Smart Girl Makes Weak Boy Look Dumb

What is it with you right-wingers and your anti-let-the-government-take-over-everything protests?  It’s bad enough that you’re asking congressmen where they stand on issues.  And it’s even worse that you’re trying to hold them accountable as they pass legislation that leaves your health at the House of Representatives’ mercy.  But now you’re getting in the way of their staffers’ body checks, and it’s simply rude.  In the future, please be good citizens and allow emasculated flaks to take out their miserable career-based aggression on you. 

That said, you’d be frustrated if you worked for a politician who just voted for a plan that so many people oppose so strongly.  Thursday’s House Call, where patriots once again gathered in Washington to oppose Washington’s attempt to commandeer the health care industry, was the latest promising stand against a voracious government.  The Michele Bachmann-led initiative featured, as usual, most everyone in attendance expressing their opinions while behaving as if they were attending an American Legion banquet.  We just keep bringing together people who happen to be overwhelmingly well-mannered in public.

But the same can’t be said for the protest’s adversaries.  When faced with concerned, determined protesters, one lesser Congressman’s minion got ugly and played dirty.  And we know the target: an original Smart Girl was confronted by the belligerently gutless clod.  Amanda Carpenter of The Washington Times has the details:

Things also got rough for Smart Girl Politics Executive Director Teri Cristoph who says she was physically rebuffed by a senior staffer for Rep. Gerry Connolly, Virginia Democrat.

Mrs. Cristoph, a Burke resident, attended the “House call” event and attempted to meet with her congressman and interview him about health care legislation. When she arrived at the office she was questioned by Connolly’s staff about her camcorder. They told her she was not permitted to video tape because she was not press. At this point, she says Mr. Connolly’s Communications Director, George Burke, used some degree of force against her.

“He put his whole body into me so I would put the camera down,” she said. “He bumped into my right arm and his staffers saw it. I was shocked that he physically ran into me. It was not accidental.”

Connolly’s bouncer has a different, erroneous, amusing interpretation:

Mr. Burke told the Washington Times that “she’s making it up” and is pulling a “publicity stunt.”

“She was very aggressive and I put my hand very gently on her shoulder and she went ballistic,” he said.

“I have a daughter,” Mr. Burke said. “I’m a gentleman. I don’t push people around.”

Well, except that he does.  In addition to her write-up, Teri videotaped the encounter.  The visual documentation cuts out for good reason, namely because the alleged gentleman in question disrupted it by making contact with her.  Make sure your daughter doesn’t see this clip, pal.

Of course, anyone who has dealt with SGP’s co-founder knew it was only a matter of time before she was involved in a hostile incident like this.  I can testify from my personal interaction with Teri that her e-mails are filled with undoubtedly threatening excerpts such as “hi,” “thanks!” and smiley faces comprised of equal signs and parentheses.  Such inflammatory posturing was clearly on display when she sought out her congressional representative to ask a fair question in a civil manner.

Well, maybe she was actually being as decent as usual.  The site’s co-founder embodies how limited-government backers are capable of both amassing and behaving.  There have been exactly zero riot policemen dispatched between last Thursday’s gathering, the 9/12 march, and both the Independence and Tax Day Tea Parties.  No health care foes have yet been pepper-sprayed for raising their voices.  Our protesters are boring!

To be fair, there were some arrests this time.  Carpenter also reports,

Capitol Police Public Information Officer Kimberly Schneider said in an e-mail to the Washington Times that demonstrators were arrested in or near (Nancy) Pelosi’s personal office located in Cannon Building Room 235.

Four of them were charged with unlawful entry inside of the room, six were charged with unlawful conduct in the hallway outside and an additional two females were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct outside of the room, she said.

Did they start bonfires in city streets or topple barricades?  Did they throw bricks through a Starbucks window, or at police officers?  In short, did they act like G-20 protesters?  Nope: they tried to get an audience with the Representative leading the charge to foist national health upon Americans.  A handful of attention-seekers should behave.  But the Speaker should listen, too.

And those visiting Connolly’s office engaged in nothing approaching a provocation.  Regardless, I feel bad for Burke.  Sure, he’s a pathetic coward who literally got pushy with a concerned resident.  But he also works for a first-term Congressman who sided with Pelosi this weekend, which is unsurprising when one considers that Connolly has stuck with the Democrats 97.3 percent of the time.  That’s an inopportune reality for a Representative from a state whose voters just famously proved they’re already weary of his party.

It has to be stressful time in the headquarters: everyone from Connolly down may be sending out résumés this time next year.  The woeful prospect of electorate-induced unemployment will in turn be exacerbated by having to find work in a country plagued by Obamanomics.

But yeah, he’s pitiful.  Teri was simply following Bachmann’s sage advice, namely, “Don’t bring your pitchforks, bring your video cameras. And get them on record saying how they’re going to vote and why.”  It turns out they are also helpful for getting their flunkies on record when they display brutish tendencies.

Burke is obviously an admirer of his oh so tough-guy boss, who allegedly also freaked out during an eerily similar altercation.  They each see themselves as a Clint Eastwood character.  I agree, although I think they’re bringing to mind the wrong role.

Such roughnecks should look for a challenge if they’re going to push around regular Americans.  It goes without saying that Smart Girls can fend for themselves.  Still, if bully boys want to establish their toughness, they should have the nerve to jostle a Smart Guy instead.

But this male House staffer may be so cravenly unchivalrous that he keeps picking fights with women.  If that’s the case, he should at least have enough sense not to do so with a media-savvy female who can instantly relay the documented boorishness to thousands upon thousands of people.  How dim can he get?  The only more foolish move would be if his boss voted for a genuinely socialistic, endlessly costly, career-killing bill.  Whoops for them.

Anthony Bialy is a freelance writer and “Red Eye” Conservative in Western New York.  He blogs at http://thebuffalobean.com and tweets at http://twitter.com/AnthonyBialy.

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