It will be interesting to see if Congressman Etheridge holds any town hall meetings this summer. Or will he hide, claiming he fears another confrontation by someone who actually asks a question?
The campaign ad writes itself, really. "Whatever you do, DON'T ASK YOUR CONGRESSMAN A QUESTION. He might do this..."
And for the Democratic Party to defend Rep. Etheridge for this is beneath contempt. Once it seemed routine for a party to censure one of its members for bad behavior; I'd certainly think it would be called for here.
So this begs the question: what must a sitting Congresscritter do, for the Democratic Party to formally distance itself and/or issue a public rebuke? Assaulting a constituent is clearly not enough.
I assume it would have to be something really extreme -- like saying something nice about Sarah Palin, perhaps...
I saw the televised press conference of his apology. It was pretty sincere. The press gave him every "out" asking him if he felt verbally assaulted or attacked, etc, he just kept saying that it didn't matter and that what he did was wrong. I was impressed by this, compared to the weasely press release non-apology apology saying he always "worked to promote civil discourse" when the video evidence is certainly to the contrary.
Honestly, I could not believe how truly hard the press worked to let him off the hook and place the blame on the interviewers. Can you imagine what would have transpired had this been someone the press did not like? Can you imagine if the interviewers had not been white men?
Also, despite the apology, it will be very difficult for him to maintain the public's trust. He should seriously consider stepping down. He should certainly be censured.
So, here is the last sentence of his non apology apology:
"I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse"
This guy should step down.
It will be interesting to see if Congressman Etheridge holds any town hall meetings this summer. Or will he hide, claiming he fears another confrontation by someone who actually asks a question?
Imagine if this was a Republican, who brutally assaulted a young student when he was asked a question... the media would be demanding that he resign.
I think what we are seeing is what happens when the left is threatened- they let their inner thugs out.
Looks like an assault to me ... where is the district attorney?
The best reaction was the genius in the NY Times (where else?) who called it a "hug!" I guess that makes it sexual harassment.
Of course the only thing this guy regrets is that he got caught.
Who is this man's opponent in November?
The campaign ad writes itself, really. "Whatever you do, DON'T ASK YOUR CONGRESSMAN A QUESTION. He might do this..."
And for the Democratic Party to defend Rep. Etheridge for this is beneath contempt. Once it seemed routine for a party to censure one of its members for bad behavior; I'd certainly think it would be called for here.
So this begs the question: what must a sitting Congresscritter do, for the Democratic Party to formally distance itself and/or issue a public rebuke? Assaulting a constituent is clearly not enough.
I assume it would have to be something really extreme -- like saying something nice about Sarah Palin, perhaps...
I saw the televised press conference of his apology. It was pretty sincere. The press gave him every "out" asking him if he felt verbally assaulted or attacked, etc, he just kept saying that it didn't matter and that what he did was wrong. I was impressed by this, compared to the weasely press release non-apology apology saying he always "worked to promote civil discourse" when the video evidence is certainly to the contrary.
Honestly, I could not believe how truly hard the press worked to let him off the hook and place the blame on the interviewers. Can you imagine what would have transpired had this been someone the press did not like? Can you imagine if the interviewers had not been white men?
Also, despite the apology, it will be very difficult for him to maintain the public's trust. He should seriously consider stepping down. He should certainly be censured.
In response to my own question:
http://reneeforcongress.com/
He did not apologize until after the release of the youTube video.