Pat Williams

[RationalGriz]

Is not confirmed to BOR by 26-23 vote

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

[wbtfg]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

The vote was almost completely along party lines with Republicans voting against Williams.

[allcat]

I am amazed. While the Board is more than just UM, I personally thought what he said was true. Not every athlete at UM is a thug, but they sure had several that I would not want to claim as friends.

[ABQCat]

The difference IMO was the timing and content if the apology. He had multiple chances to clarify the notion that he was only talking about 6 students and not the whole football team, but instead he chose to further reinforce his comments. I suspect he would have been confirmed had he made the clarification early. Pretty impressive show from Wahlberg and this is a great civics case study on how community involvement can and does make a difference. Bravo BW.

[tampa_griz]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

[TomCat88]

It's a good thing.

[msuhunter]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

[MSU01]

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

I don't see anything at all inaccurate with anything tampa said there. You certainly can lose your job for what you say - just ask our resident BobcatNation beat reporter about that. If someone makes wild or threatening statements, one must accept the consequences of those statements, whether it be the loss of a job, public ridicule, loss of friends, etc. Everyone has the right to freedom of speech, but that does not mean that you have the right to make an ass of yourself with no negative consequences because it's a "free country" and you can say whatever the hell you want.

Now, whether Pat Williams deserved to lose his position on the Board of Regents over his comments is most certainly debatable. But the people of Montana elected legislators, a majority of whom think that he crossed the line with his statements, so that's all that really matters here.

[tampa_griz]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

I assume you're being sarcastic?

[CARDIAC_CATS]

The truth hurts.

[ABQCat]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

I assume you're being sarcastic?

I guess we need LTCF to come in here and straighten this out.

[tampa_griz]

The truth hurts.

That I'm an idiot?

[LongTimeCatFan]

I guess freedom of speech isn't as accepted at UM like most of the people claim it is. Isn't UM a journalism school, where your thoughts and the expression of your thoughts are encouraged? Seems to be hypocritical to ruin a guys career because he said something negative about the UM football program. It's a shame really to be judged on a tongue and cheek comment, when from the people I have talked to, say the good he has done exceeds the bad by far.

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

I assume you're being sarcastic?

I guess we need LTCF to come in here and straighten this out.

LOL

I was wrong. I admitted it. Oh and Tampa is right.

[tampa_griz]

Regardless of where you fall on Williams' confirmation, his comments after the vote illustrate the disconnect between politicians and the people.

After the vote, Williams said, “I am disappointed in the partisan nature of the Senate vote. But I am not surprised that the same Senate, which voted today to legalize and encourage our students to pack heat on our college campuses, does not want me as a member of the Board of Regents."

To summarize, only stupid people wouldn't want him. Could he be more arrogant?

[tampa_griz]

Freedom of speech only guarantees that the government will not punish you for what you say by putting you in jail or confiscating your property. And that's it. The protection stops there. You can lose your job for what you say. This was an excellent exercise in freedom of speech. PW said something. Others that took issue with it voiced their concerns about what he said.

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

By the way, can we dispense with the "this isn't eGriz" rhetoric? It's starting to sound silly.

[Grizlaw]

You're an idiot and know nothing about the law or the First Amendment.

The fact that you chose to direct your attack at Tampa instead of Hi-Line tells me that the reason for your response has nothing to do with either poster's knowledge of the law or the First Amendment.

[Granger]

I think some of you are overlooking that it was a party line vote with two Republicans also voting for confirmation. All five Democratic Missoula area senators voted in favor of Williams. This appears to me to be more of partisan issue than an issue of whether Williams was unqualified to serve as a regent. Just my two cents.

[Grizlaw]

I think some of you are overlooking that it was a party line vote with two Republicans also voting for confirmation. All five Democratic Missoula area senators voted in favor of Williams. This appears to me to be more of partisan issue than an issue of whether Williams was unqualified to serve as a regent. Just my two cents.

Agreed, but it's impossible to know how the vote would've gone had he not made the comments. I've been an east coaster for the past ten years, so I'm not as close to Montana politics as I used to be, but it seems likely that at least some of the Republicans who voted against him probably did so because they thought his comments were inappropriate, doesn't it?

Of course, it might also be true that there were some Democrats who also thought the comments were inappropriate, but didn't want to break from their party.

[Granger]

I don't disagree but I am not convinced that some of the Republican votes against him, particularly from Eastern Montana, weren't an opportunity to stick it to a long term Democratic war horse rather than incensed about fallout in Missoula. That is how party line votes work, on both sides.