Rhetoric over Wisconsin fight turns violent

Democratic Wisconsin Assembly members cheer during protests at the State Capitol in Madison.

/ AP

The protests against Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker's efforts to roll back most union collective bargaining rights have been, thankfully, free of violence - so much so that some protesters have been spotted in knitting circles. But the same cannot be said of the rhetoric around the protests, which has included calls for firing on the protesters and for the protesters themselves to "get a little bloody" for their cause.

The call for firing on protesters came from now-former Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox, who responded to a Tweet from a Mother Jones reporter saying riot police have been ordered to clear protesters by retweeting the news with the words "Use live ammunition." He also wrote, "You're damn right I advocate deadly force" and, one week ago, "Planned Parenthood could help themselves if the only abortions they performed were retroactive."

Cox lost his job over the Tweets; the Indiana Attorney General's office released a statement reading in part, "We respect individuals' First Amendment right to express their personal views on private online forums, but as public servants we are held by the public to a higher standard, and we should strive for civility."

In Massachusetts, meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, a Democrat, is apologizing for his comments at a Tuesday rally in support of the protesters where he said, "Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary."

In a statement, the Boston Herald reports, Capuano said that while he "strongly believe[s] in standing up for worker rights," his "passion for preserving those rights may have gotten the best of me yesterday in an unscripted speech." He added: "I wish I had used different language to express my passion and I regret my choice of words."

The conservative blogosphere, meanwhile, has seized on video of a protester outside the Tea Party-linked lobbying group FreedomWorks pushing away a camera after being confronted. (The video, labeled "Union Thug," was posted by FreedomWorks and caught fire among conservative bloggers; Michelle Malkin and others are calling for the man to be prosecuted for assault.)

Tabitha Hale, the conservative activist who shot the video, wrote on the conservative blog RedState that she was "shaken up by the level of sheer hatred I experienced today," adding that "The look of fury on his face in the close up is appalling." She repeatedly uses the word "thug" and writes that liberals are "violent racists."

She then writes that "the Left" was trying to defend the behavior with "the 'her skirt was too short' defense" and compares her experience to attacks on reporters in Cairo.

"This just can't be tolerated anymore," wrote Hale. "It's one thing to be called a violent teabagger. It's another to be called a violent teabagger while you're being assaulted. They've been comparing themselves to the Egyptians ousting Mubarak. Looks like they're not too far off, given that they share the tendency to assault women with cameras."

[jjh54]

Walker pushed for major cuts and reductions in the pensions and benefits of public workers, while promoting over $150 million in tax cuts for businesses and wealthy individuals. The republicans will not stop until the middle class is gone. WAKE UP AMERICA

[konr22]

wow- this is the big violent outburst? Hey, Freedom works checkout the footage from kentucky, where one off Rand Paul's teabagger supporters stomps on a girl's head. You must've have been outraged over that one. Oh wait, no you did nothing. hypocrites!!

Isn't it funny Freedom Works? Not in Wisconsin. It looks like freedom gets taken away, from the working class. How about Freedom taken away.org. more like it.

[asamiller]

This guy was being taped without permission. He has a legal right to the use of his image and likeness. Perhaps he shouldn't have pushed the camera out of the way but I hope he sues Malkin and whoever else was harassing him.

[YourAdHere$19.95]

Wow. I thought the article was wound a little tight... until I read the comments. Some of you folks are losing your minds. Take a break from the partisan pills, seriously.

I see silly nazi signs at both team's rallies. Both teams have juvenile twits posting violent trash talk after news stories. But the hard evidence is tending a particular direction in terms of which team is actually more rhetorically and literally violent.

The congressman from out-East actually exhorted a large, partisan crowd to engage in violence. The folks at the anti-Koch rally actually called for Clarence Thomas to be lynched--on camera. The five-foot-one girl in a dress from FreedomWorks was actually physically assaulted by a union protestor. Kenneth Gladney was actually beaten up by SEIU guys who apparently expected to be paid their hourly wages for the time spent doing so. Allee Bautsch had her leg brutally stomped on, breaking it in several places, and her boyfriend's jaw was broken. You have to admit, lefty neighbors, the list of attacks is getting long and ugly. The righties can be annoying and occasionally offensive, but I don't see/hear the evidence of them actually inciting violence and beating people up. And it's obviously not for the lack of media types looking for that evidence.

I hadn't heard about the Walker-pondering-riot-police thing. I'll do the research. But if the trend of the past two years of political craziness continues, it will be nothing but a single, anonymous source who went straight to 'puffington host' with the 'scoop'. Just callin' it the way I've been seeing it.

[Fraoch57]

Clearly you have read the truth in Wisconsin there have been no physical confrontations between the pro union group and the anti union groups. Check out the Madison police department and you will find there has been on arrest and that was because the person was caught trying to get into the Assmby Hall and wasn't attack on the any protesters. The Wisconsi protests have been large and civil. Loud and sometimes confrontatiion but NOT physical. So don't assume events that have happened in other places happened here. And protesting is free speech but shoving a camera in someone's face is equally an assault and one might even say it was this person who was confronting the protester in a confrontataional manner was the instigator to get just the reaction you got. And By defending himself when youd "girl" who knew exactly what she was doing shoves a camera in his face was just as much at fault and should be charged. Shoving a camera in someone's face is not protected by the Freedom of speech.

[olebasiclady]

Does this mean Obama can be impeached for stating "if they bring a knife, we'll bring a gun"?

I certainly hope so.

[TessTyFy]

An exaggerate title by Freedom Works again. What 12 days now and they have one angry out of line man out of (on that day) 70,000 protesters and the title includes "turns violent". I thought we had an entire mass of people fighting when I read that title only to find out it was one man who appeared drunk. Homeless? He looked a little torn and tattered. Are we sure it wasn't another set up by Freedom Works to make it appear to be someone other than he was. Why is it that this day and age, we are all so suspect to believe stories we see in the press these days? Gee, could it be the lies keep getting pointed out. Why wasn't the title something like, Man Loses Temper at Protest? The key words would have made me read it, but the exaggeration makes me suspect in purpose.

[colgirl101]

It's quite funny how the media tries to make protests by unions to appear as innocent as possible, yet when the Tea Party engaged in peaceful protests (yes liberals, the facts and videos of the events prove that it was peaceful) the media dedicated their time trying to paint them as angry, evil people. I have seen the protests around Wisconsin in person. The hate, anger, viscious signs and words, that have been used are outrageous. And for the record, it's mostly the protestors from other states that have been flown to Wisconsin who are spreading the hate and violence. It's very odd how the media ignores this. Democrats have destroyed our nation, and they will not be happy until our country has adopted socialism or communism. Our nation has become divided more than ever. I regret voting for Obama and so do most of my friends and associates. Never again will I vote for the party of anger, hate, and hypocrisy (Democrat Party). My eyes have been opened.

[Fraoch57]

I too have been at a number of Wisconsin protests during this protest and during all of the Tea Party protests during the local congressiona town meetings. And quite frankly Tea Party signs were the first to bring on the hateful "hitler" signs and the nasty "unchristian like behavior to those who don't agree with them. I have sat in a meeting seeing my local neighbors who were Tea Party supports spit on women and children, knock over people so that the older had to stand while they sat on a seat and then called people names. The Tea Party should be the last people to make any comments on the rhetoric of the signs in these protests.

It is hypocritical of a Governor who makes $137,500 plus get to live free in a 36 room mansion with a chef, a house director, a gardener, part time house keeeper and laundress and said house to maintain with a $270.000 budget a year at taxpayers expense plus a car and driver and security all at the expense of the taxpayers of Wisconsin. Yet a first year teacher makes $25,222 a year and the must have a BA and their teaching certificate plus before the renew the license they have to take more classes. And yet the person who is making decisions about not only their jobs but the money to maintain our schools doesn't even have a college degree, he quick when he got a good job, said he didn't need an education to get a good job. A great role model for the students of our state.

That is why people are protesting because he has an agenda that has nothing to do with balancing a budget because if he did he wouldn't have give away $120 million dollars in entilements to the richest in this state and to businesses who don't have to justify creating new jobs for Wisconsin residents. That is why people are protesting and the rhetoric is so angry, but rhetoric in Wisconsin protest has not become phyiscal, check the police records.

[Rodeo_Joe]

If sending dudes with guns to the homes of the opposition is what the conservative moment has become, and evidently it has, it is bankrupt and has severed ANY ties it had with the core principles of the Founding Fathers.

It is not only Un-American, it is defacto Neo-Fascist.

[olebasiclady]

If skipping out on work because they want to avoid losing is what Democrats are coming to, that is as un-American as anything.

What they should do is amend the law to state that this sort of "planned absenteesm" will be consided a vote.

[mountainstates1]

This is what you get when you vote Republican. Next time voters won't be fooled.

[olebasiclady]

No one cared about the "violence" when Obama said "they bring a knife, we'll bring a gun".

Why now?

[smitvict]

This is a weird article. "Rhetoric over Wisconsin fight turns violent" yet all the article talks about is words, rhetoric. The only reference to physical action was somebody pushing a camera away.

I think CBS is pushing drama a bit too much here.