Republican Steve Stockman, a U.S. representative from Texas, invited the rodeo clown who wore a mask of President Obama to perform in his home state, his office stated Wednesday.
(Credit: AP)
“Liberals want to bronco bust dissent. But Texans value speech, even if its speech they don’t agree with,” Stockman's statement reads. “From Molly Ivins to Louie Gohmert and every opinion between Texans value free and open political speech. I’m sure any rodeo in Texas would be proud to have [the] performers.”
The viral story from the Missouri State Fair has honchos from both sides of the political aisle up in arms, including Glenn Beck, who declared that "Obama is not God!" on his radio broadcast Monday and then held a "Mock Obama Day" on Tuesday.
But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said earlier Wednesday that the stunt—in which the clown was chased around by a bull "to the delight of the onlookers hooting and hollering from the stands," according to one witness—was "not one of the finer moments" for his home state. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called the stunt shameful and unacceptable.
What's transpired since the uproar?
But Stockman isn't having any of it, saying the response from the left is "straight out of Alinsky."
Congressman Steve Stockman (R-Texas) (AP)
"They want to crush dissent by isolating and polarizing anyone who questions Obama, even if it’s a rodeo clown with a harmless gag,” said Stockman. “The idea to create a state of fear and make people afraid to trivialize Obama. No one tried to personally destroy the rodeo clown who wore a George H.W. Bush mask.”
“Disagreeing with speech is one thing. Banning it and ordering citizens into reeducation classes for mocking a liberal leader is another,” Stockman added. “Liberals have targeted this man for personal destruction to create a climate of fear.”
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