By Bobby Eberle
The following can be filed in the what in the world was he thinking category. Two college kids walking down the sidewalk in Washington D.C. are literally assaulted by North Carolina Democrat Congressman Bob Etheridge as they attempt to interview him. The interview lasted all of one question but the resulting confrontation will last much much longer.
The Democrats have already lost control of the economy the deficit the border and now they are losing control of themselves. Whats next???
The two self-identified students attempt to interview Etheridge as hes passing them along a sidewalk. The result is something you MUST see for yourself!
On Monday Etheridge issued an apology on his congressional web site:
I have seen the video posted on several blogs. I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved. Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect. No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become this does not justify a poor response. I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse.
If civil discourse means swinging wildly for the camera and grabbing someones wrist then perhaps we all need some mixed martial arts lessons. Whats next Nancy Pelosi making some kid tap out before she answers a question? A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said Etheridge has lost it. Spokesman Jon Thompson added:His conduct is unbecoming of a member of Congress. Its bad enough that hes joined Obamas assault on North Carolina jobs but his physical assault on a college student goes beyond the pale.
CBSNews.com has a story posted about the Etheridge apology. Its interesting because the reporter writes about the edited video which is spreading across the Internet but then shows an edited video of Etheridges press conference. No questions where shown on the video but in the news story apparently he was asked whether he thought Republicans set up the confrontation. Uh.... since when is asking whether a congressman supports the Obama agenda a confrontation. I thought that was called asking a question. Am I missing something? Apparently I am because the national Democrats are defending Etheridges actions and are more concerned about who is asking the questions! As noted on a story on Politico.com DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said Motives matter and I think you can see who was behind this.Republicans know if they admit their involvement in this game of gotcha it will undermine their credibility. One minute this guy is interviewing a member of Congress on camera and the next a video is released with his face blurred out? If that doesnt tell you this is a Republican Party hatchet job nothing will.
Politico.com goes on to report about an e-mail sent out by a national Democratic Party official which contains a set of talking points. The subject of the e-mail is Etheridge Gotcha Video Background. The talking points are absolutely insane and all suggest that Etheridges actions are somehow acceptable because of who asked the question. I guess if you ask a Democrat if he or she supports the Obama agenda you are guilty of trying to incite a violent reaction. Go figure! No matter what the Democrats say there is no excuse for Etheridges actions.
