Congressman Assaults Student on Washington Sidewalk

[moedookie]

Run time: 01:11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rxQqxg6gzY   Posted on YouTube: June 14, 2010 By YouTube Member: FactionNewsFinds Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 14, 2010 By DU Member: moedookie Views on DU: 995

 
Thoughts? Could be set up by GOP!

[EFerrari]

1. These "students" don't even know what school they go to?

Sure.

[vi5]

2. I'm almost afraid to click on posts about this...

..because I'm afraid they'll be filled with some variations on "....but it was a right wing plant!!" or "....he was provoked by Breitbart lackeys!!!" of some other justification or mitigation.

He's being an asshole and he physically assulted that kid. I don't care what politics are surrounding this.

[lumpy]

12. Me too.

v

[KurtNYC]

17. No need to speculate -- the RNC is circulating this

and they should be greatly encouraged by how easily we will throw away a seat with a 35 point spread.

The young man is not identified in the video, which was made last week. A second person accompanying him pulled out another camera to record the congressman’s actions. The video received widespread attention on Monday after it was posted on the Web site of Andrew Breitbart, a conservative Web publisher and former editor of The Drudge Report. It was circulated by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/etheridge-caught-on-video-apologizes/?scp=1&sq=etheridge&st=cse

Why should this election be about off shore drilling or health care reform or fixing the Corporatized Supreme Court when the GOP can make it about wrist grabbing ?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Also discussed here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8555601

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0610/Dems_defed_Etheridge_attack_Breitbart.html?showall

Its a major mistake. Cuts from that video will be all over his opponents ads. Sort of a George Allen moment. Be interesting to see if he survives it politically or gets charged with a crime.

[leveymg]

4. If someone shoved a camera into my face on the street, I might do the same.

Not a big deal.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. Charge him with assault and battery. No excuses.

[dencol]

8. Definitely.

Who the hell does he think he is? If somebody grabbed me like that, I'd definitely do what it took to get them off me. These students showed quite some restraint.

[liquid diamond]

13. Please. That kid was scared shitless.

Wannabe paparazzo got what he deserved.

[lib2DaBone]

6. 3 martini lunch .... Mr. , Congressman?

[BrklynLiberal]

7. The same group or mentality that did the ACORN "expose"?

[sabrina 1]

9. Yes, Breitbart sent them out it seems.

They follow Democrats around hoping for a moment like this. Just as they did to ACORN but now those videos have all been debunked. Too bad Ethridge didn't show the same restraint some of the ACORN workers showed.

His defenders are now using the fact that ACORN was wrongfully attacked by these same thugs.

However, Ethridge was one of those Democrats who joined Republican Boehner and Issa to vote to defund ACORN. Maybe if they had insisted on an investigation at that time, he wouldn't have been caught by the same thugs that went after ACORN.

Karma is a bitch. He can hardly use the ACORN witch hunt which he supported to defend himself now.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. You got it right. Karma ALWAYS bites one on the ass if one defies it.

[lurky]

11. That was incredibly stupid of him. But I have questions about what happened.

It seems pretty clear the students were on some kind of Breitbart mission (This was released by Breitbart, IIRC). And they seem to be waiting for the congressman. Is this the first time they have approached him, or do they have a history? Have they been following him? Where did this take place? That doesn't look like the capitol -- Were they staking out his home?

And what did they say to him during that first edit? I'm guessing it was something pretty provocative to get that reaction from a seasoned politician with a national office.

Anyway, he completely fucked himself, so it doesn't really matter.

Oh, and I don't think they will be pressing charges: That would mean turning over the unedited video as evidence, as well as revealing what they were doing and who they were working for.

[EFerrari]

14. I don't think he completely fucked himself.

He shouldn't have touched them but he didn't cuss and all he asked was who they were. He looked upset, not mean. They look like dicks who were just out to get him and they never identified themselves as journalists or anything, so that makes them stalkers.

[vi5]

15. Here the video is unedited.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZKie0Z4kaw&feature=player_embedded

You can see him coming from all the way down the street and at first he's somewhat cordial and says "How are you doing?" so clearly he doesn't know them.

As soon as they ask the question he goes off and gets physical. The only thing they said was "Do you support Obama's agenda?" That's really not cause for such provocation.

Sorry there's no excuse for being this big an asshole. Even if they had bothered him before, just keep fucking walking and ignore them.

[MrModerate]

16. I'm with those who suggest he's drunk . . .

Or the equivalent.

Who cares how snotty the kids were? Who cares if they were lying through their teeth about being "students" on a "project"?

Anyone with a lick of sense would have kept on walking. That's what they invented "no comment" for.

Nope, Etheridge has just demonstrated a career-ending lack of judgement or even simple self-control.