Tense Moments With Joe Knollenberg's Chief Of Staff

Trent Wisecup, Rep. Joe Knollenberg's (R-Mich.) chief of staff, had a tense run-in with Bruce Fealk, an anti-war activist from MoveOn.org, over the weekend, and it's all on video.

Fealk tried to confront Knollenberg at a pharmacy over the Iraq war and the SCHIP controversy, and after a few exchanges, Wisecup got between Fealk and Knollenberg. From there, it gets pretty nasty. No punches were thrown, but Wisecup tells Fealk this he is "un-American," and says, "You're not a citizen, you're a political hack."

Watch the video here. Richard Wolf from USA Today was following around Knollenberg, and Fealk was mentioned in a story in the paper today, which you can find on Fealk's blog here.

Wisecup is not the first person to have a run-in with an activist carrying a camera (think Rep. David Obey), but he seemed to forget that the thing actually records sounds and video at the same time. So here's an important safety tip for all lawmakers and staff - VIDEO CAMERAS RECORD SOUND AND VIDEO! PLEASE THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE OPENING YOUR MOUTHS WHILE ON CAMERA. Thank you.

Also, The Crypt thought "un-American" went out of style in the '60s or '70s. It is interesting to see someone try to bring it back, although it of course leads to the discussion of what "American" is and who gets to decide that. We are not sure Wisecup is someone we want to have advising us on that one.