By now you've all heard of the thuggery by Rand Paul supporters claiming to be protecting their candidate from the threat of violence by a petit 23-year-old woman, or you've seen the videos... but just in case... here is the video.
The man seen stomping on MoveOn activist Lauren Valle's head in none other than Tim Profitt, the Rand Paul campaign manager for Bourbon County, KY. Profitt says he is sorry if the actions taken by him and his mob of thugs seemed a bit forceful, but he was only protecting candidate Paul.
The Paul campaign has reacted decisively, removing Profitt from his position and banning him from future rallies. The police in Lexington have also moved decisively... delivering a summons for thug #1 to appear before a judge and argue why he should not face assault charges.
Paul is supposed to represent the Libertarian segment of society - where the authority of government is minimal and personal rights are supreme. These folks champion our Constitution and Bill of Rights. But that is not what we see here. What this incident tells us is that a vote for a teabag candidate represents a vote for freedom of expression... but only as long as what you say agrees with what they want to hear.
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11 Comments:
I thinking you're using a very wide brush in your tarring here. In fact your post seems reminiscent of something I'd see from the Kos kids or on HuffPost. Yes, this is a deplorable action by someone purporting himself to be a libertarian. Even if he was actually protecting Rand Paul I think he over-reached. However I don't see this as being typical of the Tea Party nor the Libertarian Party. Nor, given her background as a professional protester, can she in any way be described as a innocent young woman.
I don't think it is overstated at all, specially since Profitt has now been recorded as saying the woman should apologize to him "for starting it". Yeah, by standing there with a sign he didn't think Mr. Rand should need to see---such tender creatures, these politicals are, and all. They wanted the cops to haul her away for stating her opinion; when the cops would not oblige, she was physically assaulted.
David, the point being made is that if you support the tea party you are supporting, either directly or indirectly, the teabaggers committing/condoning this kind of belief and behavior.
For one, use of the "teabagger" tag automatically takes away from any point you were trying to make, because it's petty and stupid.
Secondly, are you really going to attempt to paint that broad of a stroke here? One asshole assaults a woman and now everyone that supports the Teaparty is an accomplice?
Hippie please...
Sigh.
Heath, since some of you are having difficulty reading what is written, I will once again point out exactly what my words say.
The only broad brush here is my assertion that a vote cast for a TEA PARTY CANDIDATE, condones the TEABAGGERS COMMITTING THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR.
Notice that I do not call all of those in the tea party by the pejorative of teabagger, but instead reserve that particular insult for the bottom feeding bigots, hypocrites and idiots that are attracted to the revolutionary rhetoric spouted by the more mainstream tea partiers.
Please guys, try real hard not to read something into a statement that isn't there. It isn't that difficult if you just read with an open mind.
Or it condones the sort of candidate who fired that guy for being a jackass.
Yeah, that too, but you still get the rotten apples when you buy the bag. The candidate who fired the guy for being a jackass still knows that he needs jackass votes to win.
Doesn't alter my point in the least. You get what you pay for. A vote for a tea party candidate supports and validates the bottom feeders.
Ah, so you're just opposed to voting for anybody.
Or do you not think we could find rotten apples supporting any other candidate ever elected?
Have you seen the full version of the events?
Where she rushed Paul's car and was pulled away?
Then she tried to rush Paul after he got out of the car?
That is when she was pulled away and detained.
Admittedly the push - not stomp - of the foot was much but the people there immediately told him not to do that and to move away.
I can support a candidate and not approve of all the actions of the people around him.
Kind of like people supporting President Obama and not approving of the folks in his administration who didn't pay their taxes.
What this incident tells us is that a vote for a teabag candidate represents a vote for freedom of expression... but only as long as what you say agrees with what they want to hear.
Unlike every other political organization in the US, none of whom would dream of keeping pet goons around for any reason either.
But yeah, there was no excuse for the curb stomp treatment even if he couldn't see both her hands. I wonder if this idiot realizes--or particularly cares--just what a big favour he's done for the Democrats. I have no doubt at all that he'll find a way to rationalize it.
That whole Kentucky campaign is straight out of Bizarro world, though. Just for starters, since when has it been the Democrat who tried to score points by accusing his opponent of insuffieciently pure Christianity?
Finally, the libertarian segment of our society is so laughably minuscule that nobody would get within dreaming distance of national office by representing it. Every demographic that matters enough for a US political party to want its vote is itching to step on somebody's neck, or at least have one tactical unit or another do it for 'em.
wv: redalke. What a damnably good idea. I think I'll go bust open a litre of Woop Woop and howl Wobbly songs with the MPs' malinois.
perlhaqr, of course you'll find rotten apples on both sides, but I haven't seen left wing miscreants physically assaulting those with whom they disagree, or toting firearms to political rallies in the past 40 years or so.
Bob, When you say "version," do you mean video or storytelling? I've seen as much of a full video as I think anyone has, and nowhere did I see her rushing the car or the man.
What I did see was Paul walking from his car smiling, and then the camera swing to show the young lady in the hands of at least two men in the process of pushing her to the ground. Her sign in the hands of another was already torn in half. She was pushed down by Profitt and another man, and then Profitt places his foot on her shoulder... pushes down... causing the foot to stomp her on the neck or head.
Only one person can be seen or heard objecting, saying "no, no, no," but never did I hear anyone tell him to move away.
This is from the FOX raw video feed. If there is video showing something more I wish you'd point me to it.
Please don't try to compare a few tax scofflaws with the kind of person who would physically deny individual rights by committing assault, as in this incident. It is a disingenuous argument.
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