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Senator Saslaw (D - Fairfax) Delivers Banjogate to Virginia General Assembly

Mike

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Cartoon published in the Sunday January 27th edition
of the Kingsport Tennessee Times News
:
http://www.vcdl.org/Saslaw/Saslaw_Peacemaker.jpg

Virginia state senator's 'Deliverance' comment riles gun-rights supporters
A Bristol Virginia man sparked a statewide political reaction after he said he heard the state Senate’s majority leader insult rural gun owners while standing in a public elevator. "He turns to his companion and says, ‘You can tell we’re debating a gun bill today. Half the cast of "Deliverance" is in town,’ " said John Pierce, a local gun-rights activist who was in Richmond to lobby the General Assembly against a bill to close the so-called gun-show loophole. "I was absolutely floored. ... I think what you’re seeing is bigotry aimed at rural voters and the issues that they tend to support," Pierce said. . . . Late Thursday, the Republican Party of Virginia issued a news release asking Saslaw to explain who exactly he was insulting.http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news/education.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-01-25-0006.html

Dueling Banjos
Hundreds of activists on both sides of the gun control debate crammed into the General Assembly's office building Monday to lobby for or against measures addressing the issue . . . . John Pierce, cofounder of Open Carry.org, said he and other activists got into the same elevator as Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) at one point on Monday. According to Pierce, Saslaw said "I see we're debating a gun bill. Half of the cast of 'Deliverance' is in town," a reference to the 1972 movie about a group of friends who survive a canoe trip in rural Georgia. In an interview today, Saslaw didn't deny he made the remark. But he added, "How do they know I was referring to them and not the other side? I never said anything other than we must be debating the gun bill. I never said which side. Some of those people must have one hell of an inferiority complex." http://blog.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2008/01/was_the_cast_of_deliverance_in.html

That’s Just Dick
. . . Saslaw said this: “I see we’re debating a gun bill today. Half the cast of Deliverance is in town!” Nothing like insulting all of rural Virginia or, for that matter, all of rural America. Additionally, Senator Saslaw attempted to disrupt another VCDL official who was testifying at the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. This is nothing new for him, though. During the last few years he has berated Family Foundation witnesses at committee hearings in violation of senate protocol and said such idiocies as “property rights are not in the constitution,” among many other outrageous and ill-informed statements. All this as minority leader. Now he’s majority leader. Hang on for the next four years, folks. If a conservative stereotyped a group in public, that office holder would face a firestorm. But in liberal elitist circles, there is nothing wrong with it and, most likely, nothing will be done, no apologies given. Especially in this case, it’s just Dick being Dick. http://www.familyfoundationblog.com

VA-ALERT: Senator Saslaw steps in it again!
Democratic Senator Saslaw just can't help himself. Rather thancontritely apologizing to gun owners, Saslaw is obsessed with strikingout at us. In the following Washington Post blog, Saslaw doesn't deny making the"Deliverance" statement, but asks how gun owners know it was referringto them. How about because it was obvious to anyone with more than akindergarten education, Senator? You support every anti-gun bill thatcomes your way and we are to believe you are disparaging the anti-gunners? But even if you were referring to the anti-gunners, as a Senator youshould have more decorum than to make such an offensive statementabout ANY group, even the anti-gunners. Adding insult to injury, Saslaw said this about gun owners who mightthink that his "Deliverance" comments were aimed at them: "somepeople must have one hell of an inferiority complex." From the frying pan into the fire. Swift move, Senator. [VCDL.org List Serve, Jan. 25, 2008, archived at http://www2.vcdl.org/webapps/vcdl/vadetail.html?RECID=2060001]


WRVA Radio Interview (Jan, 24, 2008)
http://www.opencarry.org/audio/012408-WRVA.mp3

Saslaw Drops his pants again
Instead of interviewing with a Virginia News Service concerning his insulting remark on Monday, Senator Saslaw ran back to mama and spoke to the Washington Post. He is one of THOSE people you know. WRVA asked for an interview yesterday. http://news.oldva.org/?p=87

Quote of the Day. But First, Cue theBanjoshttp://www.vapoliticalblogs.com/2008/01/25/quote-of-the-day-but-first-cue-the-banjos

Bristol, Va. man sparks controversy over state senator’s ‘Deliverance’ remark about gun owners
http://timesnews.net/blogs/fenley/?p=2994

Finally, my turn to be offended
http://www.truthvmachine.com/?p=5467

Permissible Bigotry
http://oldvirginiablog.blogspot.com/2008/01/permissible-bigotry.html

Senator Saslaw's Deliverance Comment
http://thecontemporaryconservative.blogspot.com/2008/01/senator-saslaws-deliverance-comment.html

Make Saslaw Squeel Like A Pig
http://masonconservative.typepad.com/the_mason_conservative/2008/01/make-saslaw-squ.html

The Soft Bigotry Of Emptymindedness
http://blogfromonhigh.blogspot.com/2008/01/soft-bigotry-of-emptymindedness.html

Saslaw shows contempt for Virginians
http://bearingdrift.com/blog/2008/01/25/saslaw-shows-contempt-for-virginians
 

Dutch Uncle

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So that low-life loser admits making his vituperative comments, but now wants to play cute about whom he was referring to. Isn't it time his constituants demanded an answer, so they'll know whose side the Senator really supports? Not that it matters. Neither side deserves to be insulted publicly by such mean spirited and vicious comments.

The Democrats should be ashamed to have such a petty man as their Majority Leader.
 

RU98A

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Dutch Uncle wrote:
So that low-life loser admits making his vituperative comments, but now wants to play cute about whom he was referring to. Isn't it time his constituants demanded an answer, so they'll know whose side the Senator really supports? Not that it matters. Neither side deserves to be insulted publicly by such mean spirited and vicious comments.

The Democrats should be ashamed to have such a petty man as their Majority Leader.
When has the Democrats been ashamed of anything they have pulled? The Hill-Bill show now running in the media is a prime example. It took a lot of gall for John Kerry to make the statement that Bill Clinton was abusing the truth. I about choked on that one. Kerry calling someone a abuser of truth.
 

rebfan

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He loves illegals, but hates Americans who exercise their right to gun ownership. Typical Dem.
 

Grapeshot

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rebfan wrote:
He loves illegals, but hates Americans who exercise their right to gun ownership. Typical Dem.
If illegals become legal and can vote, who do you think that they will vote for?

Surely not conservative, what part of illegal do you not understand, 2nd Amendment supporting citizens.. Could it be another attempt at burying/silencing our effectiveness?

Yata hey
 

Bulldog1967

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This assclown is my senator (sadly) and he won by a WIDE margin last time here in occupied NoVa....its gonna take a concerted effort and $$$ to make him feel the heat next election.:banghead:
 

fairfax1

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http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/opinions.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-01-27-0006.html
Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 - 12:35 AM

Saslaw maligned gun-rights supporters, all rural Virginians

[align=left]Shame on Virginia Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw.[/align] [align=left]A man who has spent the better part of three decades in the legislature in Richmond ought to have more sense than to insult any state resident – let alone an entire group of them.[/align] [align=left]Saslaw, a Northern Virginia businessman and the leader of the newly minted Democratic majority, is in hot water for an ill-considered remark on an elevator at the capitol last week. His comments were either an insult to gun-rights supporters or rural voters or both.[/align] [align=left]NO MATTER who was the target, the remarks were certainly not statesmanlike. Saslaw should apologize.[/align] [align=left]The senator’s snide aside was overheard by Bristol Virginia resident John Pierce, a computer software developer who traveled to Richmond as part of a delegation from the Virginia Citizens Defense League. About 400 league members were in Richmond to lobby their lawmakers and to protest a potential change to the state’s gun laws.[/align] [align=left]In an e-mail, which is rocketing around the Internet, Pierce described the incident:[/align] [align=left]"Senator Saslaw … and a companion entered the elevator. … He loudly continued his discussion with his companion. The next words out of his mouth were the most disrespectful words I have ever heard spoken openly by a Virginia legislator about his constituency."[/align] [align=left]According to Pierce, Saslaw said, "I see we’re debating a gun bill today. Half of the cast of ‘Deliverance’ is in town."[/align] [align=left]"DELIVERANCE" is a 1970s era film based on a novel by James Dickey. In it, a group of Atlanta businessmen encounters a backwoods Appalachian culture during a canoe trip in the North Georgia Mountains. The movie’s plot involves rape and murder.[/align] [align=left]A "Deliverance" crack delivered by a Northern Virginia businessman and directed at rural Virginians should incense all state residents. The remark simply drips with prejudice.[/align] [align=left]Pierce, who grew up in rural Grayson County but attended college and graduate school in Northern Virginia, agrees.[/align] [align=left]"I really think most of the people in Southwest Virginia, even working people who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school that I did, do not match the stereotype of ‘Deliverance.’ That’s not just rural. That’s about rape and murder," Pierce told me Friday. "[Saslaw] didn’t say, ‘It looks like there’s a Jeff Foxworthy concert in town.’ He compared us to murderers and rapists who are almost sub-human."[/align] [align=left]FOR PIERCE, an ardent Second Amendment supporter, the conflict with Saslaw is very much about guns. Pierce describes Saslaw as a gun-control advocate with a low opinion of those who don’t share his views.[/align] [align=left]"I believe he truly feels that gun owners are bad people," Pierce said.[/align] [align=left]Pierce’s assessment might be correct. But this isn’t just about guns – a subject on which reasonable people hold a variety of opinions. It’s about respect. Even if they don’t agree with their constituents, lawmakers are obliged to treat them with a certain amount of courtesy and decorum. Saslaw broke the rules. [/align] [align=left]Pierce’s reaction to the senator’s comments is understandable.[/align] [align=left]"I WAS sickened," he wrote. "Sen. Saslaw has made it abundantly clear over the years that he has nothing but disdain for gun rights. But apparently this disdain extends to anyone who does not live in his elitist world."[/align] [align=left]Since the controversy began, Saslaw has hunkered down and refused to talk to reporters. He didn’t return this newspaper’s phone calls. Perhaps he assumes the matter will blow over in time. Or perhaps his disdain extends to newspapers in the Southwest corner of the state.[/align] [align=left]He’s making a mistake. Southwest Virginia residents – and rural state residents, in general – deserve the same consideration as those who live in the rarefied atmosphere that surrounds the nation’s capital.[/align] [align=left]Saslaw ought to respond and apologize. If he doesn’t, his fellow Democrats should hold him to account or, at a minimum, aver that they don’t hold the same low opinion of rural residents. [/align] [align=left]STATE RESIDENTS go to Richmond all the time to lobby lawmakers. On the same day that Pierce and the Virginia Citizens Defense League were there, hundreds of supporters of gun restrictions staged a "lie in" on the grounds. Both groups – the gun-rights demonstrators and the opposition – were engaging in the constitutionally protected practice of political protest. They were seeking a powerful way to make point, whether by lying on the ground or wearing "Guns Save Lives" stickers.[/align] [align=left]On the same day, other state residents gathered to rally support for a clean energy bill, although their demonstration was largely overshadowed by the gun-related protests. They, too, were exercising their rights.[/align] [align=left]This is democracy at work.[/align] [align=left]Lawmakers don’t have to agree with protesters’ positions. But they owe them the courtesy of listening and the respect they would accord their colleagues.[/align] [align=left]Insulting rural voters or residents of Appalachia is appalling behavior for a senator. Saslaw needs to be man enough to admit his mistake.[/align] [align=left]Andrea Hopkins is opinion editor of the Bristol Herald Courier. She may be reached at ahopkins@bristolnews.com or (276) 645-2534.[/align]
 

Toad

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I don't think it matters if he does apologize; it will not hide his true character. If he does it will only be lip service. Demanding an apology is the same as telling politicians to say only what people want to hear but they are still free to act as they please.
 

Tomahawk

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He can "apologize" by supporting the right to self-defense. Only then would any apology count.

You can just imagine the things says about us behind closed doors, as he plots to trample your rights further. And you can bet a guy like this wants to get the last laugh by ramming something repugnant down our throats. People like this don't like to be humiliated; they think it is their perogative to talk smack about the "little people", and when something like this happens they can't wait to get payback.

Watch this guy like a hawk.
 
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