Watching Reruns Of Barmy Miller

In the People's Democratic Republic of Mooselvania, asking Joe Miller about his past when he said earlier that he wouldn't take questions about it is apparently illegal enough to cause his security detail to arrest journalists.

At a Joe Miller for Senate campaign event today in Alaska, members of Miller's private security team 'arrested' journalist Tony Hopfinger of the Alaska Dispatch. Hopfinger later told local TV news station KTUU that he was asking questions when he was told by Miller's security detail that he was under arrest and placed in handcuffs. The security guards kept Hopfinger in custody pending the arrival of Anchorage police. But when police arrived they released Hopfinger and said no charges would be filed.

William Fulton, one of Miller's security guards, released a statement claiming that Hopfinger became belligerent and menacing to the candidate while asking about the scandal surrounding Miller's work as city attorney for Fairbanks North Star Borough in 2007 and 2008. The security guards were apparently part of a team provided by "Drop Zone", the Anchorage-based private security firm hired by the campaign. 

Yeah, that seems fair and totally non-fascist, right?  Best part?  The folks on the right actually defending this nonsense like our old friend Dan Riehl:

The Alaska Dispatch is not much more than the equivalent of a Lefty blog playing pretend journalists. They embarassed themselves when they came at me over the Murkowski cocaine allegations and appear to have a vested interest in trying to hurt Joe Miller's campaign for the Senate. At one point, this Tony Pull My Finger Hopfinger was a HuffPo contributer, so it should be no surprise that they're covering Hopfinger's unhinged nonsense, too. You can Google him to see his many links to progressivism.

Which means of course that Hopfinger can't be a journalist and has to be a drity f'ckin hippie blogger...says the blogger.  Jim Hoft says Hopfinger was arrested for assault.

What a complete shock. A liberal reporter in Alaska was handcuffed and detained after he harassed Republican candidate Joe Miller after a town hall event. The reporter also assaulted a man.

Anchorage cops told the detail to let Hopfinger go when they showed up.  So if there were witnesses to the assault, as there should have been, why wasn't Hopfinger taken away by the police?  And if it was a private event, why was it advertised on Miller's Facebook page as a public one?

This story stinks.  Yeah, Miller was ambushed by Hopfinger...but it was a public event on public property and Hopfinger was asking questions with press credentials.  Miller's two opponents are wasting no time in attacking Miller for pulling this stunt too.  And let's not forget that all this started because Hopfinger was asking Miller questions that Miller still refuses to answer.  Apparently that's a crime if you're doing that of an Alaskan Republican and they sic their goons on you.

I wonder what Alaskans think of all this.  Hell, I wonder what right-wing bloggers really think about this, secretly.  Guys, what if this was a Daily Caller or DC Examiner reporter detained by the security detail of a Democrat?  You'd be yelling FASCISM as loudly as possible...and with good reason.

Nobody should be condoning or defending this.  Joe Miller should face these questions and "man up", right?