No, Random, ten years ago is well within range.

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Tie it in with the Macaca comments, and you have quite a good case.  [Looks like you just did.  I just read the alternet link.]

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I know that it's done anyway, whether fair play or not.  That's why I'd like to see the law changed.

Thirty years ago?  Yeah, I think even burning crosses could be off-limits for campaign smear material.  (Unless, of course, you think dragging out Robert Byrd's KKK past is fair play.)

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If candidate X is still the bad guy that cross-burning would indicate, then it should be possible to demonstrate that his/her racist views continue intact to this day.

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If, say, you can show that candidate X has given many speeches to the Council of Conservative Citizens (like Trent Lott), and actively worked to depress minority voter turnout -- and did all these things within the past five or ten years -- then it's on topic and relevant to bring up cross-burnings from 30 years ago.  The relevance of cross-burnings long ago would arise from the candidate's present temperament.  That would demonstrate a consistent, lifelong devotion to racism.
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But to bring up crap from the distant past for its own sake, with no demonstrable connection to a candidate's current campaign and behavior, should be off limits.

I watched the video, this guy came in bumping and yelling to the Senator. I believe the guards had the right to protect  Senator Allen.

Ron.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Oct 31, 2006

The following is a letter to NBC29 from Mike Stark, the man who was tackled for a comment he made at Senator Allen's campaign stop in Charlottesville on Tuesday.

My name is Mike Stark. I am a law student at the University of Virginia, a marine, and a citizen journalist. Earlier today at a public event, I was attempting to ask Senator Allen a question about his sealed divorce record and his arrest in the 1970s, both of which are in the public domain. His people assaulted me, put me in a headlock, and wrestled me to the ground. Video footage is available here, from an NBC affiliate.

I demand that Senator Allen fire the staffers who beat up a constituent attempting to use his constitutional right to petition his government. I also want to know why Senator Allen would want his staffers to assault someone asking questions about matters of public record in the heat of a political campaign. Why are his divorce records sealed? Why was he arrested in the 1970s? And why did his campaign batter me when I asked him about these questions.

George Allen defends his support of the Iraq war by saying that our troops are defending the ideals America stands for. Indeed, he says our troops are defending our very freedom. What kind of country is it when a Senator's constituent is assaulted for asking difficult and uncomfortable questions? What freedoms do we have left? Maybe we need to bring the troops home so that they can fight for freedom at George Allen's campaign events. Demanding accountability should not be an offense worthy of assault.

I will be pressing charges against George Allen and his surrogates later today. George Allen, at any time, could have stopped the fray. All he had to do was say, "This is not how my campaign is run. Take your hands off that man." He could have ignored my questions. Instead he and his thugs chose violence. I spent four years in the Marine Corps. I'll be damned if I'll let my country be taken from me by thugs that are afraid of taking responsibility for themselves.

It just isn't the America I know and love. Somebody needs to take a stand against those that would bully and intimidate their fellow citizens. That stand begins right here, right now.

W. Michael Stark