Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Obama Supporters Implicated In Savage Mace Attack!

Could this be it, the proof that Obama supporters are vicious thugs that will be mean to the gentle Republicans once they're in charge?

From the Galax Gazette (West Virginia, since you ask; pop 6655. Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains!)

Two people were arrested Monday afternoon after an altercation led to five Republican campaign workers being sprayed with Mace at their headquarters in Galax.

Galax Police Chief Rick Clark said officers were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. to the Galax Republican headquarters on East Grayson Street when a caller reported someone had sprayed office workers with Mace.

Responding officers arrested Daniel Cason Meinecke, 29, and Cara Annis Hindman, 26, both of Galax.

Meinecke was charged with one count of misdemeanor assault, Hindman was charged with five counts of misdemeanor assault.

Galax Republican Chairman Mike Stevens said he was one of the volunteers sprayed. He said a man and woman came into the office and asked for campaign yard signs for the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

After being told the Obama-Biden campaign office was up the street, Stevens said, the man said he was aware of that, but that he thought Democratic signs were being stolen and “stashed” at the Republican office.

Stevens told him that nobody there had stolen signs, not were they “stashing” any in the building...

...Once outside, Stevens said, the woman sprayed Mace on him and another volunteer before turning back to the office and spraying inside the building.

...While Stevens was unsure if the couple came into the building planning to start an altercation, he said it seemed evident they were... Stevens said he felt the man just came to the headquarters to agitate office volunteers and that he had no reason to enter the building.

“I can’t say they came there for that purpose. But it seemed that it was to come in and agitate. When he started cussing, that’s when I felt it was time for them to go out of the way and go on down the road.”

With the election of a new president coming in the next week, Stevens said the tension between Republican and Democrats has been elevated.

“We are more divided,” as a result, he said.
I'm less inclined to believe stories like this since last week (I'm lookin' at you Ashley Todd! And oh, you'd love that wouldn't you?) but hey, maybe it's possible. It makes perfect sense that that the party that's apparently winning would produce people so angry and unhinged that they would load up on mace and use it as an assault weapon.

Even Drudge is leaving the metaphorical siren in the metaphorical drawer for this story. Speaking of Drudge, how is Oprah doing producing that Obamamercial tomorrow night? I haven't heard anything about the details or her involvement in it. Sorry, tangent. While I'm out here, I hear that ABC, the ultra-far-left ABC, turned down the huge payoff and won't be running it. Why do they hate money? Oh yeah, ultra-far-left. Then why...? Ouch, my head.

So here are my reasons to doubt the story. The paper has what appears to be a pretty conservative readership (few pro-Obama comments, more are like this sample: Just some of Obama's BROWN SHIRTS. Look for many more to come if he gets elected. El Duce would be proud. --zenbuckaroo 10/28/2008) so it's in their interest to slant the story towards the audience. Or make it up. It might have been useful for them to interview the "assailants" and perhaps they will as soon as they're available.

There's the possibility that the Pro-Obama mace-wielders are Republicans desperate enough to get arrested for the good of the country. It's also possible that they are Democrats, angry at having their signs stolen, threatened in the office and protecting themselves with mace. Again, I await followups. It just seems likely that more details will make the Republicans look worse.

I have to confess though, the idea of talky, arugula-and-granola eatin' elitist thugs presents a fun image.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What would Occam's Razor have you believe, Piker?

piker62 said...

I need more data.

Given the mace detail, it seems more likely that these guys were defending themselves than attacking. If they'd come in with baseball bats I might think differently.

Anonymous said...

I guess you could always read the links on my blog..

Since when can mace only be used for defense?

piker62 said...

Mace is more commonly used for defense, but it could indeed be used for an attack. So can a riot shield. You could walk into an office behind a riot shield and start banging innocent people over the head with it. Occam's razor talkin' here.

Anyway, I checked out the link. Is there new information that I'm missing? Seems like the newspaper report, rewritten for TV. They seem to have reinterviewed Mr. Bryant instead of Mr. Stevens, but his story is the same.

piker62 said...

See, what's more likely to be used in attacks? A gun.

Anonymous said...

So the kid tried to steal his property, the guy defended it, and you call that an ATTACK?

piker62 said...

I have some sympathy for the guy and his property, but like a commenter said, "dude, write down the plate, call the police! It's only a sign."

Publius said...

Yeah it would be as ridiculous ad believing that Democrats would slash the tires of Republican campaigners cars and... oh, wait. That DID happen in Wisconsin in '06.

Darn, thought I was on track with you that time.

piker62 said...

Okay Publius, you win. We're ALL tire-slashers on my side. Have been ever since we got congress back.

Publius said...

Daniel...

Ah, now I hurt yer fewwlings.

I never said you are ALL TIRE-SLASHERS.

Just MOST of you!

;)