Perhaps Congressman Etheridge watched this video and got some ideas on how to react to innocent questions and protests from those that elected him. What is this country coming to? Tyranny? and who is Bob Etheridge? The quick but incomplete answer is that he is - for the time being, anyway - a Democratic Congressman from North Carolina.
The answer is incomplete because it needs to be supplemented by the fact that he is also someone who, when politely addressed on the street by a student, reacts by physically assaulting him.
AND ALSO: http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerkimball/2010/06/14/who-is-bob-etheridge/ A DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN ASSAULTS A STUDENT GO TO SITE AND SEE THE VIDEO
President Obama is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism. The idea, I think, is that he regards his election not as an expression of the will of the people - a determination that might alter tomorrow with the alteration of our national fortunes - by rather as a sort of divine dispensation, without of course involving anything so plebeian as actual divinity. To put it somewhat paradoxically: It's election as a state of election. And it seems to be a Democratic handicap. A student asks asks a public servant (yes, I know it sounds quaint) you he fully supports the Obama agenda and the reaction is a combination of anger, contempt, and physical abuse.
"Who are you? Who are You?": Rep. Etheridge kept asking the student that. But the real question is why Bob Etheridge still holds his seat.
UPDATE: The congressman has issued a press release:
"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."
Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC-02)
You might want to contact him and ask him that here:
Washington Office
1533 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4531
Fax: (202) 225-5662
Raleigh District Office
333 Fayetteville Street, Suite 505
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: (919) 829-9122 or North Carolina Toll Free Number: 1-888-262-6202 (BOB-NC02)
Fax: (919) 829-9883
Lillington District Office
609 North First Street
P.O. Box 1059
Lillington, NC 27546
Phone: (910) 814-0335 North Carolina Toll Free Number: 1-866-384-3743 (ETHERIDGE)
Fax: (910) 814-2264
You can also email him through his web site here:
http://etheridge.house.gov/Contact/
And come November, if you live the right district, you might want to be sure that he publicly assaults students on his own nickel, not the public's
