Way To Go Johnny!

[Lord Jim]

I can't believe that there are some in the liberal media actually trying to make it sound like McCain was out of line:

McCain boots 'low-life scum' from hearing



Washington (CNN)Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain had harsh words for protesters who shouted criticism at 91-year-old Henry Kissinger at a hearing Thursday.

"Get out of here, you low-life scum," the Arizona Republican told the protesters.

Kissinger, the diplomat who was secretary of state under President Richard Nixon, as well as President Ronald Reagan secretary of state George Shultz and Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, were on hand for a hearing on global security challenges.

As the hearing started, several protesters approached the table where Kissinger was seated, holding signs and shouting at him.

"I've been a member of this committee for many years and I have never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration that just took place," McCain said.

"You know, you're going to have to shut up or I'm going have you arrested," he said, summoning Capitol Hill police.

And then, to a smattering of applause, McCain added: "Get out of here you low-life scum."

Later in the hearing, Kissinger was interrupted by two female protesters who held signs and had painted their palms red. They stood up and shouted that Kissinger "oversaw the slaughter in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, which led to the deaths of millions of people."

The two were escorted from the room, too. And Shultz drew applause when he stood and said, "I salute Dr. Henry Kissinger."

McCain stood by his comments on Thursday night when asked by Fox News' Neil Cavuto if he had any regrets about the incident.

"No, because they are that," McCain said of calling the protesters "scum."

"Anybody who would do that kind of behavior is guilty of it. It was terribly upsetting to me," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYMtEGLmD_Y

If there's anyone aside from the low life scum themselves that deserves criticism for this it's the capitol police who were too slow to respond to the storm troopers, and who allowed them to get so close to the 91 year old Kissinger that they could have physically attacked him should they have chosen to do so.

The low life scum should never have been permitted to get in Kissinger's face the way they did. The cops must have known about these punks when they were allowed in to the hearing and should have been standing at the ready to swoop in and grab the vulgar exhibitionists as soon as they popped up to deny others their rights to free speech and peaceable assembly.

ETA:

McCain has been asked repeatedly by media ninnies if he "regretted" what he said, or if he'd like to "apologize". (The implication of asking him so many times seems to me to imply that these yoyos think he should.)

To McCain's credit, he has refused to back down an inch.

[BoSoxGal]

They have a 1st Amendment right to express themselves, and shouting occurs because they are refused the microphone in Senate hearings. Folks have been expressing themselves this way in Congressional hearings for years. Certainly their perspective of Henry Kissinger is shared by many Americans - at this point he really doesn't need to be paraded out to advise the government; he's had more than his share of influence on US foreign policy already.

Calling them low-life scum is despicable, even IF McCain's perspective was right - two wrongs don't make a right, and that's conduct unbecoming a Senator.

But then, this is the same guy who just said the other day that Sarah Palin would make a great candidate for President in 2016.

I applauded McCain's stand when he spoke on the Senate floor following the release of the report on torture; beyond that he's been a joke for years now and should go home to Arizona and play golf.

[MajGenl.Meade]

There is a first amendment right to speak. There is no first amendment right to speak in any place at any time. There is no first amendment right to disrupt a Senate hearing or to have a turn spouting into the Senate microphone. So clearing them out is the right thing to do.

Mr. McCain would have served himself better to restrain his anger and his language. I doubt the people involved are "scum" or "low-life" but I wasn't there to determine the accuracy of the statement. They were certainly rude and self-centered. They got their five minutes of fame so perhaps they can go back to being brave at home now.

[Lord Jim]

There is no first amendment right to speak in any place at any time. There is no first amendment right to disrupt a Senate hearing or to have a turn spouting into the Senate microphone.

Exactly. There is no right to shout in anyone's face any where, any time. These arrogant thugs live under the delusion that they are somehow special, and that their rights should trump everyone elses. They aren't and they don't.

It's this grossly unmerited sense of entitlement and moral superiority that makes them believe that they have the right to trample the rights of others that I find to be the most revolting thing about these vulgar little bullies. They're the despicable ones; certainly not Senator McCain. They have no consideration for anyone but themselves.

It's high time somebody told them to their faces exactly what they are; "Low life scum" fits perfectly.

ETA:

They got their five minutes of fame so perhaps they can go back to being brave at home now.

Alas, that's not going to happen. There's a little crew of these Pink Shirts that have made it their personal business to violate other people's rights at congressional hearings. It's become almost impossible for a Secretary of Defense or State to testify at a hearing without repeated attempts to shout them down coming from these punks. They violate the rights of both the speakers and the listeners.

Their primary strategy is to do this in a serial way, with only one or two of them jumping up at a time so they can maximize the extent of their disruptions.

The "catch and release" policy of law enforcement encourages this behavior. Frequently the only thing that happens to them is that get removed from the room and sent on their way. These people are criminals; they are breaking laws and they should be criminally prosecuted. After a few of them have been hit with stiff fines and done some jail time, I suspect their bullshit will stop.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I prefer the "catch and filet" policy.