Goon Squad In Iowa: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

Paul Ryan spoke at the Iowa State Fair today, and his speech was interrupted by two women who first heckled and then stormed the stage. My first thought was, Where is the Secret Service? Apparently Ryan’s Secret Service protection hasn’t begun yet; the scene could easily have turned scary. Here is the video:

No word yet on who the women are, or what connection they have to the Democratic Party or the Obama campaign. One wonders whether the Democrats will turn to heckling and stage-storming as a routine matter. It might not be a bad strategy: by turning out a handful of hecklers, the Democrats can give friendly reporters an excuse to write about something other than the content of Romney’s or Ryan’s speeches, and to convey the impression that the Republicans are meeting with a general hostility. Such a tactic would be of a piece with everything else Barack Obama is doing, as he seems to be trying to bully his way to a second term.

Iowahawk, meanwhile, summed up the episode in a tweet:

Screaming hysterical hecklers at Ryan IA state fair speech rush stage, punch supporters, get arrested. I guess because Ryan’s an extremist.

Heh.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses