So this is what things have come to.
Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia was at a town hall meeting last Thursday in Athens, Ga. The question asked to Mr. Broun from the back drew a vast helping of laughter from those assembled.
The question was, “Who’s going to shoot Obama?”
Laughter.
I don’t think it’s necessary to remind anyone what happened Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz. It is impossible to believe people’s memories are so short. Not only am I sure the everyday citizen remembers that day, but surely Broun, whose colleague was nearly killed by a deranged shooter, would have words of condemnation for his questioner.
It was his response, in the midst of all this ugliness, that was the most disgusting.
Rep. Broun said and did nothing. He stood there, listened to the laughing crowd and took it all in. In a statement issued after the meeting, Broun’s press secretary said the following: “Obviously, the question was inappropriate, so Congressman Broun moved on.”
He moved on? This is damage control? When someone just made a comment about killing the president?
Broun’s inability to simply follow the minimally expected course of action for a decent human being, to tell the man his comment was inappropriate and have him escorted from the meeting, displays a level of either ineptitude or downright malevolence. The man just made a comment relating to the assassination of the leader of our country, who is a husband and a father of two young girls.
As an elected official of our nation, a representative of a large group of people, Broun’s actions are simply unacceptable. They’re downright pathetic. As a person, his actions are abhorrent. A lot of people made reference to John McCain’s condemnation of a woman during the 2008 presidential election when the woman called President Obama an “Arab” and McCain told her that she was incorrect. People said Broun should have acted more like McCain.
While what McCain did was right, it shouldn’t be held as some sort of great accomplishment. To McCain’s credit, I don’t think he would view it as such. He simply did the right thing. He was a decent human being. Yes, Broun should have acted more like McCain. But it is telling of the times, and, more specifically, our political discourse.
By McCain simply pointing out a false statement as incorrect, people have vaulted his actions somewhere in the realm of benevolence. There’s nothing great about what McCain did. He just did the right thing.
If a student at school made a comment about shooting someone, that student would be disciplined. Can you even imagine a student standing up in the middle of the class and asking, “Who’s going to shoot the teacher?” Jokes or comments about shooting people are not tolerated from kids. The principal would have harsh words. In all likelihood, the student would be suspended or expelled from school for such comments. So why do we accept these types of words from adults? Why do our elected officials not have the moral aptitude of a grade school principle? Is this the type of rhetoric the American people have succumbed to?
The Athens Banner-Herald reported that it was difficult to hear over the laughter, but a subsequent question was asked to Broun over the chuckles. Broun’s response to this second question was: “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.”
I wouldn’t want to know anyone, much less have him or her be my president, that Broun supports. The man has clearly shown that he is either incompetent or immoral or some combination of the two.
It’s difficult to assess something like what happened in Georgia. We have to believe that most representatives would do a better job of handling a similar situation. We have to believe that the average citizen would do a better job. And yet, at the same time, we have to wonder about the climate in that room. The laughter was apparently loud enough to make it difficult to hear Broun. The question itself was asked by an everyday person. When did it become funny to joke about killing anyone?
The unpleasantness of the question and the response (or lack thereof) by Broun is simply a piece of a larger problem that is developing in this country. Was the man who asked the question serious? It’s difficult to know. I would venture to say probably not.
There is a sort of seething anger brewing and festering between the two political parties and the public as a whole. Broun’s response to the question shows the animosity between the parties. The fact that people laughed shows the public divide.
The people in that room, hopefully, represent a minority of the population. Broun’s actions, hopefully, would place him in the minority of Congress. But these types of incidents — this violent rhetoric — appears to be increasing.
And who will stop it if those we elect to represent us won’t?
[email protected]
Tellam: Georgia representative loses sight of Arizona shooting
Daily Emerald
March 1, 2011
0
More to Discover