It began as and should have remained a conversation. A tense conversation, perhaps, but a conversation.
Instead, it escalated into a confrontation. The person at fault, the person who lost his cool and escalated the situation, was U.S. Sen. David Perdue of Georgia.
The incident occurred at Georgia Tech Saturday, where Perdue was appearing at a political event on behalf of Brian Kemp, the GOP nominee for governor. A student at Georgia Tech -- a constituent -- approached Perdue and asked about voter suppression efforts by Kemp.
Perdue didn’t like the question, which is fine. He could have kept walking or refused to comment. Instead, he responded by reaching out and snatching the student’s phone out of his hand, initially refusing to return it.
That is not fine.
Of course, that’s not how Perdue’s office later tried to spin the encounter. According to a spokesperson:
“In this instance, the senator clearly thought he was being asked to take a picture, and he went to take a selfie as he often does. When he realized they didn’t actually want to take a picture, he gave the phone back.”
No. That is not what happened.
Look, things are getting a little heated in the political sphere, and some on both sides have contributed to it. Both sides have an obligation to keep that passion within bounds and to use the political system as it was designed, as a means to settle these disputes peacefully, not through intimidation or brute force. For example, tactics such as demonstrating at a person’s home could quickly get out of hand, and should be ended. Otherwise, we walk down a dangerous road.
However, citizens do have the right to question those in power in this country. In fact, that is the foundation upon which this country was built. Perdue appears uncomfortable with that part of his job as U.S. senator and public servant, going so far as to accuse protesters of adopting Nazi tactics, “the tactics of the brownshirts in Germany in the 1930s.”
He made that irresponsible accusation in a recent speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and was later forced to apologize, although he did so through a spokesperson.
This time, he should apologize in person. As someone in a leadership position, he should set the example of civil behavior, and at Georgia Tech on Saturday, he did not.
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