Springfield News-Leader calls out politician who used office to threaten others.

In an opinion piece in this morning's the editorial board of Springfield News-Leader called out politicians who use their public office to threaten threaten those who criticize them.

The subheading says it best: Lawmaker's effort to punish for opinions is a dangerous step

The editorial board writes: "If he is so thin-skinned that he cannot handle some healthy criticism, he should get out of public office. If he would use that public office to punish anyone who criticizes him, he should rethink his public service."

You guys talking about Billy Long?



Where was the editorial board when Billy Long was using his public office to turn over to FBI agents the names of those who wrote blog posts criticizing him?

From the bus barn, January 14, 2011: Billy Long and plausible deniability: Did Billy Long give the F.B.I. and Sheriff Arnott a list of names of those who publicly criticized Long?

When this story broke last night, news reports quoted Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott as saying that Long's office provided him with a list of people who "were worrisome to Long" and that "that the FBI was preparing to visit other bloggers in the area."

Where was the editorial board when Billy Long threatened to withhold services to constituents who attended a meeting on the closure of the USPS Processing Center in Springfield?

From the bus barn, January 5, 2012: You CAN catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. but DON'T lie to use Billy Long, don't threaten us either!

You catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. So, when you tell stories about me through some of your representatives that I want to privatize the Postal Service, which is an out and out lie, that doesn't help you any with me or my office. So....

Now that sounds like a threat to me.

Apparently the editorial board thinks it is ok for a politician to threaten other people but when they (the editorial board) feel threatened then it becomes worthy of an opinion piece.

I'm throwing the BS flag on this one.