Stark asked an inflammatory question, to be sure, but well within the standards set in the 1990's, when the media decided that asking a president about marks on his penis was fair game. The reason Stark asked the question is that there is speculation that the allegation appears in the divorce papers from Allen's first marrriage. Yes, first marriage. Given that Allen is presenting himself as a champion of family values and marriage, a question about whether he spit on his first wife -- and the accompanying revelation that Mr. Sanctity-of-Marriage has himself been divorced -- is germane to the image he's trying to present.
Judge for yourself. The video is linked here, because for some reason, YouTube videos aren't loading for me -- are they for you?
And Mike Stark quite correctly responds:
Letter from Mike Stark
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 31, 2006
The following is a letter to NBC29 from Mike Stark, the man who was tackled for a comment he made at Senator Allen's campaign stop in Charlottesville on Tuesday.
My name is Mike Stark. I am a law student at the University of Virginia, a marine, and a citizen journalist. Earlier today at a public event, I was attempting to ask Senator Allen a question about his sealed divorce record and his arrest in the 1970s, both of which are in the public domain. His people assaulted me, put me in a headlock, and wrestled me to the ground. Video footage is available here, from an NBC affiliate.
I demand that Senator Allen fire the staffers who beat up a constituent attempting to use his constitutional right to petition his government. I also want to know why Senator Allen would want his staffers to assault someone asking questions about matters of public record in the heat of a political campaign. Why are his divorce records sealed? Why was he arrested in the 1970s? And why did his campaign batter me when I asked him about these questions.
George Allen defends his support of the Iraq war by saying that our troops are defending the ideals America stands for. Indeed, he says our troops are defending our very freedom. What kind of country is it when a Senator's constituent is assaulted for asking difficult and uncomfortable questions? What freedoms do we have left? Maybe we need to bring the troops home so that they can fight for freedom at George Allen's campaign events. Demanding accountability should not be an offense worthy of assault.
I will be pressing charges against George Allen and his surrogates later today. George Allen, at any time, could have stopped the fray. All he had to do was say, "This is not how my campaign is run. Take your hands off that man." He could have ignored my questions. Instead he and his thugs chose violence. I spent four years in the Marine Corps. I'll be damned if I'll let my country be taken from me by thugs that are afraid of taking responsibility for themselves.
It just isn't the America I know and love. Somebody needs to take a stand against those that would bully and intimidate their fellow citizens. That stand begins right here, right now.
W. Michael Stark
Republicans have been screaming about the way we draw parallels between Republicans and Nazis. Up until now, it's been hyperbole. But when we have a situation where the Federal government is building what it calls "temporary detention facilities", the President of the United States is claiming that Democrats are more dangerous than terrorists and his strategists are referring to the possibility that he might have to deal with Democrats as "a cataclysmic fight to the death", the parallels are no longer hyperbole. And watching Allen's goons rough up a citizen yesterday just made the parallels that much more vivid.
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