Posted on 06/14/2010 10:14:03 AM PDT by jessduntno
Democratic Rep. Bob Ethridge of North Carolina lost his cool on camera in a video that is making the rounds of the conservative blogosphere today.
Ethridge was walking down the street when he was approached by a pair of camera-wielding questioners.
As one asks if Ethridge "fully supports the Obama agenda," a visibly agitated Ethridge asks, "Who are you?" He repeats the question and appears to slam the camera with his hand.
In the edited video, which you can watch above, Ethridge is then shown holding the wrist of one of the questioners and repeatedly asking him to identify himself.
The two people will only identify as students and say they are "just here for a project." In the video, the face of the student in the shot with Ethridge is blurred.
"I have a right to know who you are," the congressman says, holding one man's arm. The pair refuse to tell him where they are from and repeat that "all we are is students."
Ethridge then grabs one of the self-identified students by the neck and pulls him next to him, apparently so that his face will appear on camera.
Ethridge apologized for his actions in a statement Monday.
"I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved," he said. "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."
You can see what appear to be the two unedited videos here. In comments on that site and others, commenters are calling on Ethridge to be charged with assault.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Soooo,,,who were the kids?
Frankly I could see my old Louisiana Father doing the same thing if some sassy kid stuck a camera in his face and wouldn’t identify himself.
It sort of made me laugh.
Who were the kids and did they file charges?
Hehehehehe.
“What time of day was this filmed?”
(putting on my detective hat)
Must have been noon...if you look at the film, you’ll notice shadows are directly under everything.
Asking a Congressman if he supports the Obama agenda is like yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.
Asking Congressperson Bob if he supports the 0bama agenda is NOT like yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater.
Congressperson Bob is elected public servant, he works FOR the taxpayers, not vice versa, he is accountable TO the taxpayers.
About 1776 freedom of speech and taxation without presentation were 2 hot items. A group of very wise men sought to protect those freedoms for the future.
Their case would have been even stronger if they had.
“I don’t see any attack on the “student.” I think it’s fair to put student in quotes, a)because it IS a direct quote of how the person identified himself, and B) it has not been confirmed.”
Oh. OK. Your “logic” seems well reasoned.
Nossir. Kid's face is blurred in the tape being passed around, but not in the original. That original one will ID the kid sufficient to bring suit.
“In the original headline, was the word Student enclosed in ‘scare quotes’? Has there been any indication that he was something other than a student?”
None. Then it went on to mention the ACORN stings...blame the victim...right out of lib playbook.
Not to mention he grabbed the kid's camera/phone out of his hand after he knocked it down from his face. Isn't that the same thing as a purse snatching? What is it called when you grab someone's personal property out of their hand? Robbery? Theft? Burglary?
“Democratic Rep. Bob Ethridge of North Carolina lost his cool...”
Huh. If I did that, it would have been called assault.
“Thanks”
I’m not talking about a legal case...I referring to their asking a question of a member of Congress(who looked like he was drunk). If they had done that, he couldn’t have said much else except keep moving or try to answer their questions.
yup... VERY drunk.
Bingo.
This is the classic "I'm taking the high road because, even though they're scum, I'm such a better person" tactic.
Etheridge knows he's in deep kimchi. Guaranteed the lawyers weighed in on the crafting of his statement. My take is that he's been advised not to compound the damage with direct misrepresentations of misconduct by the students, but to provide to the apologists and media the suggestion of same, and hope they run with it. They did.
No charges will be filed. D.C. is too corrupt to charge any member of the ruling class with anything.
Dude, put your hands on me, yourself, in that manner.......and see how many .40 caliber holes you end up with!
That was a freakin attack. I don't care how blind you wanna be about it.
I mean by the news report, not by the drunken congressman. I didn’t see any attack on the “student” in this news report. The congressman? His initial swipe at the camera was aggressive. Holding the arm. Grabbing the neck. Pulling him in. All of that is way out of bounds.
Frankly I could see my old Louisiana Father doing the same thing if some sassy kid stuck a camera in his face and wouldn’t identify himself.”
Mine too...but Pop wasn’t an elected, public official who was accustomed to it and should have expected it to happen regularly.
And hey, don't toy with me like that! I'm sensitive!
Pity it wasn’t a girl,,that would have been rich.
I think in SC they regard old geezers grabbing the necks of young whippersnappers as sort of okay. They do in Louisiana.
I had my neck grabbed at times when young and sassy during my commie period when I was spouting all sorts of nonsense.
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