Pow!

I've heard of political fights, but I thought the literal trading of punches in legislative bodies was a thing of the past. Not in Alabama.

Yesterday, at the end of the legislative session, state senator Charles Bishop attempted to cold cock fellow senator, Lowell Barron. What did Barron do to raise Bishop's ire? Each side tells a different story, but Bishop claims Barron called him an S.O.B. Bishop, of course, wasn't going to take such a grievous insult to his mother:

"That was with my right hand. It shouldn't have happened," he said. "My mother has long been dead, and he called me a son of a bitch. That's somebody talking bad about your mother, and when he did, I responded with my right hand."

No apology.

Of course Barron claims he did no such thing.

Despite my extreme dislike of Mr. Barron, this is outrageous! Grown men, especially political representatives, do not behave this way!!! How hard is that to understand? As for Bishop's claim that he was defending his momma -- BULL! Everyone knows that calling someone an S.O.B. is an insult to the person, not his mother. It's not a literal insult! If, though, you think Bishop has a point, well that raises an issue for him. According to numerous reports, just before the alleged S.O.B. comment, Bishop had told Barron he was going to try to (expletive deleted) every chance he got in the Senate over the next three years. If, like Bishop, you think insults are literal, well I guess Mr. Bishop just declared himself a homosexual who plans on violating several public decency laws in the Senate chambers in coming years! I wonder how that'll play with his constituency?

The whole thing is ludicrous and it puts me in the (personally) painful position of having to side with Lowell Barron.

Of course this being politics, Barron's pals have found a way to overplay an incident that is despicable enough on its own. See, I'm thinking the Barron camp could have just taken the high road and let the facts condemn Bishop. No, they had to go over the top. Sen. Parker Griffith (a physician) witnessed the event and here's what he had to say about the attempted (flat footed) punch by (69-year-old) Bishop:

"This was a violent, violent punch," said Griffith, a retired physician. "Had he not ducked, it was a hospitalization punch. It was a neurosurgery punch; it was a deforming punch. It was that hard. It was a brutal attack."

Geesh! Go here and click on the link in the upper left to see the whole thing. Judge for yourself how close Barron came to being MAIMED FOR LIFE!