (and thanks to Andrew Breitbart for posting the clip):
President Obama is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism. The idea, I think, is that he regards his election not as an expression of the will of the people — a determination that might alter tomorrow with the alteration of our national fortunes — but rather as a sort of divine dispensation, without of course involving anything so plebeian as actual divinity. To put it somewhat paradoxically: It’s election as a state of election. And it seems to be a Democratic handicap. A student asks a public servant (yes, I know it sounds quaint) if he fully supports the Obama agenda and the reaction is a combination of anger, contempt, and physical abuse.
“Who are you? Who are you?”: Rep. Etheridge kept asking the student that. But the real question is why Bob Etheridge still holds his seat.
Who you? Who you….? And who do you think you are to approach and actually speak to a congressman? You are nothing but a peasant, boy!
The lunatics are running the Federal asylum. It seems clear, that since the (s)election of Obama, that Washington players have become alot more aggressive/crazed.
Am I imagining this?? And another thing. I am not a lawyer, (thank heaven for small favors) but it is obvious that this student was assaulted for daring to ask a public rep a question.What charges can be brought against him? Anyone?
Not a pretty picture! No defence can wash this away. The student should have answered the question thus, Congressman I am a voting citizen trying to assertain your position on issues critical to my choices. The more important issue Congressman, you are my employee.
This is the flip side of guys like Senator John Kerry saying, “Do you know who I am?”
Kind of pathetic. LOSER!
I already submitted my request and I can tell you that I got creative with it. http://etheridge.house.gov/Contact/Speaking.htm
You forgot to post contact information for the Office of Congressional Ethics:
https://oce.house.gov/
Office of Congressional Ethics? What is that? They, at this moment, are passing laws to dismantle that inconvenient thing.
Congressional Ethics? Is that not an oxymoron?
In this context, their was a very, very telling interview with Nancy Pelosi, recalling when, as the little daughter of Baltimore mob/political boss “Fat Tommy” d’Alesandro, she was so very, very impressed by the streets being cleared for Speaker Sam Rayburn’s motorcade. What impressed her was the power- all those people having to make way for a mighty politician. And so last March we were treated to the spectacle of Queen Nancy with her clown gavel bulldozing her way through protesters to ram Obamacare down their throats- figuratively trampling the insolent peasantry beneath her Prada heels.
Etheridge- a former NC school superintendent, BTW- shares some of that same New Versailles disdain for the proles.
Yep…that’s just what I was thinking, thank you for putting it into words.
You know you expect that kind of reaction when politicians are asked about questionable behavior that could show them in a poor light. I guess supporting the Obama agenda now has the same status of tapping your foot in an airport bathroom. “I did not have legislative relations with that man, Mr. Obama”
Or could it be that Rahm and Nancy sent out a swarm of congressional loyalty testers and this kid was mistaken for one of them?
In addition to giving the video wide dissemination, the assaulted student needs to press criminal charges against the congressman. Let him try to explain away his violence to a judge.
Assault, false imprisonment, possibly kidnapping . . . and this clown gets a pass. They really are demi-gods under the divine reign of Barry I.
You have the comedian Al Franken in the stairwell, a host of Democrats from the Congress walking passed protesters to vote on what we know now is a ridiculous health care bill, (remember, somebody spit on me but the the cop following him didn’t see it…poor baby) and this fine piece of entertainment. Unless you are from the state or district that voted for this, then just call him master and he can refer to you as servant. Remember when if use to be the other way around.
Servants get pay, we pay our masters.
We work our butts off to pay our masters to exploit us. How pathetic and masochistic are we?!
MSM calls Tea Party people angry, but they WON’T SHOW THIS.
If you are as offended as I am about assault of a college student while asking the same type of question that Charlie Gibson asked Sarah Palin on national TV, CALL ETHERIDGE’S OFFICE TODAY AND LET HIM KNOW. 202.225.4531.
As it happens, I live in Rep. Etheridge’s district in NC. His office will be hearing from me today, and I will be voting for his opponent, Renee Ellmers, in November.
If anyone had grabbed my son’s hand like that Bubba I would have let him hold a couple of knuckle sandwiches.
Who the hell does this clown think he his?
Oh that’s right, the adults are in charge of washington DC now.
Exactly my sentiments. My reaction to him, had he held my wrist like that would have been ” I am a citizen voter. If you don’t let go of me in two seconds I will physically make you my bitch.” Two…One…SNAP!!!
The only problem is that the video camera would be the only thing keeping me from spending the rest of my life in jail as a result. And I’d be willing to bet it would get accidentally destroyed.
These people are thugs. They accuse with impunity, and have the cops as their allies. ENOUGH!
The thug has apparently fled DC. He is in his Raleigh office today. Actually he is out visiting today. The young fellow I spoke with there 919 829-9122 said he would pass my complaint along. He would not however tell me how he felt about working for a thug.
Call his Raleigh office today at least. Lord knows where the brute will be tomorrow. I don’t think it will be jail, but, we can hope.
Thank G-d for the “underground” press!
Now we see exactly why they want a “drudge” tax; and to shut up the only real press in America:
Debka
Drudge
PJ
Breitbart
realclearpolitics
newsmax
carolineglick
michaelsavage
imra
memri
jcpa
The msm is less than worthless because they put rubbish in your head…
Number One: Can you imagine if that second video had not been present? Headline: “Right-wing activist Student accuses Congressman of assault”. What do you think would happen?
Number Two: I have finally found an entitlement that I could be in favor of. Video cameras for everyone. After all there are video cams on lots of street corners and buildings controlled by companies or governments. I think the people should control a few.
Just popped the Congressman a note asking him if he assaults his constituents frequently, or only occasionally.
ARREST THE STUDENTS !
They try to question the legitimacy of the People’s Revolution !
Long live President Chavez !
ooops, wrong country…
Mr. Kimball: after Phyliss Chesler you are the second most pathetic blogger here..
So what are you trying to prove? some Dem congressman assulting
a student? what if it was a republican? what would you right.
This congressman is obviously a D…bag..
not one should be allowed such a viscous behaivior
Reps or Dems.. right about something that matters
Such as BP oil spill, Economy, jobs,Immigration,
our state of Finance, world economy, terrorism, write about
why the Israeli commandos murdered 9 people point blank..
come on let’s get real..
That’s right Miriam. Nothing to see here…Look! Over there! Jews! Squirrel!
Pathetic. A sitting congressman assaults a college student for asking a question and all you can do is bash Israeli?
Someone might mistake your sarcasm for sincerity.
It is not murder when:
1. They told them they were going to be boarded if they tried to run the blockade
2. They are stabbing you with knives and beating you with pipes
miriam has proven that she has no interest in what actually happened. She’s been corrected on this point a dozen times or more.
In miriam’s mind, all jews are evil, which justifies everything done against them.
Wow. I have followed PM for quite some time now. The trolls come and go – but Miriam here is one of the most interesting. Her first point when addressing this congressman who assaulted a student in front of a camera is “What if someone else did it? Huh? What about that?” As much trouble as I had grasping this rather interesting attempt at logic – her next attempt was even more fun. She took a stab at moral relativism by comparing this attack to everything bad that is happening in the world (war, oil spill et al). Neat rhetorical trick that – every topic is off limits for discussion if one can point to something worse anywhere in the world.
Hey Miriam – you might want to type your comments in word – run spell check and then cut into the comment block. Combining aimless ramblings with the inability to spell isn’t doing a lot for your credibility. You sure are fun to read though!
what would you right.
Miriam Rove is certainly one of the most pathetic trolls I’ve ever seen and it’s not like she doesn’t have stiff competition at PJM.
Keep hatin’ on them Jews, “Miriam.”
Yep, like old Helen Thomas did, finally, in a moment of honesty ‘Let the hate shine through’ so everyone may see.
Miriam you need to take a break from main street media and if there are any brain cells left use them to make better decisions …..
Miriam, its “vicious”; not “viscous”. And, dear, the Israeli commandos were attacked, viciously. Were they not to defend themselves?
Sweetie, I would just have torpedoed the whole ragtag raghead bunch and watched them drown. They were in the process of aiding and abetting Hamas, which has sworn to destroy Israel and has attacked Israel countless times. That destruction process can work two ways, honey!And, were I Bibi, I would have offered to pay the UN a fine for polluting the Mediterranean.
Miriam, I am going to write this slowly, so you can understand it. There is NOTHING more important than when elected officials become so arrogant, so unresponsive to the citizenry, that they take offense at a citizen asking their positions on issues.
Not only did he take offense, he felt no compunction about physically assaulting, knowing, KNOWING mind you, that there would be no consequences from his peers in Congress. None. There are no longer any restraints on their power.
We suffer tyrants. Our Republic has died.
Now tell me again how Israeli police doing this or that even comes close. I couldn’t care less at the moment! You may be willing to forfeit your freedom, because you support their alleged issues, but I shall not!
thank goodness for PJM and Internet outlets that do the job that the MSM wont.
In my opinion the Rep is drunk.
I agree a long late lunch with a few martinis.
I agree. I can understand the Congressguy wanting to know who is asking him a “cute” question, but his reaction by going physical is beyond the pale. At this critical moment his judgment is warped and considering everything we “know”, time of day, speech not slurred, etc., I’d say a couple of adult beverages with lunch were probably his undoing. Not a felony, maybe, but an unwelcome glimpse into who the real Bob Etheridge is. Career-killer, that one.
they do not think that a person who has violated the law and is being questioned by Arizona Law Enforcement should be identified, but a law abiding citizen in D.C. Different story.
Now that is a keeper comment!
Scott Rasmussen will undoubtedly soon poll the race. The results should be interesting. Bob Etheridge may have just committed political suicide.
I was watching this with a friend who sees this video differently than “evil democrat beating up on poor little college students” and after talking to her, I’m inclined to agree.
Is Rep. Etheridge correct that he has a right to know who is asking him questions? (either way, it seems polite) Are these kids part of his constituency? Further, since the students were obviously wanting to be kept out of the video, did Etheridge have a right to keep these kids in the video so they would also be identifiable? After talking with her, I’m not sure that Rep. Etheridge was totally in the wrong.
Obviously, he should know better than to put hands on anyone & should have just walked away but did he have the legal right to demand to know who he was talking to and where they were coming from? These kids were saying they were just doing a project but they wouldn’t give names or where they were coming from.
Does Rep. Etheridge have a record of outrageous behavior or could this be a simple one-off from a man having a bad day?
Your argument makes little sense. A seasoned politician like Bob Etheridge should have simply shrugged his shoulders and answered with a fairly well prepared, ho-hum response. There was no reason whatsoever to justify losing his cool. If this gets him this upset and out of control—God help us if he must experience a real crisis.
Well lets see. They were assaulted by a congressman for asking a question about his support for the presidents agenda. And then asked who they were in a manner that would make me hesitate to tell my name to this powerful man who just assaulted me.
A Rep should not fear a question from anyone.
You raise some reasonable issues, but they are mostly dissolved by your central common sense observation, “Obviously, he’d should have known better than to put his hands on someone….” (sorry if that’s not exact)……the fact is that for whatever reason, he decided it was worth the risk to put his hands on the kid. So obviously, his judgment (under itsy-bitsy stress) isn’t too sound.
Sorry, I think your reasoning sort of smacks of “she’d wouldn’t have been raped if she hadn’t worn that skirt”….there’s no excuse for what the thug did.
When someone asks me a question in public, I don’t get to force them to divulge their identity at threat of physical harm. If I don’t care to answer them, I don’t have to, but I sure don’t have the liberty to grab them.
Quite frankly, if Etheridge has a “right” to know who’s questioning him, he forfeited that “right” when he raised a hand to the questioner. Assault & Battery constitute a rather serious felony. All other considerations pale before the depiction of a Congressman battering a private citizen in plain sight of others.
This man belongs in prison, not on Capitol Hill.
The questions stand on their own. Why would who is asking
make the response different?
Ehh I disagree. The guy is a public figure. He should by now be used to having people with cameras. But his first reacton to the question was violence. I agree they should have stated who they were. As for his constituents. As a politician you can never know who is or is not or will be a constituant. It could a have been a supporter. Them bein blurred I’m not sure..underage operhaps? At any rate he was in the wrong. If I with my. Job can’t get violent or even joke or anything…no matter what happens..neither can he
This is an amazingly meretricious argument. The Congressman has no “right” to know who is questioning him. They identified themselves as students and what they were doing. Shall they give him name, rank, and serial number before the paid public servant shall deign to answer their questions? Really?
He is free to walk away. He is free to say no comment. His very job depends at all time on winning friends and influencing people. He is NOT free to be rude to the Citizens, just as you are not free to be rude to your boss.
He is certainly not ever justified in assaulting a Citizen, because he finds their impertinence, their very existence, beyond the pale. How DARE they approach the Mighty Congressman?!?
Your friend’s argument was meretricious in the extreme, and you are a gullible fool to buy into it. The nearest equivalent I can think of is to blame the battered spouse. It is that purely contemptible!
What the hell is wrong with you?
As of noon 6/14: not one word in the msm (agenda machines) web sites:
msnbc
cbs
fox
cnn
abc
They are by definition worthless as…one can not refer to them as news organizations; they are: “agenda machines”.
It’s on ABC news website, posted at 1:08 (Eastern, likely?). Of course it’s waaaaayyyy down towards the bottom, underneath the “Recipes” section.
Well certainly Glenn Beck commented on it and made a point about these holders of the powah.
Fox did report this last night on Hannity’s program, and also showed the video.
I can’t wait to hear the chants at every speech he gives from now until November.
“Who are you!!!!!!!!!”
I am SURE he will hold plenty of town hall meetings to reconnect with his constituents!
Does anyone have the name and contact for the student. He was clearly a victim of the felony of assault and battery and should be aided in pressing charges.
I’m a little perplexed. I’m certain that if I as a 50 year old grabbed a college student and restrained him as the Congressman did in this video, that I’d be arrested for assault. Do they have different laws in D.C.?
No, they only have different laws for the lawmakers. Us peons/proles/serfs/slaves are not allowed to question our betters.
Etheridge’s behavior is truly repugnant. I urge all of his constituents to light up his phone lines today, and show up at the voting booth in November. And the young man who asked a simple question should press assault charges, because clearly that’s what this was.
Scratch (or quiz) a liberal;find a stalinist.So much for freedom of speech. Sue the hell out of this thug!
The simple answer, “…Of course I don’t support all of President Obama’s agenda, I am my own man and I represent the 2nd District of NC.” Walk away, no controversy. Apparently, the Congressman is worried about offending the White House.
Democrats represent the bureaucracy not the people. He came from the bureaucracy and will go back to it when defeated. That is his true loyalty.
Just called Etheridge’s office to lodge a protest.
This guy is nuts, and I also believe that his grappling with this student reporter also contains not a little queasy homosexual weirdness too. No member of Congress should be behaving like this. If this isn’t assault I don’t know what is, and this guy should not only not be a Representative, but should also be hauled up on assault charges and any other charges that are applicable.
I believe that he is the scion of the family that runs the longstanding Etheridge sea food restaurant on Nags Head, N.C. and, if so, he moved far above his level of competence when he quit working the “deep fryer” in their kitchen.
Wolla, I absolutely think what he did is wrong, but for the sake of the correct facts, Etheridge is not from the Outer Banks. He is a native of Lillington in Harnett County. For those who don’t know, Lillington is about 40 miles south of Raleigh.
The incident is in the great Jim Moran[D Va], Pete Stark [D CA}, & Bill Clinton tradition, violence on the edge. It doesn’t change when they vote either, it just manifests itself in another way, namely power over and contempt for the people.
No NY Times coverage on this one.
I wonder what this belligerent freak would have done if the student had been about 6ft 2in and 220 lbs.
You can nearly hear Etheridge thinking to himself “Who is this clown and why isn’t he grateful for all that I’ve done for him?”
Apparently no one does. I would have thought this would take off like wildfire.
I have seen a couple of posts on other sites chastising the victim. Makes no sense to me.
I was watching this with a friend who sees this video differently than “evil democrat beating up on poor little college students” and after talking to her, I’m inclined to agree.
Is Rep. Etheridge correct that he has a right to know who is asking him questions? (either way, it seems polite) Are these kids part of his constituency? Further, since the students were obviously wanting to be kept out of the video, did Etheridge have a right to keep these kids in the video so they would also be identifiable? After talking with her, I’m not sure that Rep. Etheridge was totally in the wrong.
Obviously, he should know better than to put hands on anyone & should have just walked away but did he have the legal right to demand to know who he was talking to and where they were coming from? These kids were saying they were just doing a project but they wouldn’t give names or where they were coming from.
Does Rep. Etheridge have a record of outrageous behavior or could this be a simple one-off from a man having a bad day?
(sorry if this is a double post but my previous entry seems to have disappeared.)
You’re joking, right? The old man attacked the young man.
The congressman is a public official in a public place; anyone with a camera has the right to photograph him or get him on tape. He has no “right” to know who is filming him.
“Is Rep. Etheridge correct that he has a right to know who is asking him questions? (either way, it seems polite)”
Yeah, because if someone doesn’t identify themselves on the street to your complete satisfaction, you have every right to assault them. It’s the polite thing to do, dont’cha know.
“Are these kids part of his constituency?”
And if they weren’t, the assault is A-OK in your book I suppose? Irrelevant question.
“Further, since the students were obviously wanting to be kept out of the video, did Etheridge have a right to keep these kids in the video so they would also be identifiable?”
So…they…could…be…identifiable…in…their…own…video? or something? WTH are you trying to say?
“After talking with her, I’m not sure that Rep. Etheridge was totally in the wrong.”
Sorry bub; assault is assault. He could have walked away at any time. He chose to escalate the situation.
“Obviously, he should know better than to put hands on anyone & should have just walked away…”
Glad you can see the obvious.
“but did he have the legal right to demand to know who he was talking to and where they were coming from?”
No. No he didn’t. But he had every right to simply turn around and walk away from them.
“These kids were saying they were just doing a project but they wouldn’t give names or where they were coming from.”
And?
“Does Rep. Etheridge have a record of outrageous behavior”
If he didn’t before, he sure does now.
“or could this be a simple one-off from a man having a bad day?”
I can guarantee, between now and November, this dude is going to have a helluva lot more ‘bad days.’ His own doing.
What’s the pay like as a member of Obama’s troll patrol? Good?
http://etheridge.house.gov/Biography/ “lifelong endeavor for better schools”-therefore–he is for our Children? Evidence shows otherwise. He was the STATE superintendent of instruction for NC for 8 years–obviously didn’t really mean anything to him.
I think the media will thoroughly investigate this.
They will throughly investigate, then trash, this college student just like they trashed Joe the Plumber.
that will take the heat off the rabbi who got helan thomas.
Way OT, but interesting and perhaps even worth a PJM thread:
Look what deranged lefty just had his “stopped clock” moment — Bill Maher.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2010/06/12/maher-media-way-too-stupid-understand-israel-palestine-conflict-so-they-s
The Honorable Bobby Ray Etheridge is outed as a totalitarian thug.
“Who are you? I have a right to know who you are!”
By what article of the Constitution is the right of government officials to demand identity of private citizens enumerated? Can you cite the article and paragraph, Congressman? Or do you need to attend remedial high school civics?
Bobby Ray, you are not royalty. The young man you assaulted is your boss – you need to show some respect, and you need to remember that you serve at the pleasure of the people. You are a public servant, not a public master.
Resign, apologize, and perhaps you can salvage some dignity. You should plead no contest to the assault charges and turn yourself in to go to jail to avoid being frog-marched in an orange jumpsuit. Then you can spend your time in jail in a remedial review Civics 101.
But you will probably exercise your royal prerogatives to keep your royal person out of jail, however richly you deserve to go there.
Shame on you, Congressman Etheridge. Resign now and save yourself a defeat in November.
Forget emailing him. It’s now only possible if you know zip +4 within his district.
Easy. According to the USPS’ own website, this is a valid Zip+4 for Bob’s district:
27601-1742
How do I know it’s valid for his district? I went to USPS.com and entered his own district office’s address in their “Zip Code Lookup” service.
Email away, fellow conservatives!
is really an introductory text
Assault is and always was illegal under the Common Law and justification for a civil suit. In addition, no parent I know would want another adult putting hands on their child. This is wrong. I don’t know what the civil damages would be but if the suit get filed before Nov. (since the limitations on assault and battery are exceedingly short) I am sure Mr. Elitist “Democrat” would not profit at the polls from that.
Why do members of Congress should be angry? You feel upset because it is often cornered by the many issues? Yes, it’s not necessarily the most senior congressmen such as Bob Etheridge easily angered. Whatever his problems, he should always be wise.
If one has been in congress so long that being questioned by citizens is enough to get you irritated, then it’s time for you to retire.
Being grilled by citizens is part of the job description.
One Lefty blog claims the congressman is “obviously” drunk. I think that is meant to excuse him and his actions.
The congressman, an elected official, could have passed by in silence or with a “No Comment,” yet he chose to be a thug. He must be connected to one of the big unions.
If he addresses his conduct ashown in this video at all, Etheridge will probably plead that he had a bad day, or that it was a momentary lapse in judgement. How would you feel about allowing your high school age son or daughter to visit Etheridge’s office on a school trip, or to be an intern there?
If Etheridge was, indeed, State Superintendent of Schools in N.C. for 8 years, one wonders what his contacts were like with the children there. Did he grab them by the neck and shake them like he did this student, grab their hand and wouldn’t let them go when asked to?
More investigation need here, I believe.
Not GOP-so nothing for the MSM to report. ZZZZZZZZZZ
This is more proof that the violent, racist Tea Partiers are creating such an adversarial environment that a Congressman is forced to react to a simple question in this way.
If a Government Noble asked me for my name in a situation like this, I’d say “Joe the Plumber”. No good can come from having one of these bozos know your true and proper name.
As the ancient magicians always knew: if you have somebody’s True Name, you can do anything you want to (him).
Investigating a little further on the Web, I see that while there are very many people named Etheridge in and around Nags Head, N.C., Congressman Bob Etheridge was born much further South and inland, in Simpson county, N.C. I cannot find any connection between Congressman Etheridge and the Etheridge Seafood restaurant chain, so, I apologize for my mistake.
This is the comment I have left in a couple of other places…
I REALLY HATE TO SAY THIS…..
Each time I watch those videos I become less convinced that the congressman was entirely wrong.
Yes, he is a public servant.
He is also an individual with rights.
I’m not sure that I would react any differently if someone I didn’t know or couldn’t identify accosted me on a public street and shoved a camera in my face without telling my why.
I could make a strong argument that if a stranger is so close to me that I can grab his wrist, he is sufficiently in “my space” to be performing an offensive act justifying defensive action. The camera footage clearly shows that the “student” pursued the congressman.
I also have to wonder why the student’s face has been blurred. I suspect that the answer will involve some aspect of privacy. If a person is going to stuff a camera in someones face uninvited, that person must be prepared for the consequences. Man up, as it were…
I was ready to join the “holler-at-him chorus” (the congressman) but in fairness I cannot.
Are you a public figure, Chuck? Are you elected to conduct our nation’s business? If you are, then you better be able to either civilly respond or just walk away. Otherwise you have no business being there.
Even if you weren’t a public figure–especially if you aren’t a Democrat–if you were to hit, grab, and hold that kid like this you would be guilty of battery. And that kid would be well within his rights to stomp you to get away. Unless, of course, you were a Democrat Congressmen, in which case the kid can only grovel and wait to be released because the aristocracy have their own laws.
Of course you REALLY HATE TO SAY IT but you would have grabbed and man-handled someone asking you a question on the street just like the poor congressman. Perfectly reasonble reaction, couldn’t just keep walking – certainly it is imperative to find out who is asking the question even if you have to rough them up a bit to get the answer.
Of course, congressmen never have people come up to them and take their picture and ask them questions. That is so unusual to someone in their profession.
The apologists are out in force here!
Yes, a citizen has rights. On the other hand, a politician (i.e. a public servant; you may have heard the expression before) has an obligation to answer questions -posed by a citizen- about his policies, positions, and votes.
You, sir are not a politician. Can you grasp that simple difference? I doubt it, considering you (inaccurately) described the camera-persons action as “shov[ing] a camera in [Etherridge's] face.” No shoving was involved, nor was there an invasion of “personal space” by the camera-person. Feel free to cite exactly where that happened in the video.
Chucky then leaps off the deep end and claims that someone standing close to you (‘in “my space”‘) legally justifies assault. Um, no. Try asking someone who knows what they’re talking about next time. “Close” may be rude, but it’s not assault, nor does it justify assault. The responsible, adult answer would have been “no comment,” and keep on walking.
The question of blurred faces is a red herring, and as such should embarrass any self-respecting adult for bringing it up. The irony here is that Chucky wants the interviewer to “man up,” but excuses Congresscritter Etheridge for “punking out.”
Being questioned by strangers on the street is part of the job description for a congressman. If Etheridge has grown tired of that, then it is time for him to retire.
A) The kids had the right to ask the question, and even be filming, as they were on a public sidewalk, and I’m going to guess there were no notices about ‘no questions/no cameras’.
B) The question was fair of a senator. It doesn’t matter if they are of his district or not. It could simply be a polling service, or any other of dozens of reasons, such as a student project (btw, are they definitely university students? If they are under 18, there may be a legal reason why their faces are blurred for news display).
C) The congressman did have every right to ask who they are, and failing a response, either 1) walk away, or 2) say “I won’t answer without some ID, since I want to make sure my comments are taken in context” (reasonable, I would think) and then get an answer or walk. Under no circumstances, unless he credibly felt physically threatened (and seriously, how many times have reporters of all stripes walked after him and shoved mics and cameras in his face?), should he have laid a hand on that student. Had he pushed his hands out, and asked for his space, I’d have been ok with it. Knocking the camera down, and then grabbing the student (how can he be pursuing the congressman when he’s being held by him?)- the wrist is bad enough- but by the neck? The congressman was in the wrong in all respects here. As the elder, and experienced statesman he’s supposed to be, he should be held to the highest standard possible, and he failed.
Everyone who is giving him the benefit of the doubt should ask themselves what they’d be thinking if a) it was themselves, b) is was their kid. Heck, what if it’d been a young woman he’d grabbed around the back of the neck like that?
As for the trolls (Don, #71) saying people here would cheer if a conservative did it – Get your head out of y… if a conservative did it, a) it’d be all over all of the msm outlets, including Fox and b) Most conservatives would be calling for his ouster, at the least he’d be immediately censured and made to grovel like mad, and he’d be a lame-duck and loose his incumbancy in the next primary he faced.
And as for the guy saying they needed to be more professional and identify themselves…Maybe, and maybe they do have an editor handing their butts to them right now, and maybe they aren’t even in a journalism dept. Does it matter if they screwed up, or even were trying to be mildly confrontational? No. Epic fail of self-control on the congressman’s part, period. If a celebrity had done that, or had a body guard do so, someone would be under arrest right now, or at least held for questioning.
Before we talk about mandatory weapons training, how about a self defense course for students?
No puny student on a Washington DC sidewalk had better ask a big, burly Congressman like Bob Etheridge, apparently a recent graduate of the Barack Obama school of ass kicking, a question. Especially so incendiary a question as, “How are you today?”
Those, boys and girls, sound like fighting words if ever there were some. However, while a sidewalk altercation makes for good youtube video, it doesn’t do anything for the reputation of the men and women in Washington who represent the rest of us. Actually, to me, it kind of reinforces the belief that the Democrats in Washington, when all else is said and done, are pretty much just bums from the old neighborhood who employed ACORN vote thieving tactics to get cushy jobs with colossally great healthcare plans and retirement packages which a lot of Democrats it seems are about to make use of.
What must really make role models like Bozo Bob from North Carolina fighting mad is the fact that most Americans don’t like thug, student-assaulting law breakers representing them. LIkewise, the fact that Obama not only is trying to pack the Supreme Court with women sporting Marxist philosophies, but also has packed his administration with social deviants like NAMBLA worshippers (school safety Czar Kevin Jennings being one) and tax cheats, one of which heads Obama’s IRS, is not the kind of thing you want honest voters to find out. If they still can afford the trip to the polls after Obama squanders trillions of their tax money on paybacks to supporters, masquerading as Jobs Bills and the like, well, gall darn, they’re liable to vote you out.
That’s, of course, assuming a congressman lacks an excuse for his lying, thieving, cheating, bullying antisocial ways.
“Obama didn’t grease my palms with enough Stimulus money. He promised me five million and I only got 4.5.” Sorry, that excuse doesn’t resonate with lil’ ol’ blond haired, blue eyed Rachel.
Or maybe bully Bob simply got up on the wrong side of the bed angry because, by refusing to entertain environmental ideas from private individuals who refuse to kick back money to election funds, Obama’s oil balls are heading for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Maybe North Carolina voters think it’s time big Bob knocked some sense into Obama.
Can’t Obama call time out on his graft and embezzlement schemes long enough for an honest all out attempt and national effort to solve this nation’s dirtiest environment disaster ever?
Look, at this point in time, I don’t want to play the blame game, but when the government bureaucrats in Obama’s Minerals Management Service are caught checking out porn sites instead of keeping tabs on offshore drilling sites, surely a little blame is in order. Now, if I saw a couple of Minerals Management people on the streets of Washington, that doesn’t mean I’d bad mouth them, or call over a brutish North Carolina congressman to beat the crap out of them. It just means I’d question whether the job of President of the United States is proving too big for a guy who’s better at stealing votes and taxpayer money than keeping his own people in line. I’d question one other thing, too. Maybe it’s less a question and more statement. No, it’s a question. Doesn’t the rampant law breaking in the Obama administration set a bad example for our children? There’s a theory that if the President does it, it’s okay for me to do it. Shouldn’t Barack set a higher standard? I mean, he said that’s what he was going to Washington to do. Did you not hear him say that? Did he not brag that he’d have the most ethical and transparent administration ever, one respectful of the law? Let’s face it, I can understand how a Kennedy could kill a girl and get away with it. After all, Ted was a Kennedy and the drowning did happen under Massachusetts law. But now it’s 2010.
Shouldn’t good examples be set? Shouldn’t the Washington police arrest a congressman who assaults a student in broad daylight? The evidence is there on video. If it worked for Rod King, it should work for a white college student. Shouldn’t it? Especially considering how open and honest Barack and his Democrats promised they’d be. This makes them look bad. Does it not? Moreover, Obama and Michelle shouldn’t fail to criticize the beat down that the college student got. I mean, I can kind of understand why Obama and Michelle encouraged the show, Family Guy, to practice the process of toddler destruction when they mocked Trig Palin’s Down-ness, and said, “there’s more than one thing about the Palin family that looks dumb.” A hurtful comment for sure (which I’m sure Michelle regrets making), but politics is a rough and tumble business as Trig Palin found out.
All in all, if I were a voter (and I am) and a Democrat came up for election, well, I feel the Democrats have made such a mockery of the ideals upon which this nation was founded that I’d mark my ballot and kick their asses out the door post haste.
I know the last sentence sounded like the end of my piece, but there’s something still bothering me about the Etheridge violence. As I sit here wearing just a towel, and consider the unprovoked violent actions of a man who assaulted a polite college student, I can’t help but wonder if Bozo Bob takes his anger home with him at the end of a typically corrupt Democrat day. Just consider this. Bob’s got a wonderful wife, Faye, who just might ask him a question at the dinner table that sets him off like a rocket. “More peas, honey?” That might qualify for a broken nose. In Bob’s mind, “can you take the garbage out” might be the perfect recipe for a knuckle sandwich.
Battling Bob also has three beautiful children, David, Catherine and Brian. Granted, they’re grown, but so was the college student with the question, “How’s your day?” Call me overly concerned, but what if, say, with the whole family gathered around the Thanksgiving table, grown daughter, Catherine, for example, asks her dad to pass the aforementioned peas? I can just hear Bob, angry at the college football game he just watched on TV, and the announcer he just cursed out, come out with something like, “You insolent little bitch, I just witnessed the interception that cost us the game, and you ask me to pass the peas. (I can see him standing up). You’re trying to get my goat. Maybe I should take this spoon and shove it down your pretty little throat so you shut up for the rest of the day.”
It seems quite plausible, and now I’m more than a little frightened for the family of crazy Congressman, Bob Etheridge. Or is the operative word, crazed?
And, heavens to Betsy, I haven’t even considered the five grandchildren. What if one starts crying? Or makes a noise Bob Doesn’t like. Or asks Grandpa if he fully supports the Obama agenda.
I wonder if the student ever got his cell phone back? Not only is the congressman an assaulter, he is also a thief.
We will remember in November.
He was able to download the video from the cell phone, so I would assume he was able to get it back.
One day this Congressman is going to grab the wrong guy and he’s going to get himself decked for it.
This is the only campaign video Candidate Ellmers will need for November. And she won’t even have to pay to have it broadcast.
Quick, somebody run up to Nancy Pelosi and ask her if she supports the Obama Agenda! And wear a cup, for goodness’ sake, she hits low!
Democrats have always been fans of “one man, one vote, one time” for this very reason. If you let the peasants vote more than once, they might start to think they are as good as you.
Feudalism had nothing on these aristocrats.
Actually, their current philosophy reminds me of the Ankh-Morpork version of “One Man, One Vote” (from the Discworld series of fantasy satires by Terry Pratchett).
The city of Ankh-Morpork is run by “The Patrician.” He is The Man, he has The Vote.
I wouldn’t mind Vetinari, as he’s both devious AND competent (Iran? Pheh…easy). Heck, at this point, I think I’d take Bill ‘n Opus too…
And yet, if the boy had manned up and replied “I am so-and-so. My friends and I are….” to the Congressman’s legitimate question perhaps they would have had their interview. No, he went from ‘I am just a student’ to ‘We are just…’ which I think demonstrates his complete surprise that one can’t just stick a device, mike or flipcam, in a man’s face and gets instant access. It does, after all, look so easy on TV.
And perhaps if the Congressman had remained calm instead of grabbing away the student’s phone, grabbing his wrist and bending his arm back, and then grabbing him by the scruff of the neck in order to pull the poor kid into a headlock, all the time demanding to know “Who you?” like some Soviet secret policeman, perhaps the student might not have been so scared to tell the Congressman who he was and why he was asking a ‘public servent’ a perfectly legitimate question?
Exactly. That kid was just askin to be assaulted.
Little punk had it comin’, right?
Do I even need a /sarc tag?
Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes did this for decades, and he was not allowed to be man-handled. Why isn’t MSM demanding the Congressman’s resignation?
Dingle-douche Sean Penn went to jail for doing this. Camera’s are everywhere, cell phones, palm sized video camera’s, street corners, satellite’s, etc. This particular Congress-creep could have just kept on walking if he didn’t want to answer the question, but chose instead to confront, and assault a private citizen in a public forum. He should be arrested, charged with assault and battery, and made to answer for his documented crime in front of a person wearing the black robe!
Sometimes, it’s the old guy who’s the punk.
This is why I won’t allow myself to surprise a pol with an interview or attend a tea party. I give the college student kudos for restraint.
Some elitist schmuck grabs my phone, pokes me in the chest, screams in my face, I have this innate reaction to provide a right cross across the jaw, followed by a knee to the gonads, possibly followed by a camera swung against his temple or bridge of his nose.
I don’t tolerate rudeness in a schmuck well, especially a politician.
I wrote about this on my blog today.
Everyone’s wrong in this thing. Etheridge for being touchy feely and the alleged students who think they can sneak attack a congressman and play citizen journalists.
Sure, I think what they did was great, but they need to handle themselves more professionally. They need to state who they are and what they’re actually doing. Saying, “We’re students doing a project” isn’t going to cut it.
If I had done that when I first started out in newspapers my editor would have my head on a plate.
http://www.whatburnsmybacon.com/dems_attack.php
I wrote about this on my blog today.
Everyone’s wrong in this thing. Etheridge for being touchy feely and the alleged students who think they can sneak attack a congressman and play citizen journalists.
Sure, I think what they did was great, but they need to handle themselves more professionally. They need to state who they are and what they’re actually doing. Saying, “We’re students doing a project” isn’t going to cut it.
If I had done that when I first started out in newspapers my editor would have my head on a plate.
Bob Etheridge:
“I have seen the video posted on several blogs. I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction [ but most of all that this was taped and I was outed for who I really am...oh, and that my MSM cohorts were not able to do better spin control....damm this internet! ] and I apologize to all involved,” Etheridge said in a prepared statement.
That’s too funny. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a pass.
But can you imagine if Sarah Palin did this instead? The liberals and the Democrats would be wetting themselves with excitement!
The fascist arrogance of the Democrats — who regard the rest of us as tax cows and good Germans who defer to every hubris of government authority — will be their deserved undoing in November, and hopefully in 2012. “Who are you to question my loyalty to the Obama agenda, you little twerp?” was Etheridge’s repeated question. One also must wonder: Does he like young boys? Notice the practiced embrace of the student. Maybe he’s in the same league as Barney Frank, but without a lisp.
Where is the DC DA? When something this eregious happens against a citizen, the DA should automatically step in, investigate and act accordingly.
Many seem to be so inured to our rude world as to think it normal. The questioner should have identified himself. Common courtesy was being requested, not humiliation.
So servants don’t deserve respect, in re some of the comments posted here?
The questioner was clearly trying to be provocative and the Congressman, who does deserve the respect of anyone we meet on the street, who does deserve respect as a member of Congress, who does deserve respect as a servant, allowed himself to be goaded into this response.
I love the way liberals automatically seek to blame the victim, when one of theirs gets in trouble.
Asking a question is not being discourtious.
Just ran this by my attorney (who happens to be my wife): she said it’s clearly assault.
I feel much calmer today. I actually think I could confront a congress critter like these two guys did and not react to the violence perpetrated against me.
Now if I could just afford to travel to Washington and stay a few days.
Waaaah !!!!!
A Democrat touched me !!!
What a bunch of punk whiners you clowns are.
Had this been a Repub, Y’all would be cheering ‘im senseless
You characters :: ))
I actually have a lot of sympathy for that viewpoint. There’s far too much cry-baby victimhood. “He allowed his spit to touch me!” “He called me thuh N-word!”
So, at what point would this be an actual offence? When the student accosted the congressman? No, you say.
When the congressman wrestled with the student? Piffle, say you.
If the student had retaliated by punching the congressman? Nope, just robust political debate. You think?
Classic liberal response. Don’t deal with any of the issues, just claim, without evidence, that everyone who disagrees with you is a hypocrite.
Does any one care? Besides the fantastic people of North Carolina? Well, I hope so, but there needn’t be any more than that if the great people of North Carolina are as I remember them from my years there. They are capable and willing to do what needs to be done. If I remember North Carolinian’s correctly, they may even run this lame a– peoples advocate out of the state.
See how Obama’s third Reigcht works. The violence ala Black Panthers.
The real tragedy here is the lost opportunity for comedy. Imagine if the victim had channelled Monty Python and yelled “Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system! COME TO SEE THE VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM! ‘Elp ‘elp I’m bein’ repressed!”
PLEASE: Some Youtube Warrior, splice the two scenes together and post a link here.
As citizens, those college students had the right to ask a question of someone they recognized as a public official (an employee of the public, if you will). The congressman didn’t have to answer, although the correct thing to do would be at least to throw out some boilerplate pablum as an answer and walk away. Instead, Etheridge reacted angrily and grabbed the kid, first by the arm, and then by the neck (and it looked like it hurt), demanding to know who he was. I half expected the congressman to demand next, “Who sent you?” That is sheer paranoia at work, and I don’t see how anyone could trust this guy to represent them.
after many years of witnessing people under the influence of booze, there is no doubt that after being at a fund raiser, the Congressman was under the influence of alcohol. You can see it in is eyes and speech and his actions.
These 2 students need their outstanding student loans paid by Etheridge, or they should file assault charges demanding so. They were not paparazi, and how much have celebs paid out over the years? Getthim kids!
Drunk-ass redneck from N.C. need’s his ass kicked up between his eye-balls.Who the hell votes for this trash???
“President Obama is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism. ”
What?! He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow. To wit, he never told any of his Senate colleagues to “go f*** yourelf.”
Give me one example of him flying off the handle.
Compare his demeanor to, say, Sarah Palin who can’t wait to blame the media for her latest pimple.
I’d have loved to have been the college student asking Etheridge a question. The headline would have been quite different: “Congressman in Hospital after Altercation with Student.”
If that peice of garbage has laid a hand on me, I’d have broken it off and shoved it up his rectum.
Doesn’t tell them to go eff themselves? Really? How about him flipping Hillary the bird? How about him repeating the same gesture when making that crack about “lipstick on a pig”. He didn’t “say” it. He gestured it… to women.
If he does it to me, as a man, I have the option to kick his ass or not. A woman has no such option, so when he flips them off, it is bullying women.
He’s a pig.
#81 was directed at #79. Accidentally mis-clicked on cancel comment when clicking on name field.
If approached on the street by name by a person with videotape and microphone is it inappropriate to ask there name? or to expect more than “a student” in response to a request for identification??
Perhaps he anticipated that no matter what happened it would be used to disparage him, not be matter of fact.