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| 2008/4/22-5/2 [Politics/Domestic/California, Reference/RealEstate] UID:49797 Activity:nil |
4/22 Yes, they are illiterate peasants.
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=61193
\_ "Back in January, he became the first Colorado lawmaker censured
by the House, after he kicked a newspaper photographer for taking
his picture during a prayer." Sounds like a classy guy.
\_ He was in prayer, and someone was at his feet clicking away. He
nudged him away with his foot. And what does that have to do
with the correct statement that most (if not all?) illegals from
south of the border are indeed illiterate peasants?
\_ Do you have a link for that? Just curious.
\_ http://cbs4denver.com/politics/bruce.photographer.kick.2.636572.html
"Bruce told the committee that the photographer goaded him and
was responsible for creating a disruption. Bruce also denied
that what he did was a kick, saying he gently pushed the
photographer away with his foot."
\_ Colorado house votes 63-1 to censure him. Did all those
Republicans who voted for the motion fear Political correctness?
\_ Colorado house votes 62-1 to censure him. Did all those
GOP members who voted for the motion fear PC?
http://www.csua.org/u/lbz
\_ so he calls it like he sees it, and gets in hot water. This is
classic stifling effect of 'political correctness'
\_ THE MAN IS KEEPING HIM DOWN!
\_ being a jerk has always been impolitic |
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| www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=61193 State Representative Douglas Bruce made the remark during a debate on the Statehouse floor. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill designed to ease a shortage of farm workers in Colorado. Bruce was ordered to leave the podium immediately after the remark. "Are they denying that these people are likely to be illiterate? The word peasant means a person who works in agricultural fields. So there was nothing untrue about the statement", said Rep. This isn't the first time Bruce has provoked controversy. Back in January, he became the first Colorado lawmaker censured by the House, after he kicked a newspaper photographer for taking his picture during a prayer. |
| cbs4denver.com/politics/bruce.photographer.kick.2.636572.html Click here to refresh with new letters The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Doug Bruce By Steven K Paulson, AP Writer DENVER (AP) - Colorado lawmakers introduced the first-ever censure against a fellow lawmaker on Wednesday, accusing Republican Rep. Douglas Bruce of bringing disrepute to fellow lawmakers for kicking a newspaper photographer on the House floor while he was waiting to be sworn in. The full House of Representatives could vote on the action against Bruce as early as Thursday. The resolution requires a simple majority from the 65 House members. Steve King, D-Grand Junction, says that Bruce deserves to be censured because his conduct "failed to uphold the honor and dignity of the House of Representatives and reflects poorly on the state." It also criticized Bruce for his failure to apologize for the incident that took place during the House prayer. Bruce told The Gazette of Colorado Springs that the resolution was "grossly disproportionate" to his action and that he will send a letter to House members giving his side. He said he met Tuesday with House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, and Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, but they didn't tell him what comes next. King, co-chairman of a bipartisan committee that recommended the censure after hearing testimony from the photographer and sergeants at arms who witnessed the incident, said Bruce's behavior was unacceptable and deserved punishment. "The beauty of this environment is that you have the ability to communicate your beliefs and to do that without fear of violence," King said. "Yes, we're all passionate about our ideas, our beliefs in specific areas. Passion is one thing, violence is a totally different thing." King said the committee originally recommended that Bruce apologize, but dropped that demand after members concluded it would be "hollow" because Bruce believed the photographer was responsible for causing a disturbance on the House floor by taking his picture while he was trying to pray. Bruce told the committee that the photographer goaded him and was responsible for creating a disruption. Bruce also denied that what he did was a kick, saying he gently pushed the photographer away with his foot. The Colorado Springs Republican is a midterm appointee who was not sworn in until several hours after the kicking incident. Bruce was defiant before the panel, saying the "paparazzi" were hounding him. "I categorically state I did not violate the order and decorum of the House," he said. Bruce said it was ironic that he was accused of disrupting the House because he was trying to preserve the order and dignity of the House during the prayer. Legislative legal advisers said the committee could have recommended a reprimand, censure or expulsion. They were also told they could levy a fine and order an apology. Censure is considered more severe than a reprimand because it can be read at length on the floor and the member may be required to stand in the well of the House while it is read. Romanoff has not said if he will require Bruce to stand before his colleagues and accept responsibility for what he did. King said if Bruce refuses to accept whatever punishment Romanoff hands down, Bruce could face further sanctions. |
| www.csua.org/u/lbz -> www.gazette.com/articles/bruce_32322___article.html/house_resolution.html E-Mail Story | Font Size smallest smaller medium larger (DENNIS SCHROEDER, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS) Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs, listened Thursday as a resolution to censure him was read in Denver. A member of the committee that recommended censure said Bruce would have gotten off lighter if he had taken responsibility and apologized. By MICHAEL DAVIDSON THE GAZETTE DENVER - The Colorado House voted 62-1 Thursday to censure Rep. Douglas Bruce, punishing the appointed El Paso County Republican for kicking a photographer. A bipartisan committee recommended the censure, the first in the Legislature's history, after testimony last week from Bruce, Rocky Mountain News photographer Javier Manzano and others who witnessed the altercation. Bruce kicked Manzano after he was photographing Bruce during the morning prayer on the House floor before Bruce, a midterm replacement filling a vacancy, was sworn in. id=324 Censure required a majority vote of the 65-member House. Addressing the House before the vote, Bruce continued to downplay the force of his kick and again blamed Manzano for the incident. The photographer had promised to stop taking his photograph during the prayer, Bruce said, but was goaded into it by another photographer. "I should not have believed that the photographer was going to keep his word, and I should have scurried off to the side room instead," Bruce said. Bruce said he was attempting to maintain decorum that had been disturbed by the media. Bruce compared himself to the hero of the 1939 Jimmy Stewart movie, "Mr Smith Goes to Washington." In the movie, Stewart played a freshman congressman who punches a reporter and becomes a hero after collapsing in the midst of a filibuster. Bruce said that he, like the title character, had been "set up and provoked by the press even before he had been sworn in" and was subject to "a legislative inquisition" led by his opponents. Bruce was cut short by House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, who invoked a House rule limiting speakers to 10 minutes. Al White, R-Hayden, was allowed to rebuke him before the vote. "Representative Bruce, you're not Jimmy Stewart, this is not a 1939 movie. Bruce passed out a sevenpage statement to each House member explaining his refusal to apologize to Manzano and listing past misdeeds by House members that went unpunished. Bruce attempted to have the statement put into the official House record, but it was rejected 56-7. "There has never been an instance of any such action being taken, and who did they take it against? They take it against the author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights before he could even become a member," Bruce said. Romanoff said later that Bruce's claim of an ulterior motive was "false -- and, frankly, shameful," and reiterated the investigation was bipartisan. The only member to vote against censure was Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud. Lundberg said that Bruce was wrong to kick Manzano, but that his misdeed didn't deserve the harshest punishment ever levied by the House against a member. "I have seen incidents that are in my opinion equal to this, and no censure, nor even formal rebuke, occurred," Lundberg said. The next time something comes up somewhere, the standard is censure or nothing." Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, co-chairman of the committee that recommended censure, disagreed that the punishment was too severe. He said Bruce would have been given a lesser sanction if he had taken responsibility for what he did. The committee considered expelling Bruce but deemed that inappropriate. "Early on it was decided that it's not fair for us to disenfranchise the voters of Colorado Springs who sent him here," Weissmann said. The committee voted 5-1 to force Bruce to apologize to the House. That was dropped because members said a forced apology would have been hollow, co-chairman Steve King, R-Grand Junction, said. The Colorado Legislative Council Staff was asked by Bruce to determine whether there had been an instance of a member's being disciplined in the past. The staff found no record of such an action, but it is missing documents from 1876 to 1879. See archived 'Metro' Stories Reader Comments We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate Ideas that foster stronger communities. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing. |