Rehashing the Bruce Brouhaha

Up to this point, I haven’t taken time to comment on the Douglas Bruce brouhaha. So here it is: I’m glad to see good, intelligent, respected voices from my side able to distinguish between the free market, limited government views he espouses and the shameful behavior he has demonstrated. A few of them are highlighted below…

Today, Jessica Corry writes in her latest Diary of a Mad Voter:

On Monday, Colorado state Rep. Douglas Bruce didn’t just kick a newspaper photographer. When he refused to apologize, he also launched a blow to his beloved limited government movement. While the first mistake was forgivable, the second is not.

As was widely reported by media around the nation, including USA Today, Bruce became upset after a news photographer crouched before him during the chamber’s morning prayer continued to take his picture. He responded by swiftly kicking Rocky Mountain News photographer Javier Manzano in the knee.

A simple apology for the childish outburst could have been enough. We all lose our tempers every now and then. Surrounded by a barrage of media-types, he may have become overwhelmed. Instead of apologizing, however, Bruce feebly attempted to defend his actions by saying, “I think the Rocky Mountain News photographer ought to apologize to the House and to me and to all the people whom he disrupted. He needs to get a lesson in manners and decorum.”

If Bruce were just an ordinary freshman legislator, it’s more likely than not that the political damage resulting from the outburst would have only hurt him. But Bruce is anything but ordinary….

There’s more to read from Jessica, but what about others?

Former state senate president and Backbone America chief John Andrews gave a strong and measured response.

Blogger El Presidente offered his advice: “suck it up, be a man, and apologize for this crazy outburst.”

The Colorado Index gave a little tongue-in-cheek jab about Doug Bruce’s “circus.”

Michael at Best Destiny asked: “Must we suffer fools?”

The conservative Rocky Mountain Politics affirmed: “It is official, Doug Bruce is an embarrassment!”

There may be more such posts and comments from Colorado’s conservative blogging community. I didn’t perform an exhaustive search.

Regardless, now let’s move on to other topics, shall we?