Tensions run high as visit ignites clashes (Matt Margolis of Blogs4Bush in brawl)

Boston Herald ^ | 3.26.04 | Steve Marantz

[mhking]

A brawl erupted between opponents and supporters of President Bush [related, bio] last night behind police barricades a block from his fund-raiser at the Park Plaza Hotel.

     Two Bush supporters, twin brothers Matt and Aaron Margolis, traded blows at the corner of Arlington and Boylston streets with several men who they said were union members.
     The fight started after a man wearing an Ironworkers Local 7 sweatshirt, perched atop a subway entrance, repeatedly taunted the brothers.
     ``They told us to get out of here or we'd get beaten up,'' said Matt Margolis, 24, of Beverly.
     ``I said, `I support your freedom of speech - please support mine. Come on down and we can have a conversation.'
     ``He jumped down and swung on my brother. Then they all jumped in and tore our signs apart.''
     One union worker, declining to give his name, said the brothers instigated the brawl.

     ``They called the guy down, and he obliged them,'' the union member said.
     A crowd estimated at 750 to 1,000 was largely anti-Bush, including hundreds of union workers.
     ``Bush wants to get rid of unemployment (insurance) and overtime - we need to get rid of him,'' said Charlie Walsh, a Local 223 laborer.
     The Bush opponents held signs that read, ``Get the terrorists out of the White House.''
     Supporters of the president held competing signs that read, ``A vote for Bush is a vote for freedom.''
     The clashes followed the detention of two protesters who refused to move to a designated protest area before Bush's speech earlier in Nashua, N.H.
     Police said the unnamed protesters were not arrested.

[ought-six]

I have no use whatsoever for unions. And, unfortunately. a large number of union members are nothing less than thugs. I have seen this kind of behavior before, especially with teamsters. I am on officer in our local American Legion Post, and we have some union members among our membership. A couple of them openly boast of beating up "scabs" or others who don't tow the union line. When I point out to them that veterans did not fight, and some of them die, for such behavior, which is more reminsecent of the thuggish Mazi brownshirts than anything, they smirk and make comments like: "Well, they shouldn;t try and take our jobs away, then." Trying to reason with a thug, of whatever political persuasion, is pointless.

[CasearianDaoist]

You see this garbage in NYC all the time, and there is nothin "unorganized" about it.

[Little Bill]

Aaron ping

[MoralSense]

``They called the guy down, and he obliged them,'' the union member said.

Absolutely typical obnoxious Boston workingman B.S.

[petercooper]

union thug bastards

[MrB]

union thug bastards

Just to stir the Franken, isn't dennisw a union guy?

[No Blue States]

" The fight started after a man wearing an Ironworkers Local 7 sweatshirt, perched atop a subway entrance, repeatedly taunted the brothers.

`They told us to get out of here or we'd get beaten up,'' said Matt Margolis, 24, of Beverly.

A vote for the left is a vote for communism and anarchy.

The twin brothers stayed.

They voted for Freedom at risk of injury.

They are heros and patriots.

[areafiftyone]

It never fails. The liberals can't protest without getting vile and nasty. If they are not throwing the finger at you they are cursing or spitting in your face or trying to start a physical fight. They just don't know how to do it with being disgusting. New York City is going to be a living hell when they come. I wish they would stay home but they do have their rights to protest. The only problem is that all those anti-Bush people bring along all these other creeps with different agendas who are just looking for an excuse to fight and have no idea what the heck they are talking about. No wonder they get arrested all the time. You never hear about Freepers getting arrested.

[Redcoat LI]

Local 7,I know them well.

Their sparkling personalities made it a pleasure to lay them off.

[areafiftyone]

with=without

[dennisw]

They are union thugs. I have no use for unions for government workers but in private industry, yes.

[djjava]

We made it out alive... thankfully...

Once again, our account is posted in my tagline link....

[bassmaner]

The unions would vote Democrat if George Washington could come back and run as a Republican.

The unions would vote Democrat if Adolf Hitler could come back and run as a Democrat.

[dljordan]

This type of crap happens every election. Think Brownshirts, small IQ's, pointy heads, eyes close together.

[B Knotts]

When I think union, I think "communist."

[Dan from Michigan]

$100 says the union thugs picked the fight.

[Dan from Michigan]

There needs to be a special unit that takes care of these thugs at counter-protest rallies. I'll volunteer.

I'm in. I can't stand union thugs(Not to be confused with union members).

Oh, they wouldn't mess with me last time outside of running their mouths. I wasn't in a wheelchair, 80 years old, or a 13 year old kid.

Shows how 'tough' those punks really are.

[Bahbah]

"His biggest problem with Bush was that he spoke like a Texan. Yeah…go figure: the former Governor of Texas speaks like a Texan."

This is so insane it has to be true. BTW, how come the folks on our side are always so attractive?

[Dan from Michigan]

My dad's a union guy as well. There's union members, most of which are good people, and there is union thugs, which are those punks like you see described in this article.