Don't mess with Rep. Joe Walsh - even if you're a constituent.
At a Sunday meet and greet with voters at UNO Bar & Grille in Gurnee, NBC Chicago shows the freshman Illinois Republican going off after a question about the economy, suggesting that the financial meltdown may have been by letting Wall Street regulate the financial industry.
At a Sunday meet and greet with voters at UNO Bar & Grille in Gurnee, NBC Chicago shows the freshman Illinois Republican going off after a question about the economy, suggesting that the financial meltdown may have been by letting Wall Street regulate the financial industry.
Raising his voice in the now viral video, Walsh gets very animated and starts yelling, "I agree with you about that! That's not the problem! The problem is, you gotta be consistent, and I don't want government meddling in the marketplace. It's not the private marketplace that created this mess. What created this mess was your government, which demanded for years that everybody be in a home... Don't blame the banks. Don't blame the marketplace for the mess we're in right now. I am tired of hearing this crap! This pisses me off. Too many people don't listen. Do you want more Dodd/Frank? Is that what you want!"
The questioner continues, but Walsh keeps speaking over him, and even threatens to remove the man from the event.
"Quiet for a minute," said Walsh. "Quiet for a minute. QUIET FOR A MINUTE, or I'm gonna ask you to leave. It's so easy to sit here and say 'I want government to solve all these problems.' I love ya, and I love ya, and I love ya, but you know what? If the postal service can't compete in the marketplace, I am tired of propping it up." Walsh apologized in a statement, saying that "As my constituents know, I am a very passionate person. I am passionate about our freedom, fighting for taxpayers, and standing up against big government. Constituents with opposing views have every right to argue with me, and I have every right to argue passionately for my conservative values. That's what freedom is all about." But Walsh's confrontational style is nothing new. A tea party favorite who's frequently on cable news, Walsh is also embroiled in an ongoing child support case with his ex-wife. He also faces a GOP primary with fellow freshman Rep. Randy Hultgren in the redrawn 14th District, and juts last week he got somewhat testy with Hultgren after his campaign had been polling in the district on Walsh's legal and financial woes. Walsh told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald then that, If he raises his voice and calls into question who I am as a father, I'll punch him in the face, figuratively speaking."
The questioner continues, but Walsh keeps speaking over him, and even threatens to remove the man from the event.
"Quiet for a minute," said Walsh. "Quiet for a minute. QUIET FOR A MINUTE, or I'm gonna ask you to leave. It's so easy to sit here and say 'I want government to solve all these problems.' I love ya, and I love ya, and I love ya, but you know what? If the postal service can't compete in the marketplace, I am tired of propping it up." Walsh apologized in a statement, saying that "As my constituents know, I am a very passionate person. I am passionate about our freedom, fighting for taxpayers, and standing up against big government. Constituents with opposing views have every right to argue with me, and I have every right to argue passionately for my conservative values. That's what freedom is all about." But Walsh's confrontational style is nothing new. A tea party favorite who's frequently on cable news, Walsh is also embroiled in an ongoing child support case with his ex-wife. He also faces a GOP primary with fellow freshman Rep. Randy Hultgren in the redrawn 14th District, and juts last week he got somewhat testy with Hultgren after his campaign had been polling in the district on Walsh's legal and financial woes. Walsh told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald then that, If he raises his voice and calls into question who I am as a father, I'll punch him in the face, figuratively speaking."