Rant on Atkins News Coverage
January 15th, 2007 by Dan GaffneyRepublican Jud Bennett, sent this from his Coastal Conservative Network:
I have been following with interest the continuing saga of State Representative John Atkins from the 41st District, as presented to the public by the media, the local talk radio stations, and the various Blogs throughout the State of Delaware. The story seems to have taken on a life of its own with no end in sight and has turned into one of the most vicious, malicious, and cruel witch hunts in the history of the State of Delaware. Frankly, it almost seems like we are going back in time to witch burning in Salem, Massachusetts or ancient France with Joan of Ark being burned at the stake, or even the stoning of unfaithful women in ancient Israel 2000 years ago. We now have television, radio, newspapers, and the internet to exacerbate Mr. Atkins situation. The same kinds of self righteous, vociferous, and mean-spirited demagogues are still at work, as in years gone by, but are now using modern and sophisticated venues to hype their diatribes. The human race has not advanced one bit ethically or morally, and indeed the supposed gift of “the milk of human kindness” and the spirit of Christian forgiveness seems to be just a lot of crap.
To put the story in perspective, a few simple events occurred 3 months ago. Republican, State Representative John Atkins and his wife Heather, while on their way home to Millsboro, Delaware from a Halloween party at an Ocean City, Maryland night club, were stopped by the Ocean City Police . The truck that Mr. Atkins owns and was driving was tagged with a special State Legislature license plate. Atkins was stopped because his vehicle was weaving. Both Atkins and his wife were tested for sobriety and were determined to be above the legal limit. The Ocean City Police decided that neither Atkins nor his wife were going to be allowed to drive, and a friend would be permitted to come get them. The police did not charge Atkins with a DUI or any violation whatsoever. That was completely within the officer’s perogative under Maryland law and was definitely customary in the resort town of Ocean City. Later that night, Atkins and his wife, after arriving home, had an escalated argument and 911 was called. The Millsboro Police came to their house; arrested and charged John Atkins for offensive touching. Later that month, Mr. Atkins plead guilty to the charge and is now on probation. “Offensive Touching” is considered a very minor misdemeanor and is charged when you grab someone’s arm or actually touch them in any way, but it is not beating, striking, or assaulting like the press is insinuating. From that point on there has been a consistent barrage of speculations and unproved rumors by the media concerning John Atkins life. Such rumors and speculations about Mr. Atkin’s personal life may or may not be true, but they are not relevant to this incident. That’s the basic series of events in a nutshell, as I know them.
Granted, an elected official who is given the public trust, should indeed be held to a higher standard. What John Atkins did was wrong. He should not have been drinking and driving and he should not have put himself or his family in the embarrassing situation he did in regard to the later domestic problem. Interestingly, these events all occurred before the election, were made public, and John Atkins was re-elected as a Republican by a substantial margin despite these damaging issues. He has apologized publicly for his actions in person to the Republican Caucus, in person to the entire House of Representatives, and to the general public on WGMD radio. He has been publicly humiliated along with his wife and small children. What more do we want? Should he be “burned at the stake” or “stoned to death”?
Friday afternoon, I heard talk show hosts Jerry Fulcher and Rick Jensen on WDEL radio bashing Atkins with some exaggerated and inaccurate statements, so I made the mistake of calling in to comment. Immediately, I was so talked over, so interrupted, and so overwhelmed to the point- that I felt like a piece of raw meat that had been thrown between two starving pit bulls. Wow, what a mistake calling those guys was!!!! Have you ever seen the video game PAC-MAN with the little guy with the teeth. Fulcher and Jensen were like little PAC-MEN- chewing at my ankles while I was attempting to have a discussion about John Atkins. I realize that the talk radio business does indeed provide, in part, some sensationalism and a form of entertainment, but the venom towards John Atkins those guys on WDEL exhibited, was shocking. I have to admit, I was way out of my league debating with Fulcher and Jensen, and I’m pretty good at this sort of thing. I won’t be put in that position again under any circumstances.
The bottom line and my point is, how much is enough? How bad do we want to hurt John Atkins? I say we, because we tolerate the exaggerations, we tolerate the diatribe, and we contribute to it. There is a blood lust out there in the State of Delaware to hurt John Atkins that is unprecedented. It is disturbing, it is disconcerting, it is unattractive, and it is wrong. It is time to tell the media to move on to more important things. Don’t respond to the speculations and innuendoes, don’t call the radio stations, and don’t comment on the blogs. Indeed to make matters worse, I know this is partially a partisan deal which is being perpetrated by the opposite party. It works both ways and there will be a Democrat who will screw up as well one of these days. Do we then do this all over again with that person? It’s the “I’ve gotcha media mentality”. I’m ashamed to say I’ve even done it myself. I’m sorry and I will never do it again. It stinks, it’s wrong, and it’s hurtful to our fellow human beings.
I respectfully suggest we end this saga, let John Atkins do his job as a State Legislator, and move on to more important things. If in November of 2008, the people are still dissatisfied with Mr. Atkins, then vote him out of office. If not, re-elect him. Life is way too short to waste our time with this nonsense any longer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Judson Bennett-Coastal Conservative Network
January 15th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Jud: I agree but disagree. Yes, there has been ridiculous speculation and hyperbole about Atkins; however, the anger amongst the laymen results in knowing that if this was THEM, they’d have been arrested, lost their license, and would now have a record.
You know it and I know it.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Poor John Atkins. Poor…poor John Atkins.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:32 am
I concur with Judson’s comments. This behavior is an outcome of the politics of polarization which we have seen all to frequently at the national political level. We the people must put a stop to it by chastising those of our leaders who practice it. Let us instead debate the issues and act, as we do our best to face up to the very significant challenges of our time, like the Iraq War and global warming on the national level, and open/honorable government and land use on our local level.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
“Frankly, it almost seems like we are going back in time to witch burning in Salem, Massachusetts…”
The witches were innocent–that’s a difference. Besides, Jud, you leave out a lot of detail that is the source of outrage in this matter:
1. His promise to get the state police to give him a ride.
2. Flashing his DE Leg card.
3. How he wasn’t charged although probable cause clearly existed. This can’t simply be explained away by saying it was in the officer’s discretion since it seems quite clear that his discretion was used to exempt a Delaware bigwig driving at nearly twice the legal limit of blood/alcohol in MD.
4. How he never told the voters in his district of any of this in Ocean City before the election.
This situation is the opposite of the Salem witch trials because in Atkins’ case the devil really is in the details.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I thoroughly agree with Dana’s comments. I an sure that John Atkins is a very nice person. However, it was all in the way the matter was handled with the traffic stop in Ocean City, I have friends who were stopped after having a few drinks and blew much less than John did when he was stopped. They all had to go to “drunk school”, lose their licenses until the whole program was completed and to this day, it is still on their driving record. I really do believe that the law should apply to everyone with no exceptions. What really floored me was MADD stating that the OCPD ” did good”. Those women are out for blood and I cannot say that I blame them, nobody wants to lose a loved one due to a drunk driver. Also, on the radio the morning after, Mr. Atkins vehemently denied that there was any alcohol involved in the entire matter about the domestic dispute. I had a hard time believing that also at the time.
I really do wish this would also go away for the sake of Mr. Atkins and his family, but really think the whole thing was handled quite poorly and that is very hard for the people to forget.
Jud, I am sorry you were treated that way at the other radio station. I enjoy listening to you and feel that you have a wonderful rapport with the listening audience.
Thanks for allowing me my opinion in this matter
January 15th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Way to leave out the MOST IMPORTANT event from that evening, Jud! This entire controversy should be rightly centered on the fact that John attempted to use his Representative ID card to circumvent the law. Explain that one away would ya?
January 16th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Dana, your points are well taken as well. But we all already know all these things about Atkins, so why beat him into the ground. Politically I am not a fan of his, but the man has apologized profusely, he has volunteered himself for an ethics hearing in the House, therefore doesn’t he deserve some respite from the media and the bloggers? I think so. Is there any grace left around here?
And Dan, I have to tell you that your credibility sinks/stinks when in the same breath you call Barbara Liflander a “lunatic”. I notice whenever her name comes up, you cannot resist to stoop to your demonization of her, exactly the same point you are trying to make against those who would continue to roast Atkins unmercifully; so you have a lesson to learn here too!!!
January 16th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Perry: To follow up on your last post, here is a perfect reason why I said “I agree but disagree” with Jud. I disagree with Jud because the Atkins story is a legit one — to me it’s clear that Atkins sought to use his status to get a clear break where no “regular” would not have.
On the other hand, I agree with Jud b/c, for example, now at DE Liberal, they’re reporting that WDEL’s Gerry Fulcher is now playing gossip columnist and has stories about how Atkins “misrepresented his marital status” in order to “get chicks.”
WHAAAT? How is this relevant to the issue at hand? It’s garbage, and this kind of crap needs to cease.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I read your DE Liberal reference, Hube; we’re on the same page on this one. I think it is time to let the Ethics Committee do it’s thing, otherwise we have demonization in action, something we liberals fight against from the other side all the time.
January 21st, 2007 at 12:42 am
I’m MAD at myself because I cannot figure out what a state representative’s ID card is used for. If I were a state rep, I would have one. But what are they for? Where does the Representative use them?
Do you use the card at Food Lion, when you forget your MVP card? Is it valid for EZ Pass, MAC locations, local libraries, Happy Hour prices during regular service, or any other special treatment? I am truly curious and want to know why they are issued.