According to the youtube account that posted the video of the event this shocking act of intimidation happened during a public forum held by Rep Melissa Bean (D-Il) in a public library in Round Lake, Il. The video speaks for itself and, quite frankly, this is disturbing behavior from any elected official. No wonder they kept asking everybody to turn off their video cameras (h/t Gateway Pundit):
I know this isn't anywhere near the first time that liberal representatives have turned to extreme measures to avoid being held accountable by their constituents, in fact we have a whole catalog of such extreme measures, but this is worse than most. What kind of thug hires muscle to literally physically intimidate their own voters? This is simply despicable.
Who does this woman think she is? Did she seriously hire some thug to physically stand over voters if they dare to question the congresswoman in a manner she doesn't like? Good lord maybe next time she should march in a uniformed group of large men with billy clubs in case any of the rabble dare challenge her views.
Thankfully there were people in the audience that were brave enough not to be intimidated enough by the implied physical threats to turn off their cameras. It is their actions that will allow the American public to see and judge the actions of this congresswoman. These citizen journalists and those like them across the country are exactly what we need to keep our elected officials accountable.
UPDATE: Mediaite has seen it fit to defend Rep Bean and her friendly librarian who was only there to help those darn disruptive tea partiers... or something:
It’s pretty obvious, from the editing, that there’s more here than meets the eye. For example, in that sinister freeze-frame, the so-called “thug” appears to be reading something that’s being shown to him by an audience member. The Congresswoman’s explanation for asking that there be no taping is entirely reasonable. The truth is even more benign. Sources familiar with the event tell Mediaite that the “thug” from the video was not “hired” by Rep. Bean, but is a library employee who was responsible for security at the event. That event wasn’t a political town hall, either, but rather, an educational forum about credit card debt. According to one source, the video doesn’t show instances of constituents asking the guy with the video to pipe down so they can hear the presentation they came to see. In that context, the Congresswoman and the library staff seem to have suffered these disruptions rather patiently. Constituents were notified about the forum, held August 12 at the Round Lake Area Public Library, via robocalls. Presumably, most of them showed up to get advice about credit card debt, not to hear Tea Party Activists grind axes about health care reform.
OH now I see. That large menacing man in the video is merely a beefy librarian who wanted to check that woman's library card. I guess it was the crazy editing that made me miss that the first time around. Then again the very woman that Mediaite claims was just being helped out by our friendly body-building library assistant can also be seen at the beginning of the video as one of at least three people complaining that man was physically intimidating them. So maybe, just maybe, he wasn't trying to explain the dewey decimal system to her. Perhaps, instead, he was standing over her like a hulking jerk to keep her from speaking out against congresswoman Bean. But the guy supposedly doesn't work directly for Bean so no big deal, right? Ha, well for one thing I don't really buy that he isn't somehow connected with Bean since he follows one of the constituents all the way to the parking lot and physically blocks him so the congresswoman can run away without answering the constituent's completely reasonable questions. However, even if the thug doesn't work for Bean she certainly didn't seem bothered a bit by him intimidating her constituents. Either way the actions of Rep Bean are inexcusable. It seems Mediaite is pinning for a world where constituents who ask their representatives questions at a public forum are evil people who threaten civility in our society but the hired thugs who physically intimidate those constituents are merely trying to keep order. Right...