Dino Rossi has been going to great lengths to hide his conservative nature in the Washington gubernatorial race: starting with deferring all questions about issues that are sure-fire losers in a blue state (like abortion, always deferred with an “I’m not running on that issue“), and even going so far as to ditch the entire Republican label in favor of the “GOP Party“.
Rossi has also taken extreme measures to keep Democratic cameramen out of his events (to the extent of roping off large swaths of public property), in order to avoid the fate that befell George Allen two years ago almost to the day. Last Thursday Rossi was making an appearance at the Seattle Police Guild headquarters to receive the Guild’s endorsement, and Democratic cameraman Kelly Akers showed up to join other photographers inside the Guild building. Rossi did not get the chance to welcome his friend Akers here, or welcome him to America and the real world of Washington. Instead, off-duty police officers providing security for the event roughed up Akers and forcibly removed him from the event. According to the Seattle Times:
Akers was confronted by three off-duty police officers, and he says one or more grabbed him and pushed him out of the building. Once outside they continued to argue as the officers held Akers in what he described as a “submission hold.”
That’s just current Rossi campaign policy, apparently:
“We don’t allow them in to collect attack video,” Rossi spokeswoman Jill Strait said.
Horse’s Ass has YouTube video of the confrontation, and also, as an amusing compare-and-contrast, video of the rough reception that Rossi’s trackers get when they show up at Christine Gregoire events. As Goldy puts it:
Jesus Christ… they did everything but offer him milk and cookies.
That should be an absolute embarassment to Rossi, The GOP Party whatever that is, and the police officer’s guild. They should all be ashamed of themselves.
Shouldn’t “taking pains” be either “making pains” or “giving pains” in this case?
One would think that a candidate has no right to declare a stretch of public property off limits to photographers or to forcibly restrain those committing no offence.
Surely there is actually nothing they can legally do to stop “attack video” being collected? There’s a right to free speech, but not to preventing others from recording said speech.
I have read both the Seattle times article and watched the footage of Kelly Akers removal from the event, and the only person that should feel embarrassed is the Akers. First, it was not public property, it was private property, second, he was not invited and was asked to leave, which he refused. It was amazing how he understood the term “private property” when his camera was touched, but could not grasp the concept after he was told multiple times to leave, that he was trespassing on private property. Before you make comments on stories like these, you should read more and educate yourself prior to drawing conclusions. You people are idiots!
Then the whole narrative of this race changes. Has Gregoire’s popularity taken a hit recently?
I just don’t have any feel for this one.