Dem. Rep. Bob Etheridge should be arrested for assault

[Ben]

[Ben]

Rep. Bob Etheridge should be arrested for assault

By Glenn Greenwald
Rep. Bob Etheridge

(updated below - Update II)
Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) was walking on a public sidewalk last week when he was politely asked a question by someone holding a camera, and this is what happened:

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That's a clear case of assault and battery (the unedited video from the first camera is in Washington, but it would be nice to see its being applied in this instance by having this Congressman, obviously inebriated with an extreme sense of entitlement, arrested and charged.

UPDATE: In response to the emergence of this video, Etheridge's office has released this statement:

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.

That's nice. Of course, most people who commit crimes express regret once they get caught (especially on video) and it becomes a scandal, so it doesn't affect the point that he ought to be treated exactly the same way as these individuals would have been had they physically assault him.

UPDATE II: Given that this was a Democratic Congressman assaulting citizens who are perceived to be right-wing, I obviously knew that some people would rush to justify what he did; that's part of the reason I posted this. But even I'm surprised by the extent of the eagerness to defend a clearly illegal and indefensible assault based on the political ideologies of those involved (just check the comment section for how extreme that mentality is, and I've seen it elsewhere). Some are honest enough to admit that because the victims here were right-wing advocates, they should be presumed to have provoked this and got what they deserved (who knew that the law of assault depends upon the political affiliation of aggressor and victim?), while others -- amazingly -- continue to fantasize about all sorts of events that they claim probably happened off camera to mitigate or justify the Congressman's actions, even though: (a) I linked to the unedited video above which shows that no such thing happened and (b) Rep. Etheridge has now issued a statement and not even he claims there were any such mitigating or justifying events that were concealed as a result of dishonest video editing. But still, the claim persists.
Some people obviously cannot accept that a Good Democrat could possibly do something bad to a conservative, and they'll continue to deny reality -- or just invent realities that don't exist -- to justify that. This is not a hard case. As Pam Spaulding said: "Sad that personal responsibility for being a violent hothead now comes with mitigation talking points. Dems need to quit it." Tribalism is a natural part of the human perspective, but it's amazing when even incidents as relatively trivial and clear-cut as this one are processed through its distorting lens. Do you think any Democrats defending Etheridge -- or most conservatives criticizing him -- would be doing so if he were a right-wing GOP Congressman from North Carolina who assaulted nice liberal students questioning him on a public sidewalk about his conservative views?

[trish]

In the words of Sundance Kid, "Who are those guys?"

[Ben]

As Glenn Greenwald notes (blog above): "There is some speculation that the individuals questioning him have some connection to the right-wing organization of Andrew Breitbart. I hope it goes without saying how irrelevant that is. The only reason I think this is worth noting is this: imagine what would have happened to those students if this situation had been reversed, and it was they who had physically assaulted Rep. Etheridge, rather than the other way around. How quickly would they have been arrested and prosecuted? The application of our laws isn't supposed to depend upon who is perpetrating the crime and who the victim is."

[trish]

Yeah it's irrelevant to why the sky is blue. But I want to know who they are? Why they shoved a phone camera in his face and why they blurred their own faces in the video?

[onmyknees]

[Yeah it's irrelevant to why the sky is blue. But I want to know who they are? Why they shoved a phone camera in his face and why they blurred their own faces in the video?

Hey...let me take a wild guess............this redneck asshole has a "D" next to his name?? If he didn't you can bet that money you were going to use to go see that Eros escort that Tish would rip him a new asshole if he was an "R"...Man Tish...what else do you need to know????? He put his hands around the neck of a college kid with a camera. Unlesss they edited the tape...he should be arrested. The only thing I would love more than a date with Morgan Bailey is for this guy to have put his hands on me....I would have dropped his sorry old democratic ass right there on the sidewalk and been justified in doing so. Were those kids provoking him??....it's irrelevent...deal with it. The guy needs to go.....

[trish]

Hey, I'm just asking questions. Who are those guys? Was it really a student project? Why did they edit out their faces? Why did they put a camera in a Congressman's face? Did they "interview anyone else? Any republicans? Why don't we see the Congressman's arm reaching out for the camera held by the unseen "student"? Was that edited out? Curious minds want to know the relevant facts (as you point out, editing is relevant).

[dave252]

It doesnt matter who they are affiliated with, why they are questions or even who they are, remember, these people are suppose to be working for us! They are our employees. This is unexcusable!

[trish]

But that doesn't answer my question. Who are they affiliated with? Why did they edit their own faces out of the recording? What else did they edit out? Did they single out Etheridge or did they attempt other interviews? Why did Etheridge seem to think it was important to get the "student's" face in the recording? Why didn't they simply answer his question and tell him who they were?...what university was the project for?...what sort of course it was for? Why were they so evasive? Why were they so invasive of his personal space? Why does it matter that I'm asking these questions if the questions don't matter?

[jniowa]

Why don't they show their faces? They are filming someone (happens to be a US Congressman) while blurring their own identity and refusing to identify themselves, educational institution or group affiliation. It's ridiculous all the way around. He shouldn't freak out and they shouldn't fuck with him.