# Republicans: candidate who assaulted reporter is fine with us! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 25, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443 "2017-05-25T21:36:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/201 "2017-05-27T03:02:56Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I’d be curious to see the right wing’s take on the fact that if that reporter had a concealed handgun, he would have been justified in putting a bullet right between Gianforte’s eyes. I’d like to know why they think Gianforte should be forgiven for a transgression that they normally consider serious enough to take a person’s life no questions asked. Montana does have a stand your ground law. Seems to me that the journalist would have been perfectly justified in defending himself with lethal means. When a guy’s hands are around your throat, you shoot first. But then you don’t get to ask anymore questions, even if they are softballs. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/202 "2017-05-27T03:07:32Z")
> [@Salvor](#): > > You know what, I reject this line of argument. It is often used by some of the worst partisan deceit filled hacks like Sean Hannity who use the fact that they are **explicit** in their partisanship as an aegis against the MASSIVE distortions they puke out week after week. Then when the more left leaning media says something with a FRACTION of the spin and misinformation they bitch up a storm. > > This standard just so happens to conveniently hit non conservative media much harder since most national media outfits are based out of big cities and population centers where more liberals live. > > And conservative media? They love to play the poor wittle helpless victims, but they can’t play that shit with me because I follow and listen to them. > > Most of talk radio is an over the top biased cesspool of hyper conservative dogma. They bathe themselves in some of the most caustic and biased and dishonest media around, then turn around and cry about CNN because it was slightly slanted towards a liberal perspective? > > Oh but it’s OK for their media centers to do FAR worse since they are admitted partisans? Eff that. > > We do not live in some closed off world today, and those cheap distinctions so are not enough in my eyes to absolve the absolute cancer of conservative commentary. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I agree with this. It’s like the conservatives think it’s OK to say "well, sure our media talkers are outrageous partisan liars who make up the nastiest shit about our opponents. But that’s OK, since this is the expected level of what we will tolerate. " > > YOU LIBERALS on the other hand, have to play by the rules, and be fair, and tolerant, and even handed. Otherwise you are being MEAN! and BIASED! And we will bitch and cry and complain. I don’t buy **Bricker’s** line about the MSM being overly mean to Trump. But you guys are still not getting it. “Talk radio” is not news. Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore are political advocates, not objective journalists. Neither is trying to be the NYT. ---
**Author:** ![Salvor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Salvor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salvor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/203 "2017-05-27T03:27:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t buy **Bricker’s** line about the MSM being overly mean to Trump. But you guys are still not getting it. **“Talk radio” is not news.** Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore are political advocates, not objective journalists. Neither is trying to be the NYT. I think this is an outdated mode of thought. The news landscape is expanded compared to what it used to be. It’s not just traditional sources like newspapers coupled to their editorial boards and straight news broadcasts with sterile, wolf blitzer like hosts. -It’s talk radio -It’s online “perspective” focused news sites like salon, slate, vox, breitbart, daily kos, townhall, redstate -It’s cable news networks -It’s youtube personalities and networks like tyt, louder with crowder, sargon of akkad, kraut and tea, secular talk (too many to list, this area of general political and social and societal commentary is a vast wilderness) -It’s reddit threads and other online forums -online hard nose politics sites like politico and thehill -It’s comedy shows like the daily show and the much superior Real Time with Bill Maher show And more, so much more. People get news from a mix of all those above, and likely more I have yet to think of. One of the conservative hosts I’ve come to loathe based on how hysterical he’s become, Dennis Prager, launched a youtube channel called prageru to expand his reach and message. He brags on his radio show about how a majority of his viewers are under their 30s (that’s youtube). News is NOT being propagated via traditional vectors. Outfits like the new york times and the wallstreet journal and the washington post may be the more traditional and legitimate news sources since they do the actual reporting and investigations much of the time, but WHERE and HOW people actually receive their news is FAR more vast than those narrow slots. And that matters as much if not more than ever today. I don’t have any numbers to quantify things, but I’d imagine most people get news from filtered sources vs straight from the source style news sources today, or at the very least, some mix. For myself? I frequent: politico thehill talk radio (up to the point where I need to shut it off after hearing too much drivel without any counter - not into conservative circle jerks) youtube personalities real time bill maher ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/204 "2017-05-27T03:47:05Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Poster often complains about liberal hypocrisy. In an effort to deflect attention from support for a criminal, poster brings up liberal examples, tenuously related, selectively edit quotes, and say THERE! But now it’s not about liberal hypocrisy, 3 pages later. > > Goalposts only a Vikings kicker could love. Poster is often accused, incorrectly, of complaining about liberal hypocrisy. Nor is this an effort to deflect attention. It’s an effort to expose the actual argument being offered: not that “criminal actions are bad,” but rather “criminal actions are much worse when done by people who we politically oppose.” Nor have I selectively edited any quotes. In short, your post is a collection of untruths. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/205 "2017-05-27T03:53:29Z")
But keep in mind that this whole train of thought started wrt Trump vilifying the news sources. And he vilified the NYT and the WaPo, not Daily Kos or ThinkProgress. **Bricker** thinks the NYT and the WaPo were mean to Trump. I disagree, but it’s not really germane, in this context, to bring up Limbaugh or the rest of the talk-radio gab fest. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/206 "2017-05-27T03:55:08Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > First off, props for going back through a long thread and responding to those who are engaging with you. > > Secondly, I didn’t ask if it was legal to withhold his salary during his jail time, I asked if you thought if it was the right thing to do. Put it this way, do you think it would be ethical for a congressperson to accept full salary for a job he was not able to perform because he was in jail for assault? And further, do you still think that electing a representative who ends up in jail for six months on an assault conviction is better for his constituents than the alternative Democrat? That seems asinine to me. What’s the point of a representative who doesn’t represent for a quarter of his term? In my opinion, a jailed Congressman should at a minimum donate his salary to charity during the time he is jailed. Now, again pointing out that a first-offense misdemeanor assault conviction simply does not get jail time, so we’re discussing a hypothetical that is not realistically based on the extant factual situation in play . . . the answer is yes, I feel he’s better than the Democrat. The Democrat, if in office, would “represent” his constituents in ways I feel are harmful to his constituents and the nation as a whole. Now I have a question for you, in the same spirit of honest engagement. Do you think that the posters that are engaging me in this thread are, in good faith, summarizing my positions fairly and attributing them to me fairly? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/207 "2017-05-27T04:07:50Z")
> [@](#): > > EXETER, N.H. – Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean. > > The tussle left Franken’s trademark thick-rim glasses broken, but he said he was not injured. > > Franken – who seemed in a state of shock and out of breath after the incident – was helped back to his feet by several people who watched the tussle. Police arrived soon after. > > “I got down low and took his legs out,” said Franken afterwards. > > Franken said he’s not backing Dean but merely wanted to protect the right of people to speak freely. “I would have done it if he was a Dean supporter at a Kerry rally,” he said. > > “I’m neutral in this race but I’m for freedom of speech, which means people should be able to assemble and speak without being shouted down.” > > The trouble started when several supporters of fringe presidential candidate Lyndon Larouche began shouting accusations at Dean. > > Franken emerged from the crowd and charged one male protester, grabbing him with a bear hug from behind and slamming him onto the floor. > > “I was a wrestler so I used a wrestling move,” Franken said. [Link.](http://nypost.com/2004/01/27/al-franken-knocks-down-dean-heckler/) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/208 "2017-05-27T04:16:22Z")
Slate pointed out that the apology only came out _after_ the win. Before the win, this campaign put out a statement > [@typical Republican view](#): > > It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ, > [@Chronos](#): > > You used to be better than this, **Bricker**. Please try to find that better you again. Them days are gone and ain’t coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/209 "2017-05-27T04:25:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Pro-life people don’t grab people by their throats and throw them to the floor. Pro-life people also don’t advocate against legislation that saves millions of lives. You are endorsing the anti-life candidate over the actual pro-life candidate. You used to be better than this, **Bricker**. Please try to find that better you again. Really? Where, in the past 18 years that I have been posting on this board, did you find me endorsing the pro-abortion candidate based on a feeling that he was really pro-life? I read this comment as, “When you agree with the liberals, you’re great; otherwise, not so much.” ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/210 "2017-05-27T04:28:23Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Really? Where, in the past 18 years that I have been posting on this board, did you find me endorsing the pro-abortion candidate based on a feeling that he was really pro-life? > > I read this comment as, “When you agree with the liberals, you’re great; otherwise, not so much.” I read it as "You used to be the type of poster who wouldn’t characterize a common thug as being pro-life. You wouldn’t advocate for hurting people as being a pro-life position. " Your mileage obviously varies. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/211 "2017-05-27T04:38:07Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I read it as "You used to be the type of poster who wouldn’t characterize a common thug as being pro-life. You wouldn’t advocate for hurting people as being a pro-life position. " > > Your mileage obviously varies. If that’s the case, then he mistakes my list items meaning. I regard abortion as ending the life of a human being. When I speak of someone being “pro-life,” I refer to their opposition to the killing of human beings by means of abortion, or the death penalty. Their willingness to body-slam a reporter is not admirable, but it’s not something that removes them from being called pro-life. The body-slam is not pro-life but neither does it negate a pro-life position. Again, “pro-life” in this context meaning “opposition to the killing of human beings by means of abortion, or the death penalty.” Do you disagree? Because, frankly, I think the position you seem to be pushing here is surprising. In American politics, “pro-life” means what I said, and a “thug” like Al Franken wouldn’t be judged as pro-life or pro-choice based on his decision to body-slam a protester. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/212 "2017-05-27T04:47:39Z")
I am not pushing any point of view. I was attempting to clarify another reading of the post you seemed to have a problem with. You may hold that “pro-life” only refers to being anti-abortion, and that’s a reasonable standpoint. One position many who are pro-choice have suggested is that there is something wrong with a position that calls itself pro-life, yet is quite okay with actively seeking to hurt people. You may suggest that it doesn’t matter if someone puts another in the hospital through assault, as long as one doesn’t advocate that abortion should remain legal. But, as some have said, that position is not so much pro-life, as pro-fetus. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/213 "2017-05-27T07:06:26Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You know that’s not what I said. > > But you imputed it to me anyway. It follows from your argument. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/214 "2017-05-27T10:19:40Z")
> Relevant tweetstorm. Although I suppose it reflects poorly on me that my response to this: > [@](#): > > 3/ How would you feel if the parents of Seth Rich took out a tire iron and beat the living shit out of Sean Hannity for his repulsive lies? Would be, “Good, the fucker has had it coming for a long time now.” But then again, categorizing Hannity as a “journalist” is like categorizing me as a “chef” because I know how to heat up a hot pocket in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/215 "2017-05-27T13:19:10Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I am not pushing any point of view. I was attempting to clarify another reading of the post you seemed to have a problem with. You may hold that “pro-life” only refers to being anti-abortion, and that’s a reasonable standpoint. One position many who are pro-choice have suggested is that there is something wrong with a position that calls itself pro-life, yet is quite okay with actively seeking to hurt people. You may suggest that it doesn’t matter if someone puts another in the hospital through assault, as long as one doesn’t advocate that abortion should remain legal. But, as some have said, that position is not so much pro-life, as pro-fetus. This is an attempt to parse the words “pro-life,” in a way different than you know I was using them. I’m also opposed to the death penalty, and I call that pro-life, but would you say that position is not so much pro-life as pro-murderer, since after all only convicted murderers are subject to the death penalty? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/216 "2017-05-27T13:23:19Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > It follows from your argument. It was directly contradicted by what I said. I explicitly said that this wasn’t OK, but was merely preferable to the alternative. I used the analogy of changing a tire in freezing rain. So you knew I wasn’t saying “This is OK,” and you knew it did not follow from my argument. So again, why did you say it? You knew it wasn’t a fair summary of my argument. Everyone reading this exchange knows that. Why did you use it? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/217 "2017-05-27T14:01:14Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I am not pushing any point of view. I was attempting to clarify another reading of the post you seemed to have a problem with. You may hold that “pro-life” only refers to being anti-abortion, and that’s a reasonable standpoint. One position many who are pro-choice have suggested is that there is something wrong with a position that calls itself pro-life, yet is quite okay with actively seeking to hurt people. You may suggest that it doesn’t matter if someone puts another in the hospital through assault, as long as one doesn’t advocate that abortion should remain legal. But, as some have said, that position is not so much pro-life, as pro-fetus. Exactly!! And how about “World Series” and “Miss Universe”. Totally confusing terms since the World Series isn’t played throughout the world and Miss Universe is, well, you know. I’m always confused by those terms, aren’t you? But the worst of all is “impeachment”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/218 "2017-05-27T14:17:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But the worst of all is “impeachment”. It doesn’t refer to the Democrat’s desire to immerse Trump in a vat of peach juice? Wow, I am really disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/219 "2017-05-27T14:21:48Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It doesn’t refer to the Democrat’s desire to immerse Trump in a vat of peach juice? > > Wow, I am really disappointed. No, that’s “enpeachment”. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443/220 "2017-05-27T14:23:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > No, that’s “enpeachment”. Totally confusing, if you ask me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-candidate-who-assaulted-reporter-is-fine-with-us/787443.md?page=12)