Better Hecklers, Please!

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Let me start by saying that heckling is part of democracy. So is getting tossed out of the venue by security. Heckling is frequently offensive; especially if you support the person being heckled. But it’s healthy in a democracy that we don’t have too much deference to our leaders and that, other than the bum’s rush out of the place, there’s no punishment for acting out at leaders in non-physically threatening ways. All that said, I thought Michelle Obama came off as a badass in confronting her heckler last night at that private fundraiser. And the heckler, Heather Cronk Ellen Sturtz, is like the David Broder of hecklers. She heckles the First Lady and then when the First Lady comes back at her she starts lamenting the decline of civility! This is all what makes democracy great.

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