Was Congressman Obey "Set Up" because he was Holding Hearings on No Child Left Behind?

[KoKo]

The Media is not letting up on Obey's statements to the Marine Mother which was captured on video. NPR just had a piece on it yesterday...and the hoopla makes me wonder if this wasn't a typical Repug Dirty Trick as warning to Obey who just had a hearing threatening the Bushies about their manipulation of science and reading programs in No Child Left Behind. His subcommitee really went after Bushbot Margaret Spellings over all the cronyism and bias in their funding or lack of funding for education programs. He was really harsh with her as was the rest of the committee.

The subcommitee and Obey worked her over for lack of funding for No Child Left Behind and emphasis on Bush Cronies in Publishing pushing their own textbooks and programs and forcing the states to take them. The Reps (including one Repug) attacked Spellings for putting incentives for Private Charter Schools ahead of funding for Public Schools and for cutting funding to Head Start Type programs.

It just seems too coincidental. It's the way the Repugs work. They might know that Obey has a "short fuse" and set up the stunt to try to harm his reputation. It's something to think about.

[TayTay]

1. Ahm, no, it was a random moment

Tina Richards and her companions, including the cameraman who took the pics, were in Congress going door-to-door to lobby for their views. They went into Cong. Obey's office trying to meet with him and randomly found him outside his office and started talking with him.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[KoKo]

3. Might be.....but in Bushworld very innocent appearing incidents often turn out

to have more behind them than than is thought on first blush.. And, they are very CLEVER...they've been at Dirty Tricks for decades.

[TayTay]

7. Why don't you ask the woman in question (She reads DKos)

Her son is an Iraq War veterans with a TBI injury. Ask her if she was part of a Rove-inspired conspiracy to ambush Democratic Congressmen.

Ah, really, this is insulting as well as a real stretch.

[HereSince1628]

6. The world outside his district doesn't know about the arrests in his local office

Obey has been the target of pressure for weeks. It must be taking some toll; I think he just sort of buckled under the surprise of being confronted and having no ready for prime-time answers. He's apologized, hopefully he and all the Dem leadership get better at handling these things. The pressure is going to get worse before it gets better.

[KoKo]

8. Arrests in his local office? Do you have more info?

Thanks..

[HereSince1628]

9. Here is a link to a story on one of the incidents

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=120795&ntpid=5

War protesters arrested for occupying Obey's office
WAUSAU (AP) - Three people were arrested after refusing to leave a congressman's hometown office where their group urged that he should be more vigorous in opposing the Iraq war, police said.


The three were part of the group led by former Green Party congressional candidate Mike Miles, who met Monday afternoon with a member of U.S. Rep. David Obey's staff and called on Obey to be a stronger opponent of the war.

<snip...there is a little more>

[HereSince1628]

10. And here is a link to another incident this month

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/WDH0101/703060378/1581/WDHnews

More peace activists arrested at Obey's office

By DJ Slater
Wausau Daily Herald
[e-mail]

For the second time in a week, Wausau police arrested peace activists at U.S. Rep. Dave Obey's local office after four sit-in protesters refused to leave his office when it closed at 5 p.m. Monday.


Seeking a commitment from Obey to deny additional funding for the war in Iraq, Joy First, 52, of Madison and Erin Cox, 26, Ron Durham, 26, and Jeff Leys, 42, all of Chicago, chose to be arrested on disorderly conduct charges at Obey's downtown office in the U.S. Bank building.

<snipped here, there is a bit more>

[KoKo]

11. Thanks....unfortunately those arrests are taking place in other

Reps and Senators offices around the country. I remember when protestors were arrested in Senator John Edwards Raleigh Office in the buildup to Iraq Invasion. They were put in jail and they were college kids. Edwards wasn't there and it was the policy of the "office staff" to have the protestors arrested.

He never apologized about it, either.

There have been other offices where arrests have occurred when the Rep wasn't there.

I've watched Obey for years in hearins on C-Span and he always seems to be in a bad mood. I figured he was just a curmudgeonly kind of character...so I wasn't surprised when he lashed out at the Marine Mother...but I was surprised when it was caught on film and that the media has run with it for days.

He did apologize...but the story goes on.

Thanks for the articles. He probably is feeling the pressure and he seemed almost ready to explode in the hearings I reported in the OP.

[Fridays Child]

2. I know what you're saying...

...but the man is solely responsible for what comes out of his mouth. Besides, Republics only bet on sure things, and Obey could just as easily have behaved differently.

The GOP media may be making a lot out of it but it was a gift to them--I'm sure of it.

[havocmom]

4. Very good theory.

Sure as hell looked like a set up. Lots of bush cronies are making bucks from NCLB by selling 'learning programs' to worried school districts. Neil for example... and one of his investors, that Barbara person who made a big contribution to Katrina relief with the stipulation that it go to Neil's little enterprise.

And NEVER forget NCLB gives military recruiters contact info on any students aged 15 or so and up from public schools, unless their parents pro-actively file the paper work to prevent it!

Let's see, money to private contractors, requiring schools to turn over contact info on minors so recruiters can keep the fodder coming without a technical draft....

Nothing to see here.

[babylonsister]

5. Set up by anti-war activists? Don't think so. nt