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Oh Jeebus.
If the teabagging people weren’t such rage-filled imbeciles they would be the most adorable slow children on earth.
Let’s see if we can set this up properly.
There is a scuffle at a health care townhall in St. Louis and Kenneth Gladney, who was outside hawking Don’t Tread On Me flags, gets knocked to the ground.
I’ll let Eric Boehlert take it from here:
The conservative blogosphere is absolutely atwitter with news that an activist was attacked by union thugs at a town hall meeting this week in St. Louis. It’s the best the right-wing can do to deflect blame for unleashing mini-mobs on town hall forums: They did it!
[...]
Mary Katharine Ham wrote up an especially excited write-up at The Weekly Standard about the vicious union thugs and how Gladney was severely beaten. The only mistake Ham made was including a YouTube clip of the incident; a clip that pretty much undercuts the entire tale of run-away union violence.
Go watch the YouTube video. (Or, the "shocking video," as Power Line hypes it.) The first thing you notice when the camera starts rolling is a union member already sprawled out on the ground with somebody standing over him. No explanation of how he got there (pushed, shoved, punched?) and Ham couldn’t care less. Then yes, Gladney is pulled to the ground by somebody wearing a union shirt. (At the :06 mark.) But instead of Gladney being beaten and punched, as his attorney describes, and instead of union "thugs" standing over him and threatening him, Gladney bounces right back on his feet in approximately two seconds and the scuffle ends.
That was the savage "beating" the conservative blogosphere can’t stop talking about?
The only real mystery from the incident is why Tea Party member Gladney, who’s seen up-close after the brief encounter walking around and talking to people and who appears to be injury-free, then decided to go to the hospital to treat injuries to his "knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face." All that from a two-second fall to the pavement?
Also unclear is why he contacted a newspaper reporter, or why his attorney wrote up lavish accounts and sent them to conservative bloggers, or why Gladney and his attorney appeared on Fox News.
[...]
UPDATED: The Hill erroneously reported that Gladney had been "hospitalized" after being "attacked." As you can see from the video, Gladney was not "hospitalized." (i.e. Rushed away by ambulance.) Instead, as the Post-Dispatch correctly reported, Gladney "said he sought hospital treatment."
Really. You have to go watch the video.
Saturday the St. Louis Teabagger Cotillion decided to hold a rally outside the St. Louis SEIU offices and Mr. Gladney made a cameo appearance.
Below is the awesomeness that is Kenneth Gladney.
Although he was too weak to speak after his beating on Thursday, black conservative Kenneth Gladney attended the event. Kenneth was beaten, kicked and called racist names by Russ Carnahan’s SEIU supporters after a town hall meeting on Thursday.
Obviously he’s suffering from from PTSD. No. The other one: Post Teabagging Simulated Disorder.
Poor baby.
(Update – From the comments): But wait…there’s more!
Also. Stevie!
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Ayn Rand would be embarrassed.
It was a vicious slip and fall.
Where faking injury is concerned, Kenneth has a lot to learn. I would suggest learning from the Masters of the Art, who can be found here.
There’s a joke somewhere in here about how, under a proper health care system, minor injuries wouldn’t require a hospital visit.
Somebody needs to get
Inspector ClouseauSgt. Crowley on the case—toot sweet!!!House v. Field
DOWN goes Gladney!!! DOWN goes Gladney!!!
Oh my, no joke at all. I want to know who paid for his hospital visit. Does he have insurance?
And I think the Right may have found their new Joe the Plumber.
I like the Joe Plumber reference. But, I was thinking that he may be the Rosa Parks of the Teabagging movement.
You have to be fucking kidding me. The guy trips over his own feet, goes down for a second, gets back up, and this is a vicious beating?
That seals it. The right is comprised of a bunch of pussies. Chicken-hawk pussies, to be sure, but pussies, nonetheless.
Teabaggers held a rally for Ken yesterday outside the closed offices of SEIU. Mr. Gladney was scheduled to speak but his lawyer David Brown had to fill in for him. Apparently Ken was too wacked out on pain meds to speak coherently.
Wow, shades of Phil Parlock. Remember the picture of Phil’s poor, crying little girl who supposedly had one of the dozen signs Dad smuggled into a 2004 Dem rally ripped viciously out of her hands by a union goon who looked suspiciously like Phil’s son, and no one actually saw this happen? Not to mention Phil had pulled similar stunts in 1996 and 2000 which were all miraculously documented with pictures taken and reported by the same conservative local newspaper?
And then, you know, Ashley Todd.
Wow, this is right up there with Rush Limbaugh’s 4-F anal cyst! If only we had a health care system that could properly treat these debilitating conservative maladies. Let me guess, Gladney’s lawyer is one of those ambulance-chasing personal injury trial lawyers, the one’s wingnuts love to hate. Well, since he was selling flags when he was injured, maybe Gladney could file for Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability. Then he’d have taken advantage of everything wingnuts disparage.
Did he have a backwards B carved into his face?
Cuts? Bruises? Boo-boos? Anything?
Only thing that took a beating here is the truth.
What else is new? The wingnuts treat truth like a battered spouse.
This is almost as pathetic as Officer Banana Eating Jungle Monkey suing Boston Mayor Mennino for pain and suffering for calling for his firing after his idiotic racist e-mail attack on Professor Henry Louis Gates.
-G
I was gonna’ overthrow the illegitimate muslimosocialist gubmint but I skinned my knee.
I can’t see the vicious assault but I do see a couple of bigger and probably older union shirt wearer guys go down but yes, no one seems to be on the ground for very long.
How badly would these weasels wilt under real violence?
You know what comes next, don’t you?
“In the name of Jeebus, I COMMAND you to GET UP AND WALK!!!”
But I’m sure if he were able to speak, he would have pleaded “Can’t we all just get along?”
Absolutely pathetic. I hope every woman he ever hits on again sees that video (and the whiney aftermath) and decides naw, likely to be worse than a pity fuck.
On a more serious note, this is getting worrisome. Wheelchair? They seem to be getting crazier by the minute and ramping up the violence.
It’s all fun and games until somebody burns down the Reichstag.
Doofus forgot the neck brace. All good bogus injuries require a neck brace.
And a sling for whichever arm is non-dominant.
You made me laugh out loud. I needed that. Thanks!
Bunch of damn pussies.
Gladney should see the curb that tripped him up.
Uh… that is … SUE the curb.
SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE.
What a pussy! “I fell down , someone call the waahhhmbulance , and my lawyer.”
That was such a blatant flop job that even a Euro soccer player would call it over the top.
Alright, enuf of me sittin’ on the sidelines here. Hands down, this snarky/smart site is the funniest thing on teh Tubes. I would do more than have a beer with ya’ll, I’d buy! And that is sayin’ a lot.
Thanks good people for fighting the good fight with panache and wicked snark.
Cheers
I’m just relieved that he has health insurance, considering that delicate flower ain’t got no roots.
Can we call this a tempest in a teabag? Please?
You forgot to trumpet in your healine BLACK CONSERVATIVE like the Gateway Pundit has about 15 times now.
BLACK CONSERVATIVE. BLACK CONSERVATIVE.
The inauspicious birth of the next wingnut darling: Joe the
BrawlerPunchingBag.The inauspicious birth of the next wingnut darling: Joe the
BrawlerPunchingBagflopping drama queen.I’m waiting for the Youtube of a conservative shooting himself in the face at a town hall. It’s just a matter of time.
(Btw, am I hearing things or does one of the rethugs say ‘HE ATTACKED AMERICA!’ a little ways in.)
Gang, don’t forget to spotlight this, especially to the local St. Louis media! Ask them why they aren’t highlighting the fact that the teabaggers, as their own video shows, had already knocked down and beat on an SEIU member well before Gladney tripped over his own feet.
Five seconds of shirt-pulling handbags and he turns into that kid from Malcolm in the Middle?
Does he have insurance?
Sadly, No!
Woopsie, looks like Delicate Flower doesn’t have health insurance after all. Better get’m pressed between waxpaper, stat.
Yes, We Can!
Way to get attention and money after you’ve been laid off. Lie on the ground, say oof and point a finger.
I can just picture the overworked emergency ward:
Sir, we’ve looked you over and nothing is wrong.
“GET ME A GODDAMN WHEELCHAIR AND A VIDEO CAMERA! I HAVE MONEY TO RAISE.”
The point of protest is to draw a response from your enemies. Gandhi knew this. King knew this.
But when your enemy turns out to be a sidewalk, you lose some of the power of your message. Unless that sidewalk has a firehose or a German Shepherd.
That would be a bad assed sidewalk…
Yes, but would you buy me a bourbon and diet coke? Welcome to the rabblerousin’, and please jump right in.
Seriously, TBogg, if Boehlert hadn’t highlighted the time the heinous trip on the curb happened, I never would have seen it.
And, WTF is up with the SEIU guy on the ground? Can’t we fit him for a body cast or something?
Wait, he was trampled when carrying a sign that read “don’t tread on me”?
Maybe if he added “please.”
my guess is that the rethug organizers have advised their brownshirts to blame the unions for any violence they might themselves precipitate. Typical SA-style enemy-baiting strategy.
Of course the comments at Powerline are completely deluded and full of the victim posture. Who are the thugs? wow, just wow. The union guy is on the ground then gets up and is holding is shoulder saying nothing, and little Gladney is jumping around saying you attacked me?
And commenters making Orwellian references. I can’t stand it! They are so effing brainwashed.
I think the whole effect of these protests on both sides is that reps are going to blow off town hall meetings all together. To them it’s like everyone is crying wolf.
Someone needs to make a protest sign that reads:
“IF YOU DON’T HAVE HEALTH CARE ISSUES THEN SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN! Thank you.”
They don’t like to do them anyway. Exposes them to “the people” too much.
And here is confirmation of what they suspected about “the people” all along.
This “event” gives the Teabaggers their reason to pack heat. Look out. Seriously.
” ‘What the freakin’- cy, Kenneth”.
I guess they couldn’t put heavy Masacara under his eyes for the same “Ashley Todd” bruising effect.
Weird how he was so locquatious qund lively on the video after the incident, but now is nearly a mute?
Here’s an idea…maybe we should start posting on some of the tea-bagging websites about how to help Kenneth with his medical expenses. Is there a fund? To help him because he doesn’t have insurance? To pay for the wheel-chair? Is the woman a nurse, that must cost loads? Same with the fancy wheelchair? Or was that “donated” by the movement? Or was it all picked up by the public…goin’ to the emergency room and all?
Singing! “Kenneth the Teabag Queen!” Tune stolen from Monty Python’s “Eric the Half a Bee,” melody beginning at :40 below–
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlrsqGal64w
La-tee-dee, one, two, three
Kenneth the Teabag Queen
Fell on his bum, hurt his knee
Trying to flog some tea
Is this wretched demibrain
Collecting coins to ease his pain
Public option would be most dreadful shame
To Kenneth, the Teabag Queen…
Your snarkful brilliance is awesome, Madam!
I feel better about myself knowing there are idiots more stupid than I could ever possibly hope to be.
The story of interest here is the cost of his hospital visit and who paid for it. Can someone here dig that up and publish?
Joe the Plumber’s Friend.
A better shot of Joe the Plumber’s Friend
That is hysterical! Gladney getting “knocked to the ground” and being there 2 seconds. Then I see the picture of him the next day — in a wheelchair — and too injured to speak. The look on his face — priceless! OMG! I am LOL.
Felled by a paper cut, and no one there to tie off the gaping wound to save him. Woe, Woe is Gladney.
One of these idiots is going to cross the line and start blazing away any day now. That will set off a wave of self-justification and more tortured reasoning from the unanimous mouths of the right wing. There are now two Americas.
When danger reared its ugly head
Sir Gladney turned around and fled
Brave, brave, brave Sir Gladney
I’m stumped. How can teabaggers shout down anyone at these rallies while they’re simultaneously…ya know…teabagging. That part really confuses me. Just sayin’…
And commenters making Orwellian references. I can’t stand it! They are so effing brainwashed.
no, four legs Are good, two legs bad
Let it be known across the land that conservative men are craven pussies. We have the proof.
No wonder they like guns so much – holding one is the only way they can feel like the kind of man who doesn’t need a wheelchair if his shirt gets pulled.
It’s OK if he has no health insurance; he can go to the emergency room and spend the next several years paying off bills like the rest of us.
I think it’s important to note that he didn’t trip over the curb, but was actually thrown to the ground pretty plainly on the video. The circumstances of his being thrown to the ground will have to be decided in court since there’s not enough footage to tell, but let’s at least keep it honest.
Not true. I watched the video two more times. Someone was pushed into him, and he tripped over the curb and fell to the ground. What is more interesting is, who was the first guy on the ground, and why have we not heard anything about him?
Oh, and this asshat’s lawyer set up a contribution fund for him to pay for his medical bills.
Priceless.
Maybe now’s a good time to start talking tort reform.
can’t believe it’s been almost 72 hours and no one has posted the now obligatory Not Gladney’s First Brush With Drama link
are we really gonna be surprised to learn he’s pulled something similar in his past ? c’mon hippies, surely there’s a solicitation of a police officer, charges dropped story or something similar on this guy – there always is
Watch it again. Right at 5 seconds in on the extreme right (no pun intended), a man in blue pants and a dark blue shirt grabs Gladney by the shoulders and throws him to the ground.
He may have been fully justified in doing so, but this is what the video shows. When you stumble into someone you don’t suddenly reverse the direction of your body, but this is exactly what the man did.