Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC)

[lawrocket 3]

Yep. Etheridge had said it's unacceptable.

But - there are others who view this as an opportunity to say how horrible the right wing is. If Palin had done it, then there'd be hell to pay with them and the GOP trying to defend her.

Do we attack beggars who bother us for change?
What about anti-war protestors?
Census takers are annoying - shall we eat their livers with some fava beans and nice chiantis?

It's unacceptable behavior.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[rushmc 23]

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Yep. Etheridge had said it's unacceptable.

But - there are others who view this as an opportunity to say how horrible the right wing is. If Palin had done it, then there'd be hell to pay with them and the GOP trying to defend her.

Do we attack beggars who bother us for change?
What about anti-war protestors?
Census takers are annoying - shall we eat their livers with some fava beans and nice chiantis?

It's unacceptable behavior.

exactly
I find it hard to swallow that some say the full video is needed

Only if the student took a swing at Etheridge first and I dont think that happened

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Andy9o8 3]

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eat their livers with some fava beans and nice chiantis

I find it hard to swallow

Well then you should stick to beer.

[rushmc 23]

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eat their livers with some fava beans and nice chiantis

I find it hard to swallow

Well then you should stick to beer.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[lawrocket 3]

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Only if the student took a swing at Etheridge first and I dont think that happened

Nobody has alleged it. The DNC Talking Points do not allege it. They do nothing more than say it was a hatchet job of RNC lackeys out there to provoke a response on video and got it - as if Etheridge had no choice in the matter but to act as he did.

The thing that is sad is that we don't accept that excuse from our kids but it is acceptable for, apparently, some adults...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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The thing that is sad is that we don't accept that excuse from our kids but it is acceptable for, apparently, some adults...

We generally don't accept "Johhny did it first" from our kids either, but boy that line has been used by both sides of the aisle on these forums...

[rushmc 23]

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The thing that is sad is that we don't accept that excuse from our kids but it is acceptable for, apparently, some adults...

We generally don't accept "Johhny did it first" from our kids either, but boy that line has been used by both sides of the aisle on these forums...

When it comes to personal physical violence? Where?

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[quade 4]

Just saw a story on CNN about this. I find it fascinating we still don't know who the people are that confronted Etheridge even though he's apologized and offered to meet with them.

Will be interesting to see how that aspect plays out.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Andy9o8 3]

It's a classic example of what I learned the hard way as a young adult, and what I've tried to teach my own kids: you can be right as rain, and the other guy can be dead wrong; but if you lose your temper and react like a dick, it's game over: you lose.

[lawrocket 3]

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Just saw a story on CNN about this. I find it fascinating we still don't know who the people are that confronted Etheridge even though he's apologized and offered to meet with them.

Will be interesting to see how that aspect plays out.

Why, Paul? Would it be different to you if they were gay rights advocates looking for opinions on the change to Don't Ask Don't Tell versus a couple of kids working on a Political Science project versus member of YAF? If you view it differently then you advocate disparate treatment - a nation of men, not laws.

I'll put it this way - what would you think of some NRA member who objected to Michael Moore's interview tactics?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[quade 4]

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I'll put it this way - what would you think of some NRA member who objected to Michael Moore's interview tactics?

Precisely because if you don't know who the "kids" are, then it leaves their motives in question. If the kids came forward, said they were for instance, students from GWU, taking journo 101 with Professor Jernofski and we could confirm that, then we'd know for a fact it wasn't a set up.

The question you have to ask yourself at 7:15 pm eastern time tonight is why we don't know who the kids are? There's no compelling reason for them to stay in the shadows if it wasn't a set up.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[sundevil777 102]

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Of course the party with no standards will not have a problem with his conduct.

Carbon footprint is a Democratic issue, so wastefulness in a mansion by a Dem is fair game. Family values and sexual conservativeness is a Republican issue, so extra-marital homo-eroticism in a rest room stall by a Repub is fair game.

Your remark, however, is just a stupid cheap shot.

Wrong. What would be stupid is to think that libs would not go out of their way to prove my point in this thread - libs are very eager to give Etheridge a pass, because the interviewers were rude, because the video was edited, etc. It won't matter what we see on an unedited video, libs will want to excuse it and say it doesn't matter. The party of no standards shows itself quite clearly. It would be stupid to think anything else would happen.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[sundevil777 102]

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I'll put it this way - what would you think of some NRA member who objected to Michael Moore's interview tactics?

Precisely because if you don't know who the "kids" are, then it leaves their motives in question. If the kids came forward, said they were for instance, students from GWU, taking journo 101 with Professor Jernofski and we could confirm that, then we'd know for a fact it wasn't a set up.

The question you have to ask yourself at 7:15 pm eastern time tonight is why we don't know who the kids are? There's no compelling reason for them to stay in the shadows if it wasn't a set up.

It matters not what their motives were. Not one little bit. Just like it doesn't matter what the motives of a 60 minutes reporter are when they ask tough questions out on the street of anyone that doesn't want to answer them. They guy is a politician and knows damn well that people have a right to and will ask him questions at any time that he might be walking around on the street. He's lucky he didn't get his ass kicked.

Don't worry though, he won't face any consequences from the party of no standards.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[lawrocket 3]

Did you read my earlier post about the possibility of some scared kids not wanting to have the attention, be blacklisted, etc.? Do you think that they don't view themselves as being targeted after the DNC goes on attack?

You may not find it compelling. I can think of reasons. If they were right wing hacks then why haven't they pressed charges yet? That's what you'd expect.

There's a possibility that they are scared kids - a compelling reason for silence.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[quade 4]

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Did you read my earlier post about the possibility of some scared kids not wanting to have the attention, be blacklisted, etc.? Do you think that they don't view themselves as being targeted after the DNC goes on attack?
You may not find it compelling. I can think of reasons. If they were right wing hacks then why haven't they pressed charges yet? That's what you'd expect.
There's a possibility that they are scared kids - a compelling reason for silence.

If the kids where that scared, then why did they confront him the way they did? A reasonable person wouldn't approach another normal person like that on the street and not expect a confrontation.

Again, put yourself in the shoes of either party under a normal circumstance; both the "kids" and the congressman.

Would you ever stop a random stranger on the street, shove a camera that close to a person's face, start asking politically charged questions and not expect to have some altercation take place? That's simply not "normal" behavior. If the "kids" were scared of the consequences, so much so they blurred out of the faces and didn't attribute it, then why on earth would they have done it to begin with?

There is something odd about the entire circumstance. I can't think of a single "kid" that would do what they did to a complete stranger without thinking they'd be confronted.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Andy9o8 3]

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libs are very eager to give Etheridge a pass,

That's full of shit. Nobody's giving this guy a pass. Any random twit can take a cheap shot at "libs". What a childish game. People need to grow up.

[sundevil777 102]

Ambush journalistic interviewing is very common. Why do you pretend that it is not?

Etheridge is not a "random stranger". He is an elected congressman

Why does it matter if the kids expected a confrontation? That is part of ambush journalism interviews, and it is expected that the confrontation be verbal only. It gets people when they aren't prepared, off of their controlled environment. 60 minutes, Michael Moore, and many others of all political persuasions use it.

Etheridge is lucky he didn't get his ass kicked. I would likely have warned him that he had a couple seconds to let go before I would defend myself with overwhelming force. Of course it isn't really wise for a journalist to do that, but it sure would have been great to at least have the kids warn him they would retaliate.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[sundevil777 102]

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libs are very eager to give Etheridge a pass,

That's full of shit. Nobody's giving this guy a pass. Any random twit can take a cheap shot at "libs". What a childish game. People need to grow up.

Sure they are (giving him a pass). I understand that you don't want to recognize it for that. Libs don't even want to acknowledge the possibility that the kids did nothing wrong. Even after Etheridge apoligized, the focus of liberal thought is still on what the kids must have done wrong to incite the incident, even though Etheridge himself hasn't accused them of anything of the sort.

Yes, people need to grow up.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[quade 4]

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Ambush journalistic interviewing is very common. Why do you pretend that it is not?

I'm not pretending. The fact is though that it is the last resort of any serious journalist, not the first.

60 Minutes gave up on the tactic decades ago except in all but the most difficult cases.

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Etheridge is not a "random stranger". He is an elected congressman
Why does it matter if the kids expected a confrontation? That is part of ambush journalism interviews, and it is expected that the confrontation be verbal only. It gets people when they aren't prepared, off of their controlled environment. 60 minutes, Michael Moore, and many others of all political persuasions use it.

I'll agree with Michael Moore, but even then it's not usually the first tactic. Michael Moore is far more into the theatrics of showing up outside the corporate offices and staging an event than confronting someone cold. As I said previously, 60 Minutes very rarely if ever uses it any more.

Don't believe me? Google it.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[lawrocket 3]

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[
If the kids where that scared, then why did they confront him the way they did?

Because they were not afraid of a Congressman until after he held them, in effect, hostage.

Secind - they asked him a question. Not pull a knife or threaten to kick his ass. They asked hin a question and he went off. Let me tell you - my ex-wife would go off. I wasn't afraid of asking a question until she snapped once. Then, yeah, fear set in.

[Reply] A reasonable person wouldn't approach another normal person like that on the street and not expect a confrontation.

[kelpdiver 2]

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http://www.breitbart.tv/congressman-assaults-student-on-washington-sidewalk/



...and that's an assault.

having finally gotten home to see video feeds....

man, this was pretty weak stuff. When you write "assault" it definitely needs to be entirely lower case. I was expecting to see at least a punch.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Secind - they asked him a question. Not pull a knife or threaten to kick his ass. They asked hin a question and he went off.

Uh, it wasn't the question that set him off. It was the personal space invasion that came with it.

[DaVinci 0]

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That camera is dropped when the kid gets slapped, but it sure doesn't look like the congressman knocked it out of his hands. It just looks like the kid dropped it.

??????????

If I slap a guy and then that guy drops something... It is not a gigantic stretch to conclude that he dropped it due to being slapped.

Like it or not, hitting and grabbing someone is assault. Videoing and asking questions is not.

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I will say that if anybody ever approached me on the street, shoved a camera that close to my face and started acting as rudely as these kids did, I'd be tempted to knock the camera out of the way.

And you could... But you would also be guilty of assault.

[DaVinci 0]

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I'll put it this way - what would you think of some NRA member who objected to Michael Moore's interview tactics?

Great question.

It seems some only approve of this style of interview when it is aligned with their political views....

[quade 4]

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I'll put it this way - what would you think of some NRA member who objected to Michael Moore's interview tactics?

Great question.
It seems some only approve of this style of interview when it is aligned with their political views....

And some people presume too much, like, others approving of the unrestricted use of the tactic. But then again, I guess some people just read what they want to read.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver