Kooyenga owes protester an apology and nothing more
In the 1993 Quentin Tarantinopenned action movie “True Romance,” Clarence (played by Christian Slater) visits a cretinous pimp named Drexl (Gary Oldman) to negotiate the freedom of Clarence’s new girlfriend, Alabama. As payment for letting her go, Clarence slides an envelope to Drexl, telling him his “peace of mind is worth that much, not one penny more.” Drexl opens the envelope, finds that it is empty, expresses his displeasure by hurling plate of egg rolls at Clarence, and a raucous fight ensues.
The state of Wisconsin has just completed a negotiation of its own, except this time the envelope was full of cash and the transaction was devoid of airborne appetizers. Earlier this week, Republican State Rep. Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield settled a lawsuit filed against him for $30,000 after he removed a protester’s sign from the State Capitol last May.
The sign, put in the Capitol by Donald Johnson of Madison, called President Donald Trump “corrupt” and “a serial groper.” It criticized Republicans that supported Trump (without naming him), saying that if the GOP wouldn’t resist the president, “we the people be damned.”
Kooyenga, an army veteran and very much a Boy Scout, took offense to the sign and removed it, despite the fact that Johnson had attained a permit to display it. When he realized the sign had a permit, Kooyenga apologized and returned it. (This week, Kooyenga said removing the sign was part of his military training, which nobody really buys, but gets points for creativity.)
Undeterred, in October, Johnson sued Kooyenga in federal court for violating his First Amendment rights, leading to this week’s ridiculous settlement, which will cost state taxpayers $30,000.
The envelope to Johnson should have been empty.
Surely, had Kooyenga had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t have moved Johnson’s sign. But paying someone $30,000 as a salve for hurt feelings is absurd, especially now that the public has to write the check. Johnson’s brief moment of discomfort is worth an apology, and nothing more.
It’s also a bit rich for Democrats to start acting as if they own a monopoly on calm, reasoned political discourse. For instance, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach took a swipe at Kooyenga claiming the sign incident had nothing to do with his military training, saying instead, “It had to do with he can’t control his emotions.”
Remember that Erpenbach was one of the 14 state senators who actually fled Wisconsin to block a vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s union reforms in 2011. He was the star of a nationally-televised temper tantrum that hindered the ability of Wisconsin residents to speak through their state legislators. Over in the Assembly, Democratic legislators screeched things like “you’re f---ing dead” at their Republican colleagues, while outside, protesters used profanities in trying to shout down a 14-year old girl giving a pro-Walker speech. (In retrospect, Republicans were very much alive, as they continued to increase their Assembly majorities.)
Kooyenga shouldn’t have touched the guy’s sign. But soaking taxpayers to soothe a protester’s hurt feelings is far from commensurate with the so-called “crime.” Kooyenga should be able to give Johnson an apology, a pat on the back, and maybe buy him lunch. Maybe a place with egg rolls.
Christian Schneider is a Journal Sentinel columnist and blogger.