The Honorable Herb Kohl and me

Last Wednesday, a friend and I exercised our First Amendment rights: we peacefully assembled outside the Marquette University law school where Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) was scheduled to speak on health care.

We stood on the public sidewalk with a few homemade pro-life signs as people walked by; many said, "Good for you!", or "I'm with you" as they passed. Most just averted their eyes or ignored us.

Including the illustrious senator himself. The Honorable Herb Kohl walked right past us on the sidewalk -- not three feet in front of me -- and when I recognized him, I called out in a friendly (and somewhat surprised) voice, "Senator Kohl!"

I thought maybe he'd turn, perhaps wave, acknowledge our presence, maybe see our signs, and perhaps even spare 10 seconds for me to say, "Please don't support any health care bill that covers abortion with public money."

But no.

He and his entourage kept on walking.

So, I called out again, "Senator Kohl!" He was only about 10 feet away but, amazingly, he and all his party just couldn't seem to hear me.

Finally, as he was about 15 feet away, ready to walk into the building, I called out one last time, "Senator Kohl!" He continued to ignore me. So as he stepped inside, I called out, "We the people!"

Now, I have to laugh at myself ("We the people"?!?) but I was just trying to express my utter frustration at his elitist behavior and his boorish refusal to acknowledge the existence of a few of his constituents, who'd taken time from their busy days to show up where he was speaking.

Imagine the irony: during the talk inside the law school, the Honorable Senator lectured the audience on the need for civility in our debates.

Imagine that. The oh-so-Honorable Herb Kohl, telling people to be civil, when he couldn't even be bothered to respond to a citizen who recognized him and greeted him on a public sidewalk.

It is most definitely time to throw the bums out.

Sorry if that's not civil enough for you, Senator Kohl.