AL FRANKEN KNOCKS DOWN DEAN HECKLER

New York Post Online ^ | January 27, 2004 | VINCENT MORRIS

[Matthew James]

January 27, 2004 -- EXETER, N.H. - Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean. The tussle left Franken's trademark thick-rim glasses broken, but he said he was not injured.

[CyberAnt]

I'm basing my assessment on Oregon law at the time I lived there. It may have changed.

[Tempest]

Franken was just doing a job that most americans wouldn't want. Because there's no differance between Republicans and Democrats. . . .


Blame Bush for this incident. . . < /sarcasm >

[John Beresford Tipton]

"I hope AL doesn't have any liabilty insurance for this sort of thing."

Liability insurance does not cover auch an intentional tort.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

but isn't that what the heckler was doing...speaking freely, Mr. Franken?

Typical brain-dead liberal.....free speech for me but not for thee.

I'll give you that Mr. Franken behaved thuggishly, and I'll give you that he said, "I would have done it if he was a Dean supporter at a Kerry rally," rather than, "I would have done it if he was a Dean supporter at a Bush rally."

OTOH if some people exercise the right to peacably petition, and somebody claims a contrary right to speak instead of listen to those who "paid for the microphone," as Ronald Reagan's put it, I think that their right to speak does not extend to someone else's venue.

Mr. Franken's conduct was disorderly, but the heckler doesn't have a right to filibuster either. Police would not be in their rights to heckle a speaker, and--subject to judgement at the time, shouldn't allow someone else to do it in anything remotely approximating a fillibuste.

[Enterprise]

After the slam said Franken: "Yeaaaaaaah"!

[I got the rope]

Al Franken would make a great Nazi.

Meek...can you work your magic with this one.

[yooper]

I know everyone's outraged by this, but so help me, I'm laughing my ass off!

What a buffoon, what did he expect to accomplish, and what was he thinking when he stated that he was protecting free speech by assaulting someone exercizing it? And what was all that crap about wrestling?

Hannity always said that Franken was a nutjob; now I'm convinced.

[yooper]

"Freedom of speech does NOT include the right to shout other people down."

Certainly it does. Could you list a constitutional source for that statement, or a precedent setting legal case?

I come from a family of Italians where the winner of an argument is usually the one who shouts the loudest. Its a good system since the more vocal shouter usually has superior facts on his side; if he didn't, he wouldn't be shouting in the first place. I might also point out that shouting down an opponent is SOP in many parliaments and our own congress here in the US.

[skinkinthegrass]

Stalin William Jefferson Blight Clinton would be proud.

[skinkinthegrass]

OOPPs....Stalin Mrs. William Jefferson Blight Clinton would be proud.

[RunningJoke]

The "Gangs of New York" was a movie. You actually think Hollywood crapola is a legitimate source of information. All I know is that many people (usually from a dissenting minority) mouth off in society because they have no fear of the majority.

"I maintain that it is this unprecedented meekness of the majority that is responsible for the phenomenal increase of violence. Social order is the by-product of an equilibrium between a vigorous majority and violent minorities. There is no reason to believe that the nature of the violent minorities is now greatly different from what it was in the past. What has changed is the will and the ability of the majority to react. I do not think it possible to reform the violent minorities by passing more laws, hiring more policeman or reforming the courts. We can make headway only by activating the majority."

[neverdem]

Sorry .. I think "assault" means just that .. assault. It's an attempt to injure by grabbing someone and twisting their arm behind them and threatening to break their arm (but not actually doing it) .. but "battery" is the actual injury. It's kind of weird how they word it, but assault is not merely shouting or verbally threating someone.

See comment# 20. I forgot that attempting to hit someone but missing also is assault. I'm not a lawyer, but I have had some formal teaching about it because of my line of work. Don't blame me. The lawyers made the distinction.

[RunningJoke]

I'm not saying conservatives should go heckle liberals at their pep rallies nor am I saying liberals should heckle conservatives at their pep rallies either. I'm saying you go to one of these functions uninvited and start mouthing off against what the majority of people believe in at these events, you should expect a crack in the mouth.

Although you have a right to speak, does that mean I have to listen to it.

[Gumption]

you should expect a crack in the mouth.

Then you should expect to be in court defending yourself and your bank account.

[Jank]

There was a story on CNN about a LaRouche heckler at a,
Dean Scream Rally. What a surprise, they didn't tell the
whole story.

[MeekOneGOP]

AL FRANKEN KNOCKS DOWN DEAN HECKLER

Al Franken sez:
Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and ... dog-gone it, people like me !

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[onyx]

He is such a creep. Who's his candidate? Oh yeah, Weasley.

[plain talk]

So, let's wait and see what happens

Probably nothing happens. If Franken had any sense, he would pay the guy off to let it go. Then Franken comes out ahead and it's forgotten just like so many other smug liberal self-righteous crimes.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Franken emerged from the crowd and charged one male protester, grabbing him with a bear hug from behind and slamming him onto the floor.

"I was a wrestler so I used a wrestling move," Franken said.

So what happened to freedom of speech?

[Dan Zachary]

Here is your CNN unbiased report:

LaRouche supporters disrupt Democrats
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Posted: 10:07 AM EST (1507 GMT)

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Followers of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche interrupted a campaign event for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean on Monday before being drowned out by Dean supporters and removed from the room with the assistance of comedian Al Franken.

As Dean was addressing a crowd in Manchester, the fans of LaRouche -- who is something of an outcast in the Democratic Party for his extremist views -- began screaming that Dean is "a liar" and not a Democrat. They said the only candidates telling the truth are LaRouche and Sen. John Kerry, the apparent front-runner in the race.

The crowd began cheering "Howard Dean, Howard Dean," drowning out the LaRouche supporters as they were removed from the room.

Franken, a comedian and self-described liberal well-known for his attacks on the Bush administration and conservative-leaning media, helped carry out one of the disrupters. In the process, Franken's glasses were knocked off his face and broke in two.

Putting them back together with electrical tape, he quipped he had been "deputized" by Dean's security...