Broun issues belated condemnation of “shoot Obama” question

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, a Republican from Georgia, has just released the following statement:

“Tuesday night at a town hall meeting in Oglethorpe County, Georgia an elderly man asked the abhorrent question, “Who’s going to shoot Obama?” I was stunned by the question and chose not to dignify it with a response; therefore, at that moment I moved on to the next person with a question. After the event, my office took action with the appropriate authorities. I deeply regret that this incident happened at all. Furthermore, I condemn all statements—made in sincerity or jest—that threaten or suggest the use of violence against the President of the United States or any other public official. Such rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated.”

That’s nice. It would have been even nicer if Broun’s condemnation had come immediately, in person, rather than in a statement released three days after the event, and only after it had drawn national attention. Eyewitnesses at the event — including Blake Aued of the Athens Banner-Herald, who initially reported the story, say that Broun chuckled at the question before responding:

“The thing is, I know there’s a lot of frustration with this president. We’re going to have an election next year. Hopefully, we’ll elect somebody that’s going to be a conservative, limited-government president that will take a smaller, who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.”

People of all political perspectives can say stupid and even dangerous things, as Broun’s unidentified questioner certainly did. But when they are said in public, at an official event and directed at an elected official, the official in question can choose to challenge such statements or, by silence, tacitly condone them.

Broun chose the second course of action. With his observation that “there’s a lot of frustration with this president,” he even seemed to sympathize with the sentiment. I’d like to argue that the people of Georgia’s 10th District deserve better, but it’s hard given the fact that they elected him and will no doubt do so again.

– Jay Bookman

284 comments Add your comment

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:04 pm

Stupid may not be the right word. Actually, I believe the term is purposeful ignorance…

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:04 pm

“If this sounds to you like a perfect setup for cronyism and profiteering”

More Krugman about the WI situation, in reference to the reforms being set up for cronyism and profiteering purposes. Using your own actions as accusations against an opponent. The guy has as much credibility as an economist now as my dog has as a Mensa candidate. The guy is worth less than dog sh-t.

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:05 pm

ragnar – you mean like rush or hannity?

Normal

February 25th, 2011
3:05 pm

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:06 pm

Krugman is a disgrace to his profession….

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:06 pm

More videos of the leftists….well acting like leftists!! haha
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=673_1298659975

StJ

February 25th, 2011
3:07 pm

Bookman issues belated condemnation of “punish your enemies” rhetoric.

Oh, wait… :roll:

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:07 pm

George W. If there is a factual basis to conclude that McVeigh was a leftist or that Islam leans left, please provide.

Otherwise, I believe you have to be purposefully ignorant to believe something that stupid…

Normal

February 25th, 2011
3:07 pm

George,
See? there you go again. That’s NOT an irrational remark. That’s a bold fact…

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:08 pm

jm

Disagree…Krugman is brilliant and look forward to every mon. and friday to read his perspective…name a credible economist on the right?

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:08 pm

Another video of two fine Obama supporters….

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=def_1298661283

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:09 pm

Lord….actually I already did….go back and read again.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:11 pm

Mick 3:08 ——–???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dude. Milton Friedman to start…..

Krugman is a hack. But a very liberal hack, which is why he got the Nobel. Along with do-nothing Obama.

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:13 pm

Friedman – six feet under…giving me a living economist…

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:13 pm

George W. I said ‘factual basis…’

It is impossible to be that igorant unless it is on purpose.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:15 pm

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:16 pm

Mick. Real economists don’t spend all their time writing pieces for the opinion section of a newspaper. They do this thing called research.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:16 pm

Lord….are you talking about your comments?

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:17 pm

O, BTW, of course, dead economists don’t count as actual real economists. And George Washington isn’t a real president either.

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:17 pm

Taxpayer:

Found the source you quoted:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070529135412AAlyNHA

Some unamed person who answered a blogger’s question !

So here’s another one I found:

“……………….. Nazi’s have been heaped on the right side of the political spectrum, as a sort of counter-weight to communism. Thing is, that really doesn’t stand up to a serious analysis. The idea that the Nazi’s were right wing seems to boil down to the idea that racism (and nationalism) is a unique and defining trait of the right. But this is transparently false; Mecha, the Hispanic-power group, is avowedly leftist, racist,and nationalist. The Black Panthers and other black supremacists were leftist. There are any number of examples of groups and people on the left who are racist. In any case, I don’t accept that premise.

Without the racist=right wing idea to pin the Nazis, it becomes clear that the fascist movement is actually a faction of the left. Mussolini, the father of fascism, was a socialist. He split from the socialist to join a more extreme left-wing group which became the Fascist party. The word Nazi actually stands for, get this, the National Socialist German Workers Party. That’s two leftist red flags in one name. Their economic policy wasn’t anything CATO would approve of. One of their policy initiatives was to create a fund that would provide cars to everyone who decided to contribute. (The name of the car? The People’s Car, or, in German, Volkswagen. It was actually the VW Beetle. All those hippies were driving Hitlermobiles. Nice.) Basically, from where I’m sitting, fascism was a socialist sub-group that figured out how to tap into nationalism and racism. In the political climate of Europe (where the conservatives are just socialists who go to church) fascism had a broad appeal. Perhaps on the European left-right continuum, the placement of the Nazi’s on the right would then be appropriate. But I’m not really seeing how they’d fit on the right in America’s political continuum. They weren’t really hard-core Christian (more of a neo-pagan Christianity-when-in-public bunch), they certainly weren’t into the free market, and racism isn’t necessarily a right wing trait. ”

BOTTOM LINE: There’s is much debate on this issue. Some say left, some right and some parts of each.

P.S.

“By all means, share some more of your genius with us.”

Do you think you can find a way to debate the issues without personally attacking the poster?

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:18 pm

Mick, I’m sure the Catholic Church will be thrilled to hear they can now ignore Galileo since dead people don’t count any more. whatever.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:19 pm

Mick, you are a flim flam man.

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:19 pm

‘are you talking about your comments?’

Actually, GW, I am talking about what it takes to believe Islam leans left and McVeigh was a leftist…purposefully ignorant (which would include you, Scout and anyone else willing to believe something so detached from the facts).

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:20 pm

Lord…read 0311’s post about Nazism and let me know your thoughts….

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:20 pm

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.

toodles.

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:21 pm

jm

I’ll go with keynes-
“I do not know which makes a man more conservative–to know nothing but the present, or nothing but the past.”

md

February 25th, 2011
3:22 pm

And the beacon of freedom fades a wee bit more as the “civilized” western world stands by and watches the slaughter………………….

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:22 pm

Islam does not believe in a “Free Market Society”
The Left does not want a “Free Market Society”
Islam does not cherish life.
The Left supports abortion
Islam believes american corporations are evil
The Left believes american corporations are evil

Starting to see a pattern?

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:23 pm

jm

Don’t take everything so personal, it business, not personal; we are also both part of the same hypocrisy but never just think it applies to me..

Adam

February 25th, 2011
3:25 pm

George W: It’s more like this:

Abortion = a Choice, and NOT murder
Anti-Choice = Bad
Immigrants = Good
Illegal Immigrants = Not OK, but not to be used as an excuse for racial profiling
Business Executives = Bad if greedy
Taxes = Should be a part of your complete breakfast budget
More money in your pocket = Good, but not an excuse to abolish taxes
Working for a corporation = OK
Entrepreneurship = Better than working for a corporation
Getting a chance to startup your business = Very Good
Being prevented from being a startup due to banks or other corporation = Bad
Accepting government hand outs = OK if you have nowhere else to turn
Working for a living = Good
Jobs = Good
Greed = Bad

I hope it makes more sense now.

Mick

February 25th, 2011
3:25 pm

**The Left does not want a “Free Market Society”**

Man, you are out in la la land with that kind of thinking….but hey it’s your universe, keep it in good order please….

Adam

February 25th, 2011
3:26 pm

Oh yeah:

Murdering Doctors who perform abortions, and trying to make it legal to do so: VERY VERY BAD

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:26 pm

Adam…ok I will take them one by one….how many counts of murder was Scott Checkoway CONVICTED of? Please tell me why.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:26 pm

Adam….do you have a job? Why do you work?

Adam

February 25th, 2011
3:27 pm

George W: I work so I can afford to pay for things like food, shelter, and the occasional good time. Also my internet and phone bills so I can stay connected with my fellow humans.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:28 pm

Being prevented from being a startup due to banks or other corporation = Bad

How does a bank stop you from starting your own business.

BTW…I work for a corporation and own two businesses.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:28 pm

Adam….do you want to seek a promotion or more pay?

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:29 pm

“My new syndicated column today does the reporting the Tea Party-bashing national media won’t do on the rabid outbreak of progressive incivility and violence at Big Labor protests across the country. On Saturday, the grievance convergence will descend on all 50 state capitols spearheaded by the smear merchants of MoveOn.org — who will stoke further hatred and class warfare against America’s taxpayers, job creators, and wealth producers.”

Michelle Malkin

Adam

February 25th, 2011
3:30 pm

Also can’t answer your other question because I don’t know who that is, nor do I know what laws that was under. I still do not believe abortion is murder, and the FEDERAL law says that abortion is a legal procedure that federal funds shall not be used for.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
3:31 pm

George W: By not allowing loans by reason of “we’re scared,” regardless of good business ideas.

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:32 pm

“I’m sorry, but taking away a union’s ability to collectively bargain hardly seems to be stripping Americans of their right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. There is no human right to collective bargaining with your employer. It could be argued that you have a natural right to bargain individually with an employer .. but no right to team up with others for that purpose unless it is done by mutual agreement. And there’s the key.

It’s an agreement … a contract … and all of the parties have to be a part of it. You don’t have a human right to force mob rule on anyone. These thoughts, however, are a bit advanced for the typical liberal mind.”

Neil Boortz

——————————————————————————–

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:32 pm

‘Lord…read 0311’s post about Nazism and let me know your thoughts….’

Complete excrement. That said, if you WANT to believe something bad enough, you will find some way to rationalize it…regardless of how irrational…

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:32 pm

Adam…..Dude you really do not know who scott peterson is? He murdered his pregnant wife Laci Peterson and was charged with two counts of murder. Why do you feel this was.

If John Doe murders a pregnant woman he is charged with two counts of murder. However the murdering of an unborn child in a clinic makes it ok?

I know what the law says but doesnt mean it is right.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:33 pm

Lord…..I thought you would say something like that. What flavor Kool-Aid are you having today……Purple or Red?

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:35 pm

‘What flavor Kool-Aid are you having today……’

What does that have to do with you believing something that is stupid…

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:36 pm

“I still do not believe abortion is murder, and the FEDERAL law says that abortion is a legal procedure …..”

And slaves used to be property “all over” the United States (north and south) and as such could be whipped to death for various crimes (including running away) with impunity.

It took us about 250 years to straighten that out. The anti-abortion fight is still young.

I predict that in the far future, people will look back on today as we look back on slavery and say, “how could good people have done that to those babies?”

SOUTHERN ATL

February 25th, 2011
3:37 pm

“Tuesday night at a town hall meeting in Oglethorpe County, Georgia an elderly man asked the abhorrent question, “Who’s going to shoot Obama?”

Most of the people that attended the event probably consider the guy a hero for asking the question…Politics is definitely headed in the “WRONG” direction.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:37 pm

Lord….”What does that have to do with you believing something that is stupid”.

Did you pass third grade? Did you even read the article?

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:38 pm

0311//////great point.

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:38 pm

“Providence School Board Votes To Send Termination Letter To EVERY Teacher”

Tough times everywhere.

Lord Help Us

February 25th, 2011
3:39 pm

‘Did you pass third grade? Did you even read the article?’

Yes (to both). What did an opinion piece about Nazis have to do with, ‘Islam leans left and McVeigh was a leftist?’

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:40 pm

“0311//////great point.”

That will fall on hard hearts and deaf ears.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:42 pm

Peanuts and Coke. Georgia is a fantastic state…. when focused on those 2 things alone.

One Nation Under educated

February 25th, 2011
3:42 pm

Congratulations GEORGIA – $^&* yeah!

Georgia, leading the U.S, ringing in at 22.1% drop out rate.

http://www­.clms.neu.­edu/public­ation/docu­ments/CLMS­_2009_Drop­out_Report­.pdf

Only Haiti and Somalia to go!
And we just cut HOPE
And we just cut Pre K
And we got Bobby Franklin, Kingston, Gingrey
And this guy, the wingnuts aren’t ashamed – they just have no shame

Say, I’m a high-tech entrepeneur, looking to locate
my business/plant. I’m not even considering here.
Its like the red-state dingleberries are PROUD
of Ignorance, so much that its Willful. Its just
Ignorance for Ignorance’s sake, like its some
“folksy virtue”. No, its not. Its Ignorance. I grew
up in Georgia, and even Ga didn’t used to be
like this. We’re done. We’re moving to St Simons
and waiting for the revolution.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:44 pm

“so I can stay connected with my fellow humans.”

Beer is better for that….

Joe the Plutocrat

February 25th, 2011
3:44 pm

who cares? I suppose Bround should have corrected the fool with a citing the whiney neo-con , “but Obama said he’d bring a gun to a knife fight…” line.

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:49 pm

Where WIsconsin governor tries to lead, few of his GOP peers are willing to follow

revision

Where Obama leads on high speed rail, only CA and IL are following….. the 2 most bankrupt states in the nation.

It says something…..

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:50 pm

One Nation Under…..you dont think the drop out rate has anything to do with the vast number of illegals in this state do you???? Nah couldnt be.

josef nix

February 25th, 2011
3:51 pm

One Nation Under educated

“We’re moving to St Simons and waiting for the revolution.”

Ain’t that still in Georgia?

As for the thread..looks to me like crazy Uncle Jack got loose and he Congressman was slow on the uptake…

jm

February 25th, 2011
3:51 pm

Every 30 years or so, America apparently flirts with liberalism. And then soundly rejects it. I hope I’ll be able to say that with certainty after 2012.

George W

February 25th, 2011
3:53 pm

One Nation Under….Also the drop out rate for hispanics is 27.5% the drop out rate for black is 21.0%. However with whites it is only 12.2%. How are you going to blame this on Bush?

0311/0317 - 1811/1801

February 25th, 2011
3:53 pm

GONE UPSTAIRS !

@@

February 25th, 2011
3:55 pm

josef:

As for the thread..looks to me like crazy Uncle Jack got loose and he Congressman was slow on the uptake…

WRONG! There something far more sinister behind this, don’tcha know. It’s dark.

(ISH)

Lil' Barry Bailout

February 25th, 2011
3:59 pm

Lamest post of the year, Jay.

Slow day at the He-Man Republican-haters clubhouse?

TaxPayer

February 25th, 2011
4:08 pm

Scout,

Why don’t you go ask some Nazi sympathizers if they’d like to be thought of as left wing (Democratic party) or right wing (Republican party). Hurry back with that answer. And your analysis where you go off with the word socialist in the name was previously addressed. Try a little reading comprehension. Finally, your rants about groups of hispanics and others makes absolutely no sense with respect to establishing the basis for the Nazi party. How is that brain of yours able to make such absurd connections. They’re nothing more than random bits that you try to bind together with superglue.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
4:09 pm

George W: You said Scott Checkoway. Not Scott Peterson.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
4:11 pm

As for collective bargaining, sure I guess it’s not a right in the US Constitution, but it has become a right of unions to have this ability. Plus, collectively bargaining is more fair than trying to bargain, individually, with your employer who is not very interested in anything other than paying you as little as possible to do as much as possible for their bottom line.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
4:13 pm

And George W, to answer one of your others, sure I’d like a raise. I could care less about titles or promotions though, unless it leads to more of the work I like to do. And yeah it would be nice to be in a more leadership position and move up the ranks that way, as long as I don’t lose touch with what the work is about and become a number cruncher instead (that’s just not my thing). But in all that, it wouldn’t be about the money, except as far as it helps me pay for my basic needs and my family’s needs (if I have one).

TaxPayer

February 25th, 2011
4:38 pm

P.S.

“By all means, share some more of your genius with us.”

Do you think you can find a way to debate the issues without personally attacking the poster?

Sure, Scout. How’s this:

“By all means, share some more of your genius with us.”

I do hope you find that less offensive.

md

February 25th, 2011
4:39 pm

“Plus, collectively bargaining is more fair than trying to bargain, individually, with your employer who is not very interested in anything other than paying you as little as possible to do as much as possible for their bottom line.”

Uhhh…we are the employers……and they need to organize against us??

That is just wrong on so many levels…………….

Adam

February 25th, 2011
5:19 pm

md: Do you really have a direct say in how the teachers are treated? Really? No, your representatives on the school board do though, and that’s a whole different story. When it comes to working conditions, waiting 2 years to vote people out because they didn’t live up to your expectations isn’t good enough.

md

February 25th, 2011
5:25 pm

Adam…..the original purpose of unions was to protect from unsavory employers…….since then, we have passed numerous laws to protect all workers regardless of unionization……now we have unions to protect folks from the folks (us) that make those very laws??

But I have no doubt you think they need to be protected from us, and that is why you are you.

There is a huge difference between public and private sector jobs, but some refuse to see it.

Goes back to the choice made when entering to serve the public……………those last 3 words being the key words.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
5:49 pm

The unions exist in both the private and public sectors for the same reasons: to protect the interests of the workers (who probably don’t give a crap about whether they are considered a public or private employee). That you refuse to see the benefits of a union in both areas, and automatically assume public unions should not exist for the non-existent reasons you have stated, is not my problem.

BTW, what’s the last law you made md?

md

February 25th, 2011
6:07 pm

Well Adam……..I see that you subscribe to the gov’t as a third party syndrom…..oh well.

And your assumptions on my views of unions are way off………since you evidently missed it, I have no problems with unions….as long as they stay local to the cause…….they should represent the employees within their given company and set of parameters that is best for both parties……I was a union member of a big national for over 20 years (you?)…..I know what works and what is detrimental, and 3rd party unions do more harm than good.

But I’ll bow to your infinite wisdom on unions if you have some………….

And no, public sector unions are not needed……..if one chooses to serve the public, they know what the situation is.

But you do like to make excuses………so you will more than likely choose to make them.

You Distort/We Deride

February 25th, 2011
7:57 pm

Did anyone volunteer?

Given the group involved, I’m surprised that the question wasn’t followed by a show of hands.

AU-Mike

February 25th, 2011
9:22 pm

GOP rhetoric heard 24/7/365 on talk radio and Fox brain wash these poor saps, examples:
– July 2008: A gunman named Jim David Adkisson, agitated at how “liberals” are “destroying America,” walks into a Unitarian Church and opens fire, killing two churchgoers and wounding four others.
– October 2008: Two neo-Nazis are arrested in Tennessee in a plot to murder dozens of African-Americans, culminating in the assassination of President Obama.
– December 2008: A pair of “Patriot” movement radicals — the father-son team of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, who wanted “to attack the political infrastructure” — threaten a bank in Woodburn, Oregon, with a bomb in the hopes of extorting money that would end their financial difficulties, for which they blamed the government. Instead, the bomb goes off and kills two police officers. The men eventually are convicted and sentenced to death for the crime.
– December 2008: In Belfast, Maine, police discover the makings of a nuclear “dirty bomb” in the basement of a white supremacist shot dead by his wife. The man, who was independently wealthy, reportedly was agitated about the election of President Obama and was crafting a plan to set off the bomb.
– January 2009: A white supremacist named Keith Luke embarks on a killing rampage in Brockton, Mass., raping and wounding a black woman and killing her sister, then killing a homeless man before being captured by police as he is en route to a Jewish community center.
– February 2009: A Marine named Kody Brittingham is arrested and charged with plotting to assassinate President Obama. Brittingham also collected white-supremacist material.
– April 2009: A white supremacist named Richard Poplawski opens fire on three Pittsburgh police officers who come to his house on a domestic-violence call and kills all three, because he believed President Obama intended to take away the guns of white citizens like himself. Poplawski is currently awaiting trial.
– April 2009: Another gunman in Okaloosa County, Florida, similarly fearful of Obama’s purported gun-grabbing plans, kills two deputies when they come to arrest him in a domestic-violence matter, then is killed himself in a shootout with police.
– May 2009: A “sovereign citizen” named Scott Roeder walks into a church in Wichita, Kansas, and assassinates abortion provider Dr. George Tiller.
– June 2009: A Holocaust denier and right-wing tax protester named James Von Brunn opens fire at the Holocaust Museum, killing a security guard.
– February 2010: An angry tax protester named Joseph Ray Stack flies an airplane into the building housing IRS offices in Austin, Texas. (Media are reluctant to label this one “domestic terrorism” too.)
– March 2010: Seven militiamen from the Hutaree Militia in Michigan and Ohio are arrested and charged with plotting to assassinate local police officers with the intent of sparking a new civil war.
– March 2010: An anti-government extremist named John Patrick Bedell walks into the Pentagon and opens fire, wounding two officers before he is himself shot dead.
– May 2010: A “sovereign citizen” from Georgia is arrested in Tennessee and charged with plotting the violent takeover of a local county courthouse.
– May 2010: A still-unidentified white man walks into a Jacksonville, Fla., mosque and sets it afire, simultaneously setting off a pipe bomb.
– May 2010: Two “sovereign citizens” named Jerry and Joe Kane gun down two police officers who pull them over for a traffic violation, and then wound two more officers in a shootout in which both of them are eventually killed.
– July 2010: An agitated right-winger and convict named Byron Williams loads up on weapons and drives to the Bay Area intent on attacking the offices of the Tides Foundation and the ACLU, but is intercepted by state patrolmen and engages them in a shootout and armed standoff in which two officers and Williams are wounded.
– September 2010: A Concord, N.C., man is arrested and charged with plotting to blow up a North Carolina abortion clinic. The man, 26-year–old Justin Carl Moose, referred to himself as the “Christian counterpart to (Osama) bin Laden” in a taped undercover meeting with a federal informant.
…These are just some of the right wing crazies inspired by the crap they hear fro the GOP spin machine. There are many more examples.

buck@gon

February 25th, 2011
9:31 pm

WEEKLY DUMPSTER DIVE
AT THE AJC
SETTING FREE PRIVATE DOCUMENTS ABOUT OUR “FAVORITE” EDITORS.

DEPOSITION HEARING, DOWIE, CHEATAM & HOWE, ATLANTA OFFICES
TRANSCRIPT:
ATTORNEY (ATT): For the record we are gathered here today for these despositions and statements from each party for the benefit of testimony given in the matter of Bookman, Sr. and Bookman, dependent, so that these matters may be resolved.
BOOKMAN DEPENDENT (DEP): What the hell is going on here?
ATT: Please leave ad hominem remarks off of the transcript for after the hearing. Jay, would you like to begin.
BOOKMAN SENIOR (BS): Thanks, I’d like to be clear for the record. I wanted to make sure that your mother and I have been good parents to you.
DEP: Well, sure dad….
BS: Please let me finish. Good, because we wanted to feel like we were doing a good job and I’m glad you agree with us. We’ve gone to great lengths to help you realize your dreams and set you on a high place in life so that you can be happy.
DEP: I’m not sure….
BS: Again, let me be clear. We have done all of these things for you without request of thanks or reward for ourselves. It has been a great benefit for you, and because of the economy, ad sales at my job, your mother and I no longer have the resources to keep you in our house to the degree to which you have become accustomed.
DEP: Dad?!
BS: Yes, it’s time for you to go out on your own.
DEP: But Dad, I’m only 29 years old!
BS: There are lots of reasonable places to live, and there are good opportunities available for you if you want to stay in college say, another five or ten years.
DEP: You’re forcing me out!?
BS: Don’t look at it that way. What I’m doing is giving you wings to fly out on your own.
DEP: You always believed in collective bargaining. I have the right to collective bargaining.
BS: But you’re only one pers….
DEP: I don’t care . You can’t do this to me. I’m going to go on strike.
BS: Strike?
DEP: Yeah, I’m striking against you?
ATT: You mean you’re going to hit your father?
DEP: &F* No! What do you think I am!? No, I’m going to stop working.
ATT: Well, the whole reason….
DEP: I don’t care. Unless you give me what I want, I’m just going to stop everything. It isn’t about me. It’s about my right to bargain.
BS: But if you stop working, it’ll be your…
DEP: No, it won’t. My failure will be on your hands. I have the right to bargain here. I’m an interested party.
BS: Well, it’s my house and…
DEP: What does Mom think about this?
BS: She…
ATT: We’re going to focus on the matter at hand. Mr. Bookman…
DEP: He’s my DAD!
ATT: Right, your ahh… Father wants to enjoy his work and his life without his grown children living in his…
DEP: This is just unfair! Where am I going to get my benefits, my allowance, my meals? I’m going to call the government, the courts SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
ATT: People do it every day. We’re done here.

Adam

February 25th, 2011
10:58 pm

.if one chooses to serve the public, they know what the situation is.

See, there you go again, assuming that everyone’s choice and the consequences associated with it are not only all their fault, but completely foreseeable. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Aside from that, you’re not really making a case that you are better equipped to know whether unions should exist or not. You’re putting a narrow focus on a type of union you consider bad (3rd party) and then ascribing that to all public unions, as though they are the same always. Like I said, not making your case.

And yeah, the government is a 3rd party unless you’re an elected official. If you think the government always automatically does what you want it to all the time then you’re the one with the delusion, not me.

ap

February 26th, 2011
7:52 am

What is even more ridiculous about this: Rep. Broun filed the “Sanctity of Life” bill this session in Congress. Looks like he respects life when it is the unborn, but not for the President of the United States.

http://alexpickett.com/2011/02/25/bipartisan-guide-to-ridiculous-legislation-u-s-rep-broun-files-sanctity-of-life-act-then-laughs-at-assassination-question/

md

February 26th, 2011
12:04 pm

“Aside from that, you’re not really making a case that you are better equipped to know whether unions should exist or not.”

And how many years did you actually work in a union??

Researching unions and living in them are two totally different concepts………but you are going to believe whatever you want, so it makes no difference what anyone says……

As I said before, reminds me much of myself when I was a card carrying member of the Democrat Party……………thankfully, we never stop learning……….and life is a great teaching environment.

Adam

February 26th, 2011
1:52 pm

md: How many unions did you work in? Can you really say for sure they’re all the same? Or that public unions are always fundamentally different from private unions? Personal experience is fine, but it’s never the big picture.

Left wing management

February 26th, 2011
4:35 pm

Broun may be lucky this happened late in the week’s news cycle.

Say, are political reporters in Georgia trained in recognizing mental illness? If not, they ought to be.

Claude Raines

February 26th, 2011
10:39 pm

“I was stunned by the question and chose not to dignify it with a response…”

I was shocked, SHOCKED!

Lil' Barry Bailout

February 27th, 2011
4:55 pm

I had a similar experience on my wedding day when a friend of my fiancee told me I “should be marrying one of my own kind”. I was flabbergasted and haven’t said a word to this “friend” since.

Had I been quicker on me feet I would have shot back that I didn’t like guys that way.