I, a loyal Democrat, call for the butt-kicking of this fellow partisan.

Assault charges, censure, impeachment. Throw the bum out.

And replace him with another Democrat, of course.

More like this

Not the first time either:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/18/bob-etheridge-nc-congress_n_61…

"[Etheridge] may have been involved in a similar incident in 1996, a former high school journalist Brandon Leslie said Friday.

Leslie said he introduced himself to Etheridge and asked him about his stance on a particular education program. He said Etheridge didn't answer his question, so he pressed him two more times.

"And that's when he grabbed me by the shoulders, he shook me, and I'll never forget it, he said, 'Son, you need to learn to respect your elders.'"

And that's when he grabbed me by the shoulders, he shook me, and I'll never forget it, he said, 'Son, you need to learn to respect your elders.'

The correct response: "I had some until now."

By Snarkyxanf (not verified) on 20 Jun 2010 #permalink

Impeachment?

Congressmen can't be impeached. Impeachment is basically the House of Representatives charging a judicial or executive official. The Senate would then conduct a trial though the most they can do is remove the person from office with the optional barring them from holding federal office ever again.

They can be expelled by two-thirds vote of their house. And of course they can be voted out of office when the next election rolls around.

By Childermass (not verified) on 20 Jun 2010 #permalink

Y'know, if I was accosted by someone with a blur for a face, I'd probably assume the normal rules of etiquette didn't apply in that reality either.

Remember, the punk in question was a Breitbart stooge, patently working on yet another stupid gotcha setup like the framing of ACORN and the attempting bugging of Sen. Landrieu's office. Last I heard, the Repub operatives behind this were still concealing the twerp's identity and declining to press charges. Whatever else of this microstory remains to be told - while it may not exonerate Etheridge - is probably linked to yet another failed GOP fraud.

Can we see the rest of the tape(s) now, please?

By Pierce R. Butler (not verified) on 20 Jun 2010 #permalink

Pierce, yes, there's a blur for the face. There's also a whole lot more sidewalk there. Walking away is the only reasonable choice here.

Pierce, first of all, the claim that they worked for Breitbart has been repeated on liberal blogs repeatedly but hasn't been substantiated. But let's for a moment assume that is true. Let's assume that they were trying for some sort of way of making the congressman look bad. Guess what? That doesn't make his actions at all justified. What Etheridge did is still clearly unacceptable.

I don't understand why they couldn't tell him who they were. I also feel like it's probable that this video doesn't show the entire incident. Either that, or he's mental :P

It is possible that this is a setup. They could be wearing nixon masks, for instance.

Y'know, if I was accosted by someone with a blur for a face, I'd probably assume the normal rules of etiquette didn't apply in that reality either.

I agree. In this political climate, if an elected rep. runs into two kids with cameras on the sidewalk who immediately start asking loaded questions, he or she can be pretty sure something's up.

Of course his reaction was way beyond what would have been appropriate, and was really the worst possible thing he could have done. He should have provided them either with footage of Rep. Etheridge going to work, or a short lecture on civics and etiquette.

The obvious solution is to make him into a REPUBICAN Congressman from SOUTH Carolina.

Whenever one of this rakers of their own muck (one who uses their own turds as source) has a cut out portion of video I assume it was to hide something. You can hear a second person saying something there just as they come back from the first cut. Not releasing full (at least from start to stop of presented video) source footage suggests "creative" editing. I know if someone shoved a camera in my face, and to get that crop on one of those cell phone cameras it has to be right up in someones face, I'd sure as hell slap it away. If the kid grabbed the congresscritters arm, which given the congressman's sudden turn wouldn't surprise me in the least, I'd suggest battery rather then assault but not against the congresscritter.

By Robert S. (not verified) on 20 Jun 2010 #permalink