It is not a pleasant feeling knowing now what was taking place while our meeting was going on. There are far too many “nuts” out there for me to feel comfartable with the vandalism taking place when they knew there were people inside.

The one good thing that did come of this, is the outstanding support of the Gop and Jackson Miller because of this. People from all over Virginia are outraged by this and have been very generous in their support.

Signs have been stolen all over the Old Town area lately, and I would have to say, I think the Dem’s are worried. I am not saying any campaign is doing it, just that someone is worried. If they weren’t, they would leave the signs alone.

I don’t think there ever was a disagreement, but Amen I say none the less. We always agreed that the act was wrong. If this had been a case where Rishell or Feder or Webb or commonwealth coalition signs had been defaced, I would have agreed that this was a criminal act, and the perps beneath contempt. The only point that required clarification is that if the shoe were on the other foot, so-to-speak, if it had been a case where this was done to Democrat candidates, I would have felt shamed by these scumbag’s actions, even though I would never engage in such behavior. I won’t belabor this point, as I think you know what I was driving at, and we agree. Beautiful is our political system, when rational people are at the wheel.

People are responsible for their own reaction to what they hear. If speech disturbs you, that’s YOUR reaction. If it gets you mad, that is how YOU respond. If it makes you want to commit vandalism, that’s how YOU express your feelings.

Democrats love to blame republicans for all sorts of bad things based on words, like blaming Bush for saying “bring it on”, or when Clinton tried to blame Rush Limbaugh for the Oklahoma bombing.

It was wrong when they did it, and it would be wrong for us to do it. Rishell certainly won’t benefit from this attack, and she certainly didn’t expect people to do this, and frankly I don’t think this has much to do with HER race.

I think it’s more likely the response of the anti-marriage-amendment crowd. They HAVE been increasingly shrill, they have used inflammatory language and attacks, they have resorted to shouting down and suppressing the speech rights of others.

There are reports from all over the state of attacks on the pro-amendment signs. I would imagine that this was the work of people who want the marriage amendment to fail.

No, you are not to take the blame, as you have condemned the action, and I did not mean to say that you should, and I condemn the actions of individuals who defaced your signs. The point that I am trying to make here is that when things like this happen, when hateful individuals take actions like this, it hurts the cause of the group they are activists for. I’ll give you an expample, that you might be able to grasp. I am pro-life. I work for pro-life causes, push pro-life candidates. If someone vandalizes an abortion clinic, it gives the pro-life cause a “black-eye”.

As for the possiblity of attack, signs posted at my private home were vandalized and is it a leap for me to think that, if this act had taken place when my children were outside, they could have been ensnared in a confrontation and injured.

The blame for this act lies with criminals. I’ve been a political activist in this community for several years now on behalf of Democratic party efforts. Am I to take the blame for a group of vandals whom I don’t know and wouldn’t give the time of day to if I did because you’ve decided the entire opposition is to be blamed for anything that is done to a Republican sign. No, sorry I’m not.

As for whether the request is an official request for an apology from the Risehll campaign, it isn’t. It is a request for an act of simple descency on your part. But, the political advantage you seem to want to try and ring out out of this will, as usual, trump the need to treat Liberals like human beings.

Did you see the pictures? Did you see what they wrote? Doesn’t take a detective to figure out on which side of the debate they are on, or for which candidates they would be voting. Let’s not forget who was harmed here. I would imagine that walking up on this scene, seeing the filth that was written, some of which Greg has had the good taste not to print, was very upsetting to the mothers, wives and grandmothers who make up the BRRW. Imagine if these “activists” hadn’t stopped at the signs? Based on the anger with which the damage was done, and the brazen nature of the crime, is it a leap to think that they may have entered the HQ, while it was occupied? What if one of these ladies had walked up on the perps, while they were vandalizing the signs?

This is something that needs to be known. Liberal activists (both good and bad) are stained by this. While I would hope that no democrat campaign staff were associated (and would be disappointed to discover that they were), there is a stain upon them as well. I think Matt Harrison did a good thing by coming out quick and condeming this, but Steve Thomas was right to say that it “reflects poorly on the opposition” because it does, as well as saying these actions “bring discredit on the Democratic party”. It wasn’t Republicans out there doing it. Even if the party wasn’t behind it, per se, there is little doubt which party these vandals are supporting. Democrats need to allow the Manassas Republicans their outrage. The Manassas GOP was the party that was criminally attacked.