Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Jun 14, 2010 18:22:13 GMT -5
All class all the time.
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jun 14, 2010 19:12:30 GMT -5
This ambushing of representatives as they walk around DC is kind of crap, but for god's sake don't grab on to the kid (and no, WaPo, it's not a hug).
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jun 14, 2010 22:30:17 GMT -5
This ambush representatives as they walk around DC is kind of crap, but for god's sake don't grab on to the kid (and no, WaPo, it's not a hug). Yes to Column A, yes to Column B.
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jgalt
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Post by jgalt on Jun 15, 2010 10:09:01 GMT -5
He was walking next to House of Representatives, probably coming back from the DNC building where the Fundraiser was probably held. I would hardly call that "ambushing." Additionally i didnt see anyone attempt to stop him or get in his way. He is a public employee on public land walking in public- his reasonable expectation of privacy should be very low or next to nothing.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jun 15, 2010 10:26:08 GMT -5
He was walking next to House of Representatives, probably coming back from the DNC building where the Fundraiser was probably held. I would hardly call that "ambushing." Additionally i didnt see anyone attempt to stop him or get in his way. He is a public employee on public land walking in public- his reasonable expectation of privacy should be very low or next to nothing. In principle and on the facts you're probably right, jgalt. I just find it kind of smarmy in a visceral sort of way. (Of course, if you could ever get a straight answer out of any elected official in a formal setting, maybe people would feel the need less to question them on the street.)
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jun 15, 2010 10:56:29 GMT -5
He was walking next to House of Representatives, probably coming back from the DNC building where the Fundraiser was probably held. I would hardly call that "ambushing." Additionally i didnt see anyone attempt to stop him or get in his way. He is a public employee on public land walking in public- his reasonable expectation of privacy should be very low or next to nothing. I'm sure he walking around Capitol Hill, couldn't tell which office building it was. I have no problem with going up and talking to a rep or senator -- heck, I almost ran over Max Baucus as he was jogging around Georgetown and we stopped and chatted because my wife (then girlfriend) is from Montana. However, carrying around a camera just to see if you can get a gotcha moment is, as Boz says, smarmy. There's a video of David Obey being confronted in the hallway outside his House office. It doesn't matter where it occurs, it's low rent. That being said, you sure as heck don't grab the kids wrist and act like a dick.
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TC
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Post by TC on Jun 15, 2010 12:14:32 GMT -5
He was walking next to House of Representatives, probably coming back from the DNC building where the Fundraiser was probably held. I would hardly call that "ambushing." Additionally i didnt see anyone attempt to stop him or get in his way. He is a public employee on public land walking in public- his reasonable expectation of privacy should be very low or next to nothing. You've just explained Harvey Leven's raison d'etre. This is the same thing as TMZ or any of those other crappy shows where people harass celebrities. Elvado would have been cheering had this been <name-your-conservative-rep> and Michael Moore. It's a human reaction to strike back if someone is harassing you, and it's obvious what the intent was here (embarass the guy and let Breitbart go nuts with it), and he shouldn't have lost his temper. He shouldn't have done it, he apologized, no one got hurt, where's the story?
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Jun 15, 2010 12:28:49 GMT -5
He shouldn't have done it, he apologized, no one got hurt, where's the story? That he was drunk at the time? [/lights fuse, runs away....] ;D
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SoCalHoya
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Post by SoCalHoya on Jun 15, 2010 12:29:21 GMT -5
If you are Etheridge, don't you just keep walking? He didn't give them what they expected, but he certainly gave them more than what they wanted. So dumb.
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rosslynhoya
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Post by rosslynhoya on Jun 15, 2010 15:50:16 GMT -5
He was walking next to House of Representatives, probably coming back from the DNC building where the Fundraiser was probably held. I would hardly call that "ambushing." Additionally i didnt see anyone attempt to stop him or get in his way. He is a public employee on public land walking in public- his reasonable expectation of privacy should be very low or next to nothing. You've just explained Harvey Leven's raison d'etre. This is the same thing as TMZ or any of those other crappy shows where people harass celebrities. Elvado would have been cheering had this been <name-your-conservative-rep> and Michael Moore. It's a human reaction to strike back if someone is harassing you, and it's obvious what the intent was here (embarass the guy and let Breitbart go nuts with it), and he shouldn't have lost his temper. He shouldn't have done it, he apologized, no one got hurt, where's the story? I'll still cheer a little even if no one else does. Sure, my column A says that congresspersons shouldn't be allowed to get away with punching people who harrass them, but my column B says that those nuisances could probably use a bit more roughing up (moreso if it's a "real" journalist or paparazzo). In any event, I can't see this hurting Etheridge with the NC electorate ;-) This is far less significant than Guam tipping over or misleading people about your time served in Vietnam.
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Post by hoyawatcher on Jun 15, 2010 17:01:59 GMT -5
This could give Ethridge some issues with his district. It is a more conservative district and he has been pretty solid there as a blue dog type of democrat. But the Obama agenda is not terribly popular in his district. Having said that the pubs had put up a totally unknown candidate who wasn't getting a ton of traction. But with this incident she has gotten more exposure and money in the past 2 days than in the totality of her campaign. If I am a betting man I still think he survives but this is the kind of thing with the Washington elite overtones that could well resonate in a district like his.
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jgalt
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Post by jgalt on Jun 16, 2010 12:19:38 GMT -5
Looked like D St to me (like two blocks from the DNC), but that is neither he nor there.
I guess the difference is what you think constitutes "harassment"
I consider it Harassment when a homeless person comes up to me on the street tell me some sob story and trying to get my money, but if i grabbed one of them and started screaming at them I could be arrested.
I also consider it harassment when people stand out side of a popular store and ask me "Do you have a minute for the environment today sir," and again if I grabbed them and started screaming at them I could be arrested.
Just because these guys have a camera doesnt mean Ethridge is being harassed so bad he can put his hands on someone.
I think all of us (even with such disparate political/ethical views) can agree that at the most basic level we should all be free from physical attack; and that the only solid basis for physical attack is when one is attacked first. I never saw these kids come close to touching Ethridge.
Yeah, these probably are snot nosed kids, but maybe not. But it doesnt matter, there still is no justification for Ethridge laying his hands on them (if you dont see that you may need to go back to first grade, where they teach this stuff).
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