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Keep your trackers out of taverns

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* Mark Maxwell’s story last night is definitely worth watching…


Davis staffer arrested after crashing Dirksen-Londrigan event: https://t.co/psXa7Ov6nc via @YouTube

— Rich Flesch (@WCIA3newshound) August 17, 2018


* SJ-R editorial

It’s sad, but sadly no longer surprising, when political campaigns bring out the worst in people.

We unfortunately saw that in action Wednesday after a now-former field director for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis’s campaign was arrested for allegedly harassing Davis’ challenger, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, and her supporters at a private campaign event. […]

We hope this is the last time we see such an uncivil display. Yet given the tone of politics these days — where doing what gets the most attention often trumps doing what is right — we worry what else we might see as campaigns continue.

Election Day is Nov. 6. Candidates want your vote. They should get it by conducting themselves in an honorable manner — and making it clear to their staffs that they must act that way too. No one wants a repeat of what we saw here this week.

I asked Londrigan yesterday why she didn’t have the tracker removed right away. She said the guy was just hanging in the background doing his thing and then suddenly went off without warning.

But every time I’ve seen a tracker in a tavern, the bar owner/management has tossed the person out. Bars are private businesses. They need to protect their customers. Idiots walking around videoing people having a drink should be immediately ejected. That tracker shouldn’t have been given a chance to go nuts.

And, frankly, Rodney Davis’ campaign should’ve known better than to send a tracker to a bar in the first place. I doubt they’d like it if Londrigan did the same to them.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:42 am

Comments

  1. “And, frankly, Rodney Davis’ campaign should’ve known better than to send a tracker to a bar in the first place. I doubt they’d like it if Londrigan did the same to them. ”

    So there is zero chance this was a rogue staffer? He was also fired imediatley.

    Comment by A Voter and Taxpayer Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:47 am

  2. Sometimes people are just stupid. I can’t imagine, the Davis campaign told this guy to harass people. He was an over zealous, over drunk idiot.

    Comment by Retired Educator Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:50 am

  3. Apparently, the GOP is now the party of judgmental misguided anger, meanness, and bad behavior… Good luck with that going forward.

    Comment by El Conquistador Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:51 am

  4. “Idiots walking around videoing people having a drink should be immediately ejected.”

    Campaign event or not, this is the best policy for all drinking establishments at all times.

    – MrJM

    Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:54 am

  5. **So there is zero chance this was a rogue staffer? He was also fired imediatley.**

    I doubt they told him to show up drunk and belligerent. But I don’t doubt that they sent him to the event.

    Comment by SaulGoodman Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:55 am

  6. –“Idiots walking around videoing people having a drink should be immediately ejected.”–

    The taverns where I hang out, obnoxious drunks taking videos would be lucky to just get ejected.

    Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 11:59 am

  7. ===Apparently, the GOP is now the party of judgmental misguided anger, meanness, and bad behavior===

    It’s the party of Donald Trump. Expect no better.

    Comment by Nick Name Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:01 pm

  8. == Idiots walking around videoing people having a drink should be immediately ejected.==

    I agree in principle, but in practice, that may have been this guy’s goal: Get video of a black man who “wasn’t doing anything wrong” being removed from a Democratic event. He alludes to that in the video. The bar and Londrigan folks may have seen through that were were trying to avoid stepping into his trap.

    Comment by Pot calling kettle Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:01 pm

  9. @A Voter and Taxpayer, there’s not a 0% chance he took the initiative to check out the event without checking in with anyone else in the campaign, but it’s pretty close to 0.

    Though even if he was sent there, I am certain his conduct was not what Davis’ campaign wanted.

    Comment by Perrid Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:02 pm

  10. Democrats have thrown more people out of restaurants this year than they had during the Civil Rights March era.

    Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:04 pm

  11. =Apparently, the GOP is now the party of judgmental misguided anger, meanness, and bad behavior… Good luck with that going forward.=

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/congress-baseball-shooting/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ac988edd7ca3

    Comment by INI Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:04 pm

  12. Videotaping with cell phones is ubiquitous in many places. Many times it’s between family and friends having a good time.

    It might be touchy for a business to start deciding who is harmless and who is not.

    Comment by don the legend Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:06 pm

  13. @INI - whataboutism.

    Comment by El Conquistador Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:06 pm

  14. Bars are no place for amateurs.

    Comment by The Captain Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:10 pm

  15. He got really lucky he didn’t become a headline in the “You got knocked the F out” videos.

    Comment by DuPage Bard Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:19 pm

  16. Get out your guitar and join in: Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be trackers in bars.

    Comment by Responsa Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 12:47 pm

  17. I think Lovell was acting out the growing frustration with in Davis’s campaign as Londrigan has all the momentum going for her, Davis still won’t hold townhalls and so far too fearful to do debates with her. Davis is facing a real opponent and he can’t muster what it takes yet. She is out fundraising him and looking more likely that outside GOP money will have to spent to try to hold a “safe republican seat” and more likely they are going to lose

    Comment by truthteller Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:12 pm

  18. It was a bone-headed move and honestly it seemed desperate too. Keep in mind that Bernie Schoenburg with the SJ-R asked the Davis camp if he was sent there by the campaign and they *refused* to say. Why have him do something like this unless you are desperate to create a problem for Londrigan? Can’t blame them for trying though, considering that right now the narrative is that Londrigan has the momentum.

    Comment by Anonopotamus Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:20 pm

  19. Davis didn’t send him?…then he may be an agent of C.H.A.O.S.?

    #RogueTrackerDon’tHunt

    Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:28 pm

  20. ====It might be touchy for a business to start deciding===

    Oh, don’t be silly. Selfies are one thing. Trackers are a whole other animal. C’mon. Sheesh.

    Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:33 pm

  21. Why, why, why do they insist on showing vertically recorded video in those three panes rather than just with blacked out sides?

    Comment by Shemp Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:34 pm

  22. –I think Lovell was acting out the growing frustration with in Davis’s campaign as Londrigan has all the momentum going for her, –

    Or, he can’t handle his booze.

    Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:38 pm

  23. I understand the ubiquity of selfies, but it is illegal to video on private property without permission of the property owner or designate.
    What I’m not certain about is, since this was an advertised “public” event, does that fact mean the permission requirement disappears? Are they any lawyers on CapFax who could explain?

    Comment by filmmaker prof Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:38 pm

  24. ===It’s sad, but sadly no longer surprising, when political campaigns bring out the worst in people.===

    The whiskey probably brought out the bad behavior more than the political campaign.

    Comment by Freezeup Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 1:42 pm

  25. The Davis camp may have known he was going to the event, but I highly doubt they wanted him to show up drunk and make a scene. Nevertheless, the kid was working for him, and now it is his problem. Maybe he should have talked to Shimkus and Butler before he hired him.

    Comment by Jen Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 2:20 pm

  26. Oh, look: The Chicago Tribune finally caught on to this story.

    Comment by Northsider Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 2:43 pm

  27. I understand the difference between trackers and selfies.

    Assuming trackers are only at political events it’s easy to spot them and ask them to leave.

    I was wrong in equating regular folks videotaping other regular folks having fun with political trackers.

    Comment by don the legend Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 2:49 pm

  28. Darn cell phone cameras are the ruination of this country.

    Comment by BlueDogDem Friday, Aug 17, 18 @ 4:10 pm

  29. Trackers are the worst. The process would be better without them. The sad part is that folks like this earn their stripes and get promoted. Then we wonder why political operatives on both sides are so out of touch.

    Comment by Steve B. Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 10:20 am

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