A video of Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) has gone viral on the web, and for good reason. Etheridge is shown walking down a street near the Capitol, when an anonymous, young reporter steps up to him and asks him if he “fully supports the Obama agenda.”
Real quickly, two things: 1. That’s an obviously stupid question, the equivalent, in its oversimplification of politics, to a bumper sticker. 2. Etheridge is a public servant and should answer the question anyway, since politicians shouldn’t answer only the queries they like.
Etheridge, though, instantly turned into Grampa Grouch and kept asking the reporter, “Who are you?”, then knocked the reporter’s camera to the ground. Then he grabbed the kid’s wrist, and kept asking him, “Who are you?” (to which the reporter says he’s a student who is “just here for a project”).
Etheridge comes across as a Top Grade arrogant a-hole who is used to having everyone kiss his, um, ring. Conservative bloggers are having a field day with the video, connecting Etheridge, of course, with every Obama-driven socialist evil under the sun. But you know what? Etheridge is getting what he earned. Particularly in today’s toxic political atmosphere, Etheridge can’t expect to act like Lord Snooty in front of a camera and get away with it. Not to mention that he essentially assaulted the kid, which I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of.
This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2010.
Frank, you crazy lunatic. Are you really suggesting you had anything to do with what John Grooms decided to write about today? Take your pills, dude.
And, as far as minimizing goes, you’re the A#1 cheerleader for the loons on the right. As far as your comments go, you can see no wrong unless it’s contrary to your always wrong politics.
Get a clue, a-hole.
What?
If you guys can’t see that was a right wing setup you are blind as a bat.
It was an ambiguous ambush style question that couldn’t possibly be answered briefly as they passed in the street and was designed to make him look bad.
Like “Do you still beat your wife?” “Answer yes or no.”
The proper response would have been to not even acknowledge the little scum bag’s presence.
If you think that is journalism then you will love Fox News.
Frank, if anyone’s lying to themselves it’s your crazy ass. Stop pretending to have any insight into what CLs writers are thinking, unless of course you plan to claim you’re psychic and even then I don’t want to hear your B.S.
DLP, I hadn’t thought that this was an ambush but knowing how Fox News treats other people on the street I wouldn’t be surpirsed. Why is the college student nameless? Are we sure he’s a college student? Who was behind the camera?
“If you guys can’t see that was a right wing setup you are blind as a bat.”
It probably was, but so what? That doesn’t give Etheridge any right to put his hands on that kid. Or is it suddenly acceptable to assault right-wingers now? I have no use for anyone who’d use the phrase, “the Obama agenda,” but that doesn’t mean I have any right to get physical with them. Etheridge managed to embarrass our state with this nonsense; I’m just glad he doesn’t represent Charlotte.
Check out the photos of the congressman taking the students camera phone and walking off with it – http://www.kooks.com/congress/1/Rep-Bob-Etheridge-D-NC-Attacks-Student-and-Takes-Camera-Phone.html
All involved are jerks.
Did any of you guys notice that the video was posted on the same right wing website that tried to setup Acorn with creatively edited ambush undercover video?
Right. He should have done like a teabagging republican senator – Larry Craig, and made the so called students go to a toilet stall where he hangs out. Nothing can be more disgraceful than the hypocrites on the right who deny it all. At least the Congressman here admits he over-responded, but no doubt because of being spit on and called racial slurs by all the trashy teabag protestors in the past. The good thing is, I bet those little bastards won’t try that again!
Did you notice that the unedited videos are on YouTube for anyone and everyone to see, DLP? Or were you too busy repeating something you read on another web site?
And Rosa, what do Larry Craig, spitting, racial slurs, or Tea Baggers have to do with this? None of that is relevant, so why are you mentioning it? Are you so intellectually bankrupt that you have to resort to distraction? That’s the tactic of the Limbaughs and Becks of the world, and you do the rest of us no favors when you sink to that level.
Yelling at them would have been an overreaction; what Etheridge did was assault. He’s lucky that kid didn’t crack him in the jaw, because it would have been both warranted and legally justified.
2010 06 14
Jack booted college thugs from the Tea Party’s vicious Youth Video Projects department attacked innocent Congressman NC Rep Bob Etheridge (Dem) as he returned from conducting the people’s Pelosi business. Both thugs were able to escape from the victim after the poor congressman was able to overcome and detain one of the assailees for a short time and squeeze a gurgled epithet from the more brawny of the two skinny thugs. The congressman’s friends from the SEIU benevolence league have offered to protect the congressman from future random attacks by sacrificing other people’s rights to assure he is left unopposed in the business of raising taxes for the peoples own good of course. Keith Olbermann was quick to point out the obvious racial overtones that weren’t heard or seen during the altercation. Rosie O’Donnell also commented during her radio show on the blatant anti-gay rhetoric not being uttered during the attack by the pro life Catholic Church mob down the street during a church service. The congressman coming from a Pelosi fund raiser to repeal Arizona’s AB1070, was heard to yell “I have a right to know who you are” and “Vee haf veys ouf making you show zee papers” at the assailants, no admission by the attackers of belonging to any neo-type group was forth coming. After the congressman’s dust up with the hooligans, Janet Napolitano quickly declared the scene safer than it had ever been before and pledged to be even more vigilant for neo-anti taxpayers like these two youths. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the President will withhold any comments about whose @#$% ass to kick for at least a month or two. A full investigation of the assault by the top prosecutors in the US AG’s office has been promised by the US Attorney General. Mr. Holder said funds allocated in the next year’s budget for the persecution of the two youths will require billions to assure the American people this type of freedom of the press or speech behavior by youths running rampant with cameras and microphones cannot continue unchecked. Harry Reid has proposed massive tax hikes on the rich to fund the new legislation.
CC: You are a fool and a moron not to understand the relevance. This Congressman, like so many Democrats, have been spit on, cursed, and racially slandered while walking to their jobs. Total harrassment in the most vile way. So, they never know who or what is shoving something into their face and are immediately on the damn defensive. Ther is not distraction. It is relevant, however YOU are not.
Larry Craig can get away with disgusting lies and hypocrisy, then deny it and he gets away with it. Etheridge is an honorable man and did not deserve to be set up this way and at least apologized and accepted resposibility.
Get yourself in check CC, or are you another damn alias of Frank Griffin. Take a class or shut your mouth.
Not hardly, fool. I won’t be in hell since I don’t follow and believe in the devils that you do. Your time will come though, don’t worry for one damn minute about that.
Mr. Etheridge said he had been cursed out, threatened, and spit at previously like other Democratic Congressmen by the lunatic teabaggers. He has a right to be on the defensive.