New York State Senator Tom O’Mara is passive-aggressively apologizing now that a video has gone live online showing him cursing like a trucker in a traffic jam at a voter calmly asking him and his wife questions about a liquefied petroleum gas storage facility.
O’Mara is a Republican whose governance includes northern cities such as New York’s Ithaca and Elmira.
The video spilling all over the Internet consists of O’Mara and his wife sitting in their car after dark, having a conversation with a man regarding the petroleum facility. Much of the talk turns toward obvious safety and environmental concerns that would arise around such a facility, as far as the local community would be concerned. You know, the folks who actually live around the facility on a daily basis. They don’t want to see their homes and neighborhoods contaminated, so folks such as the questioning man in the video have legitimate concerns in the face of corner-cutting capitalism.
Much of the conversation stays civil, despite obvious disagreements, until a point.
At roughly the 4:15 mark in the video above, the senator blows a gasket when the anonymous, questioning man responds, “That’s interesting,” to O’Mara’s wife once she finishes defending the Senator.
The man questioning O’Mara asks:
So what happens when this lake is ruined?
O’Mara’s wife then states:
We would never support that, because we are – we love this area. He’s grew up here his whole life and protects this area. We would never, ever, ever do anything that would contaminate this area in any way, shape or form.
That’s when the man responds, “That’s interesting,” and O’Mara puts on his trucker hat.
What do you mean, ‘That’s interesting?’ What the fuck do you mean, ‘That’s interesting?’
O’Mara then steps out of his car to further confront the man:
For crying out loud, what the fuck do you mean ‘That’s interesting’? I did nothing but sit here answering your fucking questions and you tell me that’s fucking interesting? You’re a fucking douchebag, get the fuck out of my face, right now. Now! Move. Move. Move, asswipe, now. I’ve had enough of you and your kind. Get the fuck out of here. I’ve had enough.
O’Mara gets so worked up, his voice cracks from the force of his yelling.
Later, of course, he issued an apology statement, but not before undercutting it a little, too:
It’s regrettable that the exchange ultimately turned heated and, as an elected official, I regret the words and tone that were used. I still don’t like the underhanded tactics, but I should know better.
Yep, those sneaky voters and their calm, inquisitive natures – always asking questions of their government officials.
To hell with checks and balances, eh?
H/T: Huffington Post | Featured image: via Flickr
