The above YouTube has been making the rounds, and it’s compelling viewing.  In it, John Kerry is giving an on-campus speech when a student begins “questioning” him about why he didn’t fight harder for the presidency when he clearly won the 2004 election.  The “questioner” even brandished some obscure manifesto that purportedly documented five million suppressed votes to make his point.  (Whether or not all five million of those suppressed votes came from Ohio was unclear.) For what it’s worth, Kerry assured the youth that he had read the manifesto.

Like a lot of questioners prone to such thinking, he wouldn’t shut up.  To shut him up, the campus police completely over-reacted and began tasering him.  His screams of agony take up the last minute of the footage.  If you’re the kind dyed-in-the-wool conservative who thinks you might enjoy watching a conspiracy-minded freak get tasered, I guarantee you that you won’t unless you’re an unrepentant sadist.

So why post on it?  I think the incident reveals several pathologies regarding our modern political dialogue.  Taking them in order:

1)      John Kerry – Good lord, this ineffectual twit almost became president of the United States.  I remember getting the early exit polls on Election Day ’04 and feeling like vomiting.  Seeing the arrogant and indifferent Kerry in action here reminds me of why the thought of a Kerry presidency appalled me so.

2)      Our Campuses – Why are our enlightened bastions of learning such dead zones for courteous and edifying dialogue?  Kids like the one in the video not only don’t respect others’ opinions, but also don’t recognize the right of others to even express their opinions. They’re learning from their professors. The professoriate has long admired group-think and shouting down opposing views.  This generation of students is generally unimpressed by their professors and their 1960’s nostalgia.  But some outliers are learning their teachers’ lessons only too well.

3)      The Conspiracy Addled Nutjobs – Driving home from the Cape on Sunday, a sign reading “9/11 Was An Inside Job” decorated a highway overpass.  These loons are everywhere.  Even far left operations like the Daily Kos are telling the Truthers they’re not welcome, but they keep multiplying anyway.  In spite of the Daily Kos unrolling the Unwelcome Mat for the Truthers, we all know who these guys vote for.  Watch the tape carefully – try to pick up the point where John Kerry corrects the guy and says, “I didn’t win.”  You won’t find it.  You’ll instead hear him semi-commiserating with the guy, saying he already read the book that proclaimed him the rightful victor.

Psst, Republicans – Ace came up with this idea first, but it’s still there for the stealing:  Use Trutherism as a wedge issue.  Ask Hillary whether she thinks 9/11 was an inside job. In addition to being politically salubrious, it would be a healthy thing if both parties condemned these guys and their lunatic theories.

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