By Collin Roth

Left-wing Madison talk show host John “Sly” Sylvester played a clip this morning from conservative Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling where Belling highlighted the boorish behavior of pro-union activists and demonstrators. After the clip, Sly proceeded to tell a story reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where a Wauwatosa man had his home egged twice for displaying a Recall Walker sign in his yard.

Instead of taking the high road and condemning any and all attempts to suppress political speech and activism, Sly decides that the Left in Wisconsin are the “aggrieved party” like an abused wife and therefore ought to stand up for themselves. Sly chooses this tasteless way to describe the situation:

Well, the way I see it, yelling at Republican donors who are literally giving money to this governor to suppress worker’s rights, versus people egging homes, calling up people who sign recall petitions, harassing people who are collecting recall signatures, are two very different things. I’m not saying that anyone on our side has stepped over the line. They have.

We’re the aggrieved party.

This is like the police showing up to a case where, ya know, the guy’s beat the crap out of his wife. And yet, ya know, she pushed back. Well, ya know, yes, there was a physical altercation between the couple. But who’s the aggrieved party? Who’s the aggressor?

They are!

Clearly, Mr. Sylvester chose a particularly tasteless comparison to make. And this is not the first time Sly’s lack of a filter has shown through.

But Sly’s memory seems to be a bit faulty in regard to the behavior of those on his side. Let’s take a look through just a handful of events from the past year and remember his quote about being “the aggrieved party.”

• Circulators for the recall of Democrat Senator Robert Wirch are slandered by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin despite patently false accusations.
• Circulators attempting to gather signatures to recall Democrat Senator Jim Holperin are assaulted by pro-union demonstrators.
• Constituents who signed recall petitions against Democratic Sens. Wirch, Holperin, and Hanson receive harassing and deceiving phone calls from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
• SEIU protesters gather outside of a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Robin Vos and verbally assault an elderly woman until she broke down in tears.
• Teachers skip school to protest Governor Walker are given fake sick notes by University of Wisconsin doctors.
• Live ammunition is found outside of the Capitol during the height of the protests.
• Citizen Action of Wisconsin staffer bullies and threatens a school principal after her school hosts Governor Scott Walker.
• Signs found at Madison protests advocate violence against Governor Walker while others compare Walker to bloodthirsty dictators like Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler. Even Democratic State Senator Lena Taylor compares Governor Walker to Adolf Hitler.

The list could go on and on and on.

If this is the behavior excused by “the aggrieved party,” then Sly must be willing to excuse any and all behavior as long as it is against Republicans or Governor Walker.

But then again, this is Wisconsin and these are the followers of Saul Alinsky where “the ends always justify the means.”