And a thug enabler running for Senate in Massachusetts.
[Update a few minute later]
Here’s a first-hand report from the thugeeassault victim (who was given similar treatment by Scozzafava’s entourage in New York when they called the cops on him).
[Afternoon update]
Meehan has apologized to McCormack.
I seriously doubt that would hurt her with Assachusetts Democrats though.
Oops. I keep dropping that first letter. Silly me.
I was going to write what McGeeHee wrote. Nobody who is going to care about this was planning to vote for Coakley.
That said, it is still worth documenting to answer future claims that it’s “right wing” violence we should be concerned about.
McGehee: Didn’t you drop that final “e” also? That’s the way Coakley’s campaign spells the name of the state, you know…
Er, Rand, I think you should avoid using “thugee” that way… it scans as an alternate spelling for “thuggee”, which is not at all what you mean.
BBB
I don’t see the story. Maybe the campaign worker was a bit too aggressive, maybe, but the “assault victim”, John McCormack was acting like a real jerk. Also, I took at look at the video following him and noticed something interesting. The photo that shows the campaign worker standing over McCormack, was one of a burst of shots (I’d say about a dozen in very quick succession) that started about the point the reporter fell down.
It doesn’t appear to be a staged fall (since the photographer appears to have taken another burst a few seconds earlier and neither the photographer or the video guy following the group seemed that interested in the altercation). He might have taken photos that show how the reporter actually fell. Also the “assaulter” helped McCormack up. It’s almost surely part of the job description (that is, look as good as possible when someone hits the ground), but I still think that’s a strike against the “thug” accusation.
From the video which shows the scene from the rear, partly obscured by people, all I can see is that McCormack was trying to get around the campaign worker (who was acting as a blocker) and he might have been initially pushed as well (the other guy did appear to have his hands on him at the point McCormack fell), but I can’t tell from that angle, only the upper torsos and arms are visible. Afterwards, said bodyguard helps him up, asks him if he’s ok, and asks to see a press pass. McCormack briefly brandishes said pass, then there’s some basketball-style action as McCormack tries to follow Coakley and the other guy tries to ward him off.
I really don’t know. If McCormack did this to an unprepared person, there’s a really good change that he’d be attacked and the attack would be justified. I really don’t know what the expectations are for people who deal with paparazzi on a regular basis. But simply falling once when you’re basically doing a man-to-man press with a acting bodyguard doesn’t strike me as good grounds for claiming assault.
Also, I don’t think there’s a big story in Coakley’s lack of reaction in the “Legal Insurrection” photo. The event had happened too soon in the past to react (unless she’s some sort of terminator robot sent from the future to destroy the present). Even well after, I see no indication that a reaction was warranted. Guy falls down, gets up, even says he’s fine. That must happen a lot in a state like Massachusetts.
Karl, for someone who “doesn’t see the story,” you sure did have a lot to say about … the story.
That’s understandable, since it’s impossible to dismiss a story one doesn’t see. But spare us the “I don’t see it” when obviously you do.
I don’t see the story. Maybe the campaign worker was a bit too aggressive, maybe, but the “assault victim”, John McCormack was acting like a real jerk
Physical assault and battery is OK if the victim is acting like a jerk? Hmm.
The event had happened too soon in the past to react
Karl, she was there. She was a witness. She was looking directly at the action. She’s a big-shot lawyer, the AG for Massachusetts. You don’t think she knows what is and isn’t assault and battery the instant she sees it? Give me a break.
If there was any way at all to absolve her aide and argue he was in the legal right, you can be 100% sure she would have offered it immediately. She doesn’t need to go home and review the tapes. The fact that she wants the story to quietly die, that she stonewalls with mealy-mouthed statements I’ll have to get back to you on that tells you clear as day what she’s doing is hunting hard for a way to spin obvious wrong, while hoping hard it somehow magically all goes away.
Kind of vaguely reminds me of Ted Kennedy in the hours after Chappaquiddick, in his hotel room, thinking hard exactly how he can spin the death of Mary Jo so it doesn’t look like his fault. How very appropriate that this sleazeball (and Coakley is just that) is running for Ted’s old seat.
You know, I’ll tell you what, if the parties were reversed — if Coakley were Republican, and Brown a Democrat — and I were still a Massachusetts voter, I’d swallow hard and pull the lever for the Democrat. Coakley is that bad. Better 61 Democrats in the Senate than 59 and that vile woman.
Karl, for someone who “doesn’t see the story,” you sure did have a lot to say about … the story.
I wanted to forestall the “well it looked like assault to me” rebuttals and the internet pulled me in with the video. I realized that the camera shot was from the other direction than the video, and I hadn’t seen it (well, at least the first time). At that point, it was a grassy knoll moment, except there was no grassy knoll and nothing particularly interesting happened. I ended up watching the video a bunch of times, posting my observations, and whatnot.
Physical assault and battery is OK if the victim is acting like a jerk? Hmm.
Being a jerk surely is a strongly mitigating circumstance. I don’t know the circumstances under which a person can be touched without their consent, but they do exist and McCormack would have been pretty close to crossing the line where his consent wouldn’t matter.
Karl, she was there. She was a witness. She was looking directly at the action. She’s a big-shot lawyer, the AG for Massachusetts. You don’t think she knows what is and isn’t assault and battery the instant she sees it? Give me a break.
Come on. Even if she had good night vision (odds are good she doesn’t) what would she have seen? A reporter fall and then get back up. She might even have heard him say he was ok. Maybe she saw her campaign worker do something that would be considered assault. I don’t know. But from watching that silly video a pile of times, I really think any charge of assault would be hard to press even if the video camera were filming the action from right where Coakley was.
The only impression I got of her was that she looked tired as hell. I don’t know why obviously, but if true, that’d be another reason to expect she’d be less than a great eyewitness.
I know this is a cliche, but imagine the reaction of ObamaNation (and in particular its considerable media arm) if, while running for VP, a similar incident had occurred resulting in asimilar photo showing Sarah Palin reacting as Coakley appears to be reacting in the assault photo. We’d still be hearing about it from Letterman, Tina Fey, and the rest of the Court Jesters.
No imagination necessary, we saw the reaction to the “kill him” utterance that not only wasn’t said by a Palin staffer, but was never said by a Palin supporter. Idiots like Jim still think that is evidence of Republicans being thugs.