When someone runs for office, there is a certain amount of privacy that is lost. Background checks are done. Opponents start digging around for dirt. Reporters start following a candidate’s every move. But how much is too much? How much privacy is a person, even a candidate entitled to have? Apparently not much as more Democrats are resulting to flat out stalking in order to find out what an opponent is doing.
As reported by Politico.com, “Politicians recognize they give up a degree of privacy when they run for office. But Democrats are testing the outer limits of that understanding with a practice that raises questions about when campaign tracking becomes something more like stalking.”
That ratcheting up of the video surveillance game is unnerving Republicans who insist that even by political standards, it’s a gross invasion of privacy. Worse, they say, it creates a safety risk for members of Congress and their families at a time when they are already on edge after a deranged gunman shot former Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords 18 months ago.
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Reid Ribble, who said he’s also been followed by a cameraman when shopping for groceries, said the home videos cross a line.
“I feel it’s totally inappropriate,” said Ribble, a freshman facing a competitive race for reelection. “It was disturbing to me that they would put that online. I don’t understand any political benefit that can be achieved with that.”
The Politico.com story goes on to report that a silent video was posted on YouTube of Ribble’s house:
To me… that is so creepy.
In a report by the LA Times, the reporter feels that this tactic is just plain dumb.
But posting video of a candidate’s home in the hope of inspiring some real estate envy isn’t just inappropriate, it’s dumb. Do Democrats think that only renters have the right to advocate lower taxes? Or that only people in modest homes can credibly argue in favor of a government that’s smaller and less intrusive?
What’s incredible is that these Democrat supporters will resort to these tactics while ignoring that fact that most politicians, Republican and Democrat, are successful. According to Roll Call, seven of the top ten richest members of Congress are Democrats. The hypocrisy is overwhelming.
But it goes beyond class warfare. Stalking is simply sick, and should not be condoned at all. Families should be off limits. Residences should be off limits. But what’s good enough for the media and Chelsea Clinton certainly isn’t good enough for the media and Bristol Palin.
Here’s a report by Fox News on the Democrat stalking tactics:
What do you think? Is this stalking or just politics as usual. How much privacy should a person be expected to give up just to run for office?
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