NOTE: This post has a significant update - scroll to bottom ...

I knew that the campaign was getting nasty, but a group of Kerry/Edwards supporters hit a new low today when they grabbed a Bush sign from a three-year-old girl and tore it up in front of her. You can see her reaction here, as well as the glee and hatred on the faces of her assailants:

The AP caption is the only reporting so far on the incident:

Three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while seated on the shoulders of her father after having her Bush-Cheney sign torn up by Kerry-Edwards supporters on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards made a brief stop at the airport as he concluded his two-day bus tour to locations in West Virginia and Ohio.

Bandit sent this over to me, rightfully disgusted about anyone who would attack a three-year-old over a political sign she held. I completely agree. I also think that her father is an idiot for putting his daughter in that situation.

UPDATE: Did I say her father was an idiot? Make that a serially dishonest idiot. Rising Hegemon calls Shenanigans and has the proof:

Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, August 27, 1996, Page 3C

Phil Parlock's experience was less calm.

The Huntington man said he was knocked to the ground by a Clinton supporter when he tried to display a sign that read "Remember Vince Foster," the deputy White House counsel who committed suicide in a Washington, D.C., park. His death has become the subject of much debate among Clinton opponents.

Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, October 28, 2000, pg. 1A:

Phil Parlock didn't expect to need all 12 of the Bush-Cheney signs he and his son Louis smuggled in their socks and pockets into the rally for Vice President Al Gore.

But each time they raised a sign, someone would grab it out of their hands, the two Huntington residents said. And sometimes it got physical.

"I expected some people to take our signs," said Louis, 12. "But I did not expect people to practically attack us."

Maybe the Parlocks just have a lot of bad luck, or perhaps all Democrats become rabid when the Purlocks come into view. The problem, as Attaturk notes, is determining who's a Democrat and who's a Purlock. Take a look at this picture of the Parlocks:

See the young man on the right with his hand on his brother's shoulder? Doesn't he bear a striking resemblance to the man holding a piece of the girl's sign?

Perhaps the Parlocks should retire from family politics after this...

UPDATE: I know the union apologized for this incident this morning, but in all fairness, I doubt they thought this was staged, and it had already hit the national news. I suspect they won't bother to retract the apology, but if they'd waited a few hours, it probably wouldn't have gone out.

I love the LGF guys, but this one smells pretty bad, folks. Even if Attaturk can't prove the union man is Parlock's son, the family history of victimization at Democratic rallies looks awfully suspicious, as does bringing a 3-year-old to an oppo rally. I wouldn't waste my time trying to push this one forward. Let's show Dan Rather how self-correction works in the blogosphere.

LAST UPDATE: Because this is such a non-story. Look, you guys have posted some great comments here, even though most of you disagree with me. I'm cool with that. I'm still suspicious.

Mr. Parlock has two sons fighting for his country and another about to enter, so obviously he's doing something right with his boys. But let's look at the history here. This is the third presidential election cycle where he's brought his family to oppo rallies and got attacked, and managed to get his name in the news all three times. Now, it's his right to attend Democratic events and protest, and if he's assaulted, then the thugs should be tossed in jail for a while to teach them a lesson. But doesn't anyone find this all just a bit convenient that he and his family get attacked every election cycle and get themselves in the papers every time?

Secondly, if all of that was on the level, why would he bring his three-year-old to an oppo rally -- and hand her a Bush/Cheney sign? My granddaughter is her age, and I sure as hell wouldn't put her in that kind of situation. I wouldn't put my 20-year-old son in that situation.

In fact, I think (as a couple of you stated) that showing up for oppo rallies is rather stupid and self-defeating. If I wanted to do something constructive with that time and effort, I'd haul my butt down to the GOP headquarters and make calls, register voters, and do things that win elections. I suspect the Parlocks love the cameras, and that also makes me suspicious.

I still think the man holding the sign looks like Parlock's son, but I will concede that I can't prove it. I wish the rest of us could concede that the Parlocks are hardly the victims they were portrayed to be, given their history of provocative behavior.

If you want to be convinced that some Democrats are jerks, there are better stories to follow, like the smear campaigns being coordinated by the DNC against George Bush. I'm sticking with those.

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