Right shouldn’t make excuses for “Montana slammer” Gianforte

The winner of Montana’s sole congressional seat, Republican Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanour assault after allegedly slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the floor the night before the state’s special election as Jacobs persisted in asking him questions. 

A Fox News team who saw Wednesday's incident said Mr Gianforte "grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground.”

Gianforte apologized for the mess in his acceptance speech saying, "When you make a mistake you have to own up to it, that's the Montana way. Last night I made a mistake, I took an action that I can't take back.”

I’m glad to hear it because Gianforte was wrong.

I have a unique perspective with regard to political violence against journalists because unlike most of the people opining, I’ve experienced it. I was punched at the Women’s March in Edmonton by a male feminist when he found out I was a conservative reporter.

I take a position that, though I may vehemently disagree with The Guardian, everything it stands for and the ambush tactics of left-wing journalism, those lefties have the same right to do their jobs as I do without threat of violence.

Even though the “Montana Slammer” Gianforte is on our side, I reject the tribalism that causes us to make excuses for the bad behaviour of our own. That's what the Democrats have done for Bill Clinton for three decades. They made excuses for bad actors because even though they were creeps, they were their creeps.

I’m not going to do that. I'm a conservative. I pride myself on being better than the left -smarter, less crazy, more civilized, with better morals and stronger principles that won't fail when put to the test. If being as good as the left is good enough for me, I may as well be on the left.

I get it. I’m a conservative woman on the internet. It ain't pretty out there but I don't body slam a lefty when every fibre of my being is begging me to do it. I don’t act out and lose control because the second we use political violence, we become the fascists the left says we are- especially if the violence is against people whose jobs are protected under the first amendment.

We don’t want “body slam journalists” to be our version of the left’s “punch nazis” mantra.

The left are the ones that think there are different rights for different people depending on how you feel about them. Not me.

Freedom of the press and the right to do your job without violence is for everyone.