This video speaks for itself.
Scary thought- this guy most likely drove a motor vehicle to the event.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.
When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.
There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.
Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.
“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”
I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.
My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.
A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.
The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.
Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.
If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.
The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris
Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?
Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.
The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.
Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.
Tick tock motherfuckers!
Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.
If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.
Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.
Republicans in disarray!
Black Jesus loves a paper trail.
They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.
“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”
You are here: Home / Portrait of a Wingnut
Dreggas
Yet another one I am sure I will like once I get home to see it.
over_educated
The video is no longer available…
Noah
That guy is a 100%, board certified douchebag.
Here is how Obama should announce his running mate, in an awesome and hilarious fashion.
Dreggas
Of course here’s some real stupid courtesy of Sully.
SpotWeld
So… where is he appearing first? Glenn Beck, or the O’Reily Factor?
Svensker
Uh, I’d be checking this guy’s recent gun purchases. A leetle too tightly wound.
carsick
WHY DID YOU START THIS BLOG POST WITHOUT FIRST RECITING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE!?!
jane from hell
OMG that was AWESOME. At first I thought, oh yeah, seen this, but not! I especially like how he said “You’ve gotta be serious” instead of “you’ve gotta be kidding.”
Yeah, Dreg, and anyone else who can’t see embedded video at work or on their phone browsers, you HAVE to watch this later.
And who IS the guy??
Punchy
Clearly an unhinged leftist communist pinko.
Jay in Oregon
That guy is a 100%, board certified douchebag.
No shit; if someone from MoveOn.org or DKos interrupted a McCain speech at a rally, this guy would be first in line to curb-stomp the dirty fucking hippie; you can just tell from his attitude.
And, of course, CNN and Fox News would be all over the incident, asking if Obama is finally stooping to gutter politics by sending supporters to “disrupt” McCain’s rallies.
bud
So does anyone know if the dude’s right and townhalls are supposed to start with the pledge of allegiance?
mitch
funny, i always thought of myself as a “private” citizen. apparently, you can also be a public citizen, which i assume entails making a complete jackass out of yourself.
Dreggas
oh is this the vid of the douchebag in the green shirt going on about “Who will join me in saying the pledge of Allegiance?” at the Obama rally?
mitch
bud, the wingnuts will not be happy until we are all taking loyalty oaths before we turn off our alarm clocks. that’s just how they roll.
John Cole
Obama said they normally start with one, but who cares? Townhall meetings happened for years before the pledge was even invented.
The pledge, in and of itself, seems to be a waste of time to me. As if blindly reciting some oath without meaning or thinking means anything. But then again, I think the same thing about having congregations say the Lord’s Prayer. I never recite either, and see no reason why people should be forced to recite either.
And now I have sinned against God and Country in one post.
To somewhat save myself I will note that I frequently tear up during the National Anthem and think that the Stars and Stripes forever is one of the greatest pieces of music of all time. But there must be piccolo. Must have ample piccolo.
Face
Apparently, you can impersonate a journalist/cameraman to get within earshot of a Presidential candidate. Didn’t know this.
John Cole
BTw, am I the only one who no longer uses an alarm clock? The last couple of years I just have no need for them, really. I generally wake up on my own at 6ish.
I always have one set, though, just in case. I do sometimes use them if I take an afternoon nap. I have been known to lie down at 5:30 and wake up at 11 pm, and my sleep cycle is screwed for three days.
BFR
I liked him better when he was going on about ball-bearings and Fetzer valves.
RareSanity
Yes my firewalled friend, yes it is…
YellowJournalism
I say he’s booked to go on Hannity and Colmes first, then he’s heading over to the Savage Nation for a stint.
RareSanity
OT
This has got to be good news for McCain…wait…what???
Face
Uh…is this guy related to this breaking story?
CapMidnight
His press credentials must be covering up his flag lapel pin.
Emma Anne
I know why the green-shirt guy is so furious. He thought he had Obama right where he wanted him. Green-shirt would propose saying the pledge, Obama would refuse or ignore him or get mad (or have him tazed!), and voila, footage for the wingers. Obama hates the flag and won’t say the pledge.
But no, Obama good humoredly went along with it and said the pledge, completely ruining green-shirt’s plan. This guy is good, folks.
Ninerdave
So did anyone figure out who that douche was?
Scotty
I don’t know. I always thought there should be more cowbell. ‘I gotta have more cowbell’.
Jake
Unfortunately, I think that guy has more brains than one of our favorite left-wingnuts.
There’s foolishness somewhere, that’s for sure.
Ninerdave
Answered my own question via the all knowing GOS
Svensker
The Pledge always struck me as kinda fascistic, and this guy’s face as he’s saying it just enforces that feeling.
The Lord’s Prayer? Well, if you’re a believer, it means a great deal. If you’re not, then of course it doesn’t.
Punchy
I fully expect to see this cut n’ pasted on about 36 douchebag blogs as “ample proof that Cole hates America, the military, and hot chicks”, or something.
Third Eye Open
Over at GOS, they claim this guy is an actual photographer from Bloomberg, freelance, but contracted none-the-less.
And so the liberal media strikes again…
Napoleon
Yeah, this happened in Berea, just southwest of Cleveland 2 days ago.
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/08/obama_unfazed_by_heckler.html
Tsulagi
You can always spot pure wingnut. Irony is a concept that doesn’t rest for even a moment while passing between their ears. As with this dweeb in one sentence: “Townhall meetings MUST start with the Pledge of Allegiance, THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY!”
BTW, this site must be powered on the Iraqi electrical grid. Or maybe by IT support from Tubes Stevens. If you ever think of changing the blog name, WordPress Error or Failed to Connect comes to mind.
Fledermaus
That’s not the point. The real point of it to the authoritarian contol freaks is forcing people into saying it.
nightjar
Thanks, I lost several valuable and irreplaceable brain cells watching that guy. They just screamed “Please no” and went belly-up.
Dreggas
The GOS himself linked to a post here again today and every time he does it seems that this place crawls or wordpress takes a big corn-fed, undulating shit all over the place.
Colleen
John, I’m with you on tearing up when the national anthem is played. I watched this video early in the morning and my take of it then was empathy for the guy who interrupted Obama. Before I’m flagged as a troll please let me explain. This guy comes so close to tears, watch it again, when Obama asks him to lead and he starts you can tell this guy is doing everything in his power to not cry. I think he went there with the intention of getting thrown out of the townhall, filming it, and being a hero on the right wing blogs and when it backfired his brain was scrambling for explanations. Because he is a stupid stubborn man (my impression) he went off about the pledge and armed force service by his family. It was pathetic to watch but I have a feeling he will only be encouraged by those who encouraged him to start some shit at the town hall. My empathy for him was because for a fleeting moment in that video I see a man who knows he was mistaken about dirty fucking hippies, liberal scum, etc then quickly revealed itself to be a man who refuses to admit he was wrong. Maybe I should watch it again, but I don’t think so. If at his age that man has not learned anything, then fuck him. Sad. Just sad.
TEak111
This highlights an issue that crossed my mind a few times, namely that if Obama is elected President, the secret service better double or triple its protective detail. Years of GOP hate against dems has given the wackos new life, as this vid shows. Combined that with repressed racial bigotry and their are bound to be some determined heroes out there.
LarryB
No, more likely it’s this one.
Ted
I agree. This seemed like it could have been the purpose. And had Obama handled it differently, as you said, it could have added fuel to that particular turd in a lot of the forwarded emails. My guess is the guy was expecting Obama to not respond by saying the pledge.
Sasha
If Obama is elected, he will be the most protected man in the History of Anything.
Ted
This also explains, for me, something weird I noticed in the “pride in being ignorance” video. During that riff, everyone behind Obama is following along and occasionally laughing or clapping. But the young guy behind him completely ignored it and kept looking very interestedly off in the direction of the press risers. I guess he was watching the guy about to blow his top while the other reporters kept asking him questions.
Clockwork Buddha
I wonder who will be the first to spin this as “Obama has no backbone”, or “Obama caves to demands”…which will then become “How will he lead when he obviously caves into the the demands of the most dysfunctional person in the room”…which then ultimately becomes “How will he keep us safe when it seems likely he’ll cave to the terrorists”.
There, you right-wing blogonuts – I done yer work for ya.
Darkness
Anthem’s all right as long as I can be a traditionalist and say the original words.
Simultaneously sinning against GOD and country was supposed to be reserved to the Brits.
maxbaer (not the original)
It’s not often that you get a troll on video.
Darkness
I mean “Pledge” not “Anthem”. I blame the booze. Castle Rock Sav Blanc to be precise.
Joe
I like especially how this guy manages to get Obama’s ear with his grandstanding, and then instead of asking a real substantive question or something else relevant to the problems of this country, he fucking blows it by wanting to recite the pledge.
I guess he only deserved to be made a fool out of. What a moran.
oh really
I was so moved I cried. Then I slapped on fifty flag lapel pin, my stars and stripes boxer shorts, and re-read Mein Kampf.
The guy’s a complete idiot, but I’m not sure what purpose it serves to confront him — “we wanna know your name and who you work for?” Who cares what his name is? Who cares who he’s working for? There are plenty of freelance wingnuts in this country. But the Bush tactics of screening and evicting are loathsome and this started to smell a little like that.
How to keep partisan events (partisan not meant pejoratively) from being disrupted is a dilemma. For the most part I think most events will survive a little disruption. In the case of this fool, after his little stunt he apparently shut up and he should have simply been ignored.
Personally, I hate the Pledge. I think it smacks of fascism and it includes what are for me totally inappropriate words “under God,” which I’m not going to utter as part of any pledge.
When I taught high school history, the school required that every day begin with the Pledge. I told my first period students that if anyone had any objection to saying the Pledge they were free to opt out. For my part, I stood in the back of the room and remained silent. We addressed the issue specifically in class in the context of freedom of speech and separation of church and state. Despite the conservative character of the community, some of the students actually seemed to understand the issues. The rest are going to vote for John McCain because Obama won’t wear a flag lapel pin — and even when he does, it’s just because he’s pandering, so they’ll think that is even worse, which will renew their commitment to McCain, whose pandering is invisible to them.
I’d like to see the Pledge banished altogether.
The Moar You Know
Obama ruined his day. Damn, he is good.
I was listening to Dennis Miller’s abortion of a show (not on purpose) yesterday, and Obama won his admiration, if not his vote, for how he handled this. Miller has some experience with being heckled, and he was gushing about how well Obama dealt with this guy. His point (a good one) is that you have maybe about one second to decide how to appropriately handle it, and that there are two radically different ways to approach it depending on the nature of who is heckling you – and it’s easy to come off like a weakling or a complete asshole if you do it wrong.
I might point out that Obama hasn’t blown it once.
Rex
He was identified as John Quinn–or John Q. aka John Q Public–just like he identifies himself. Bullshit.
Shouldn’t the Secret Service have been issuing some warnings somewhere along the way? A man interrupts an event and refuses to identify himself with credentials that allow him a clear shot at a presidential candidate and no one with Obama’s security detail looks into it? Damned odd.
This guy was a test run to see how close someone could get with bogus press credentials.
Lee
Wow that is some kind of crazy right there.
I would hate to be the press at the next few Obama meetings, the Secret Service is going to be cavity searching all of them.
On another note (pardon the pun).
While I was in the Aggie BandStars & Stripes Forever was my absolute favorite to play (as with a lot of us). I would get goosebumps playing the song (tearing up is not recommended while marching).
It is hard to beat playing that song and hearing 70k people chearing as you play it.
Dreggas
What annoys me are assholes who don’t even know the real history of the pledge, that it was written originally by a (IIRC baptist) minister and did not have any religiou wording specifically out of respect to the seperation clause. Further the pledge did not come around until 1892.
In other words the famed Lincoln Douglas debate didn’t start with the pledge either, guess they hated America.
The words under god were not added until the 1950’s.
I guess it just goes back to what Obama said, they’re happy being ignorant.
Big E
This country has more to fear from the folks within than the folks overseas… just another example of seething lunatic Republican frustration, always a few inches from the surface straining to revive fascism…
too bad he didn’t volunteer for service in Iraq or Afghanistan… I wonder if he was on the ‘kill abortion Dr.s’ team
JoyceH
When I saw this, I thought the guy expected Obama to refuse to say the pledge. I think he believes the pledge of allegiance repels non-patriots like holy water repels vampires, and Obama would be incinerated if he tried to recite those powerful and holy words.
John
Can you imagine if Americans managed to develop nuclear weapons.
Oh wait…
Yikes.
harlana pepper
“We were just wondering, where did you get your press pass?”
Hmm
Chris Johnson
Hi, mr. anonymous “John Q Public!”
Allegiance is earned, dude, and Obama is earning more of mine for this country than your dumb grandstanding.
harlana pepper
Were it a McCain event, this twit woulda been tased and dragged to jail. Too stupid to even appreciate that he got to make a public asshole of himself without so much as being touched. And he couldn’t even handle interrogation.
The stupid gives away that he was a republican plant.
aarrgghh
sadly, no.
i don’t think captain pledge is gonna be getting any airtime soon. wingnuttia isn’t known for rewarding noncoms who not only fail their mission, but — even worse — also boost the enemy’s mojo.
and so another armchair warrior bites the dust.
gocart mozart
I assume the secret service will have a chat with him as well they should. My first thought was “I hope the metal detector was working properly.” He had the eyes of a fanatic.
J. Michael Neal
I cry during the national anthem, too, but that’s because there are only about five people in the country who have the range necessary for it. Next time, make the national anthem simple, you morons.
The only really good piece of patriotic music is The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Sousa is okay. The rest might as well be written by Lee Greenwood.
Fnonald Fnagan
i’m with colleen. obama should have someone in the crowd lead the pledge at every rally after this. would blow some minds and it’s a great hook, very coming together, etc.
zuzu's petals
He would have had to know ahead of time that there would be no pledge. And evidently these rallies always start with the pledge.
I do think he was looking for a fight, though.
zuzu's petals
Oops, there’s more:
John Quinn flees
tim
But John, this is one of your pro-Iraq War, pro-Bush brethren whom you have betrayed.
It seems churlish of you to hate on your former comrades in wingnuttery.
Trollicious Tim
Gus
Post-9/11, when the rest of the country had “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch, the Twins had “Proud to Be an American.” I made a point of sitting during that shit.
J. Michael Neal
The Gophers, on the other hand, should replace the Rouser with the Battle Hymn, since they play it already anyway.
zuzu's petals
Something I noticed the second time around … the guy didn’t even FACE THE FREAKIN’ FLAG.
Just Some Fuckhead
The Righty Quinn
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all pledge allegiance for the righty Quinn
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all hail old glory for the righty Quinn
Everybody’s in the building with their signs and totes
Some are building friendships, others are jotting down notes
Everybody’s looking for unity, not another wedge,
But when Quinn the Wingnut barks out
Everybody’s gotta recite the pledge.
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all salute old glory for the righty Quinn
I like to go just like the rest, I like my townhalls short
And call me old fashioned but my press should just report
Everyone’s excited for our candidate to appear
But when Quinn the Wingnut interrupts,
The red, white and blue must be cheered.
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all pledge allegiance for the righty Quinn
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all hail old glory for the righty Quinn
Let me be in control shouts the schizophrenic Quinn
My dad died for old glory so my authority shall win..
No one can control us for such superficial reasons,
But when Quinn the Wingnut starts shootin’
Everybody’s gonna pledge allegiance!
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all pledge allegiance with the righty Quinn
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all pledge allegiance for the righty Quinn
Hands on your hearts, all ye within,
Let’s all pledge allegiance to the righty Quinn
Bill
All Ohio Boys Band, Ohio State Fair, 1966 & 1967. 300 musicians in uniform. Stars & Stripes Forever. 6 (six) piccolos. I was one of them. Talk about tearing up……
Johnny Pez
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
apocalipstick
I have a soft spot in my heart for the anthem. I played basketball at a very small high school, and was lucky enough to get a partial scholarship to college. I wasn’t very good, but I was “heady” (i.e., I was a sneaky bastard) and managed to hold my own. When the anthem was played before every game, I always faced the flag and thought, “How lucky I am to live in a country where someone as untalented as me can pay for school by playing basketball.”
I also remember Bud Grant’s lament when the Vikings moved from Metropolitan Stadium to the Metrodome. “I remember looking up at Minnesota sky and seeing that flag snap against that cold blue background, and I would think ‘I’m so grateful to be here.’ Now I look up at the roof of the Metrodome and see a cloud of cigarette smoke.”
J. A. Baker
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time the security detail for an Obama event has dropped the ball.
Mr Furious
When they make the Obama movie, that a-hole will be played to a vein-popping tee by William Fichtner.
Hannah
At the Obama town hall I attended, a young woman sang the National Anthem before anyone spoke. Obama wasn’t yet at the venue, they had others speak first. Obama probably assumed that the anthem had been sung in advance of his arrival at this particular town hall – they’re probably set up similarly.
Oh, and at a 4th of July concert I attended, the anthem was played by a band… everyone stood at attention, faced the flag, and sang. Out of curiosity I looked around to see if everyone put their hands over their hearts… and I’m guessing only around 5% did (and the majority of the audience was over 50 years old). The wingers are way off base in that particular attack on Obama. Unless they want to come to my town and accuse the 95% of concert goers as being unpatriotic. I’ll fight them on it!
grandpajohn
For some more goosebumps maybe some of the old farts like me here can remember Kate Smiths rendition of “God Bless America” and some real goosebumps. If you have never heard it, look it up somewhere, download it, whatever. If it don’t move you, you live in the wrong country
Glocksman
That concerns me despite my pro-gun (I have an Indiana lifetime CCW permit) views.
Despite my permit, I’d fully expect the Secret Service to deny me access to any building where a Presidential candidate is at for obvious reasons.
That said, I wouldn’t read too much into it because the SS has dropped the ball WRT other candidates as well.
Glocksman
Ghetto edit:
Despite my permit, I’d fully expect the Secret Service to deny me access to any building where a Presidential candidate is at for obvious reasons, if I was packing heat
Obviously if I wasn’t carrying a weapon then I have the exact same right to see and hear Obama speak as any other citizen does.
Dave S.
But there must be piccolo. Must have ample piccolo.
I’ve got a fever – and the only cure is more piccolo!
DC in ME
He’s from Ohio – what’d you expect?
binzinerator
So was Devo. And considering this guy had press credentials and was hired as a photographer, I can’t help but think of one of Devo’s songs:
Mongoloid he was a mongoloid
One chromosome too many
Mongoloid he was a mongoloid
And it determined what he could see
And he wore a hat
And he had a job
And he brought home the bacon
So that no one knew
I read somewhere that Goldwater himself used to privately refer these uber-patriot-god-flag nutjobs as “extra chromosome conservatives”.
Thursday
The anthem is played before every hockey game up here, and MAN I’m sick of it. Look, kids: I already know which country I’m in, okay? I didn’t forget walking from the car to my seat, so I don’t need a frikkin’ reminder! Television stations usually have commentators talking over it, or just run commercials while it plays.
That being said, it’s fun to join 18,000 people in any song, but the same one over and over? Variety, people!
DougL
oh really said:The guy’s a complete idiot, but I’m not sure what purpose it serves to confront him—“we wanna know your name and who you work for?” Who cares what his name is? Who cares who he’s working for? There are plenty of freelance wingnuts in this country. But the Bush tactics of screening and evicting are loathsome and this started to smell a little like that.
Except for the part where he wasn’t screened or evicted.