TPM reports on an incident from a few weeks ago in which another young, female political activist was assaulted by a Republican man.
The incident occured outside GOP headquarters in Walla Walla County where the demonstrator, Christie Stordeur, was "one of five protesters standing about 40 feet from the entrance of the office," according to the Tri-City Herald.
Stordeur and the other protesters "were wearing bags over their heads and holding a sign that looked like a check." That's when Victor Phillips, according to a Sheriff's deputy on scene, walked over to Stordeur to "lift her bag off her head." When Stordeur "lifted her arm in defense," Phillips hit it "with 'force.'"
The Herald reports that the deputy on scene "immediately stepped between the two and arrested Phillips on a charge of investigation of assault."
Incidentally, the assailant, Victor Phillips isn't just any Republican. He's a precinct committee officer in Walla Walla, so is in the GOP establishment there. He said he wanted to get a picture of the protestors. The assault is getting attention now because of the headstomping of Lauren Valle in Kentucky. In the absence of that highly publicized attack, this one would probably have just received local media coverage.
And that's not how is should have been. This is just one of a handful of incidents in Washington that have been high profile enough to make the news.
Republicans have worked hard to sow fear and anger this election season, and if recent events in the Washington Senate race are any indication, their rhetorical hyperbole is having an unsurprising effect. On October 14, a man was arrested for threatening Patty Murray supporters with a meat cleaver outside a debate in Spokane. Four days later, a man was arrested outside Walla Walla County Republican headquarters for assaulting a young woman who was protesting Dino Rossi, hitting her with "force." And just a few days ago, a man was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for threatening to kill Sen. Murray.
Patty Murray's been a target of violent rhetoric for the length of the campaign, with one teabagger saying she should be hung and another saying she (and Maria Cantwell) should be shot. It's remarkable because we're pretty low-key people up here in the PacNW, and multiple incidents of violence in a single campaign isn't too common in our politics. Yes, there's the whole white supremacist problem, but they're not generally out there assaulting 23 year old women. Even in the extremely bitter and nasty Gregoire/Rossi rematch in 2008, the most that made the media radar was a Joe-Miller like roughing up of a Dem tracker at a Rossi event.
If the headstomp hadn't been recorded, it's likely that the nation wouldn't know about this other assault on another 23 year old woman by a Republican man. And if there's this much that's been reported on in Washington state alone, how many of these incidents are occurring around the country that aren't making the news?
There's more on this incident in phenry's diary.