Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia fails the civility test, big time....

vince

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I just think it's too much to expect that any topic in American politics will not be reduced to Democrats vs Republicans VB. It seems inevitable that even the most obvious incident that everyone should be able to agree is wrong, will get a response of, "yeah well your guy so and so did the same so piss off". I'm not blaming anyone for that... It's just the nature of the beast.

We do have a rule about threads that are titled and posted in such a way as to be extra inflammatory.
 

nudeyorker

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The whole room broke out in laughter and he left it unchallenged! NOT FUNNY!

Thanks for the link, but anyone can write anything they want in a blog whether it's true or not. Until anyone is in that room steps forward and confirms that is actually what happened. I'm going to assume that it is a fabrication. If in fact it is true than it is absolutely unforgivable behavior in Mr Broun's part. But as I said I need a viable proof not someone's blog.
 

Tee&A

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Flame80, I believe the simple answer to your questions are that "Leaders lead by example" and the U.S. Rep. missed his opportunity.

I am not going to pretend to be an expert on the responsibilities of those in elective office. However, people in public service are, for the most part, held to a higher standard for conduct because they are perceived to be representatives for ALL the people of their jurisdiction (Municipal, State, Federal). As such, they serve our community/country best when they set the example for respect, tolerance, and unity (United States...).

Therefore, when someone in their presence makes even a casual threat to the life of a sitting leader, especially the President, and hyper-especially since AZ, the civic leader would serve us all well by immediately identifying such comments as unaccepatable ON THE SPOT. This would send a much more powerful message to the veracity and sincerity of his rebuke than "ignoring it" and later submitting a written statement of his actions/opinion after the fact.The proper response in my humble opinion: "Sir, your question is out of line and tantamount to treason. I will have to call for security to take you into custody until such time as the Secret Service can interview you. I will not tolerate any such remarks against our Country or any of its leaders. Let us continue with more appropriate questions."

That is the tone I'd like to see set by Americans.

Good grief man, how dare you? How dare you expect an elected public official whose influence is very real and tangible to set the tone for his constituents and those beyond by speaking out against poor, divisive behavior? Really, you are quite offensive, my good man...

Seriously, one does not have to foam at the mouth, pledge their allegiance to an opposing side, or deliver a speech equivalent to the Gettysburg Address in order to express their displeasure with an act. I'm sure most didn't expect Representative Broun to deliver the elderly question-poser a fiercesome beatdown with a whupass stick for asking who should shoot Barack Obama. I do, however, believe some would expect a person in his position to make it clear that it is not acceptable (either for security reasons or merely in the interest of good taste) to ask who should shoot the President of the United States. I believe a simple "That isn't an appropriate question, so I'm going to move on" would have sufficed, but it should have been addressed.

Ignoring does not equal disagreement; ignoring equals tolerance.
 

Q Vee

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Thanks for the link, but anyone can write anything they want in a blog whether it's true or not. Until anyone is in that room steps forward and confirms that is actually what happened. I'm going to assume that it is a fabrication. If in fact it is true than it is absolutely unforgivable behavior in Mr Broun's part. But as I said I need a viable proof not someone's blog.

Will this do?
Paul Broun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How about this?
Query to congressman: 'Who is going to shoot Obama?' - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com
Or maybe this one?
Question to Broun: Who’s going to shoot President Obama? | OnlineAthens Blogs

Or you could use this
Dogpile Web Search
and search for just the right site.:icon12:

Happy hunting Nudeyorker.
 

Tee&A

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So in summation, not only was there indeed laughter after the question was asked, the supposed "I took the stance of ignoring the question because it was soooooo inappropriate" position Senator Broun stated he took was actually more a tongue-in-cheek agreement than a firm rebuke (and was met with even more laughter). Vetty, vetty interestink...