Stop the Glitter Campaign

Gay rights activist threw glitter at Michele Bachmann here Saturday, but it didn't stick.

The Republican presidential candidate was leaving the stage at the end of her 40-minute speech to the RightOnline conference when a Minneapolis lawyer unloaded a container full of glitter.

It all fell to the stage, and none appeared to even stick to the congresswoman's dress.

"You can run, but you can't hide," Rachel E. B. Lang yelled, as she was quickly detained by a security guard and escorted away.

Bachmann, totally unfazed, began shaking hands with audience members.

The whole episode unfolded in about 10 seconds.

She later ignored a question from POLITICO about it as she left the Hilton.

Lang, who is straight but has at least two gay family members, said she dropped the glitter on Bachmann to protest her opposition to gay rights and her support for a ministry that also opposes them.

Throwing something, no matter how innocuous it may seem, at someone, no matter who that person might be, is not “disarming.” It’s startling and, I can imagine, it might also be a bit frightening.

The first three victims of this wave of political theater are all high-profile leaders in this country and, as such, are potential targets for something much more serious than what these activists are doing. We have no idea what, if any, threats have been made against them. This “nonviolent” action might look great to critics of these Republican presidential candidates, but it might feel quite different being on the receiving end, especially if there are legitimate reasons why the candidates need to be concerned for their safety.

"Glitter bombing" public official also sets a terrible precedent. How is the other side going to respond now that one side is throwing glitter? What will be the nonviolent weapon of choice for conservative activists? How are we going to feel when it’s Senator Amy Klobuchar being “disarmed” by some action equally as discomfiting as glitter bombing?

As a form of “activism” these activities are counter-productive. No supporter of Bachmann, Gingrich or Pawlenty is going to look at them, covered in glitter, and change their opinions of them. If anything, this kind of attempt at public humiliation of politicians will only serve to further engage their base. It reinforces the very perceptions that need to change if we are to see progress on the issues that have motivated the glitter activists in the first place.

The decline of any sense of decorum in the political arena is part of the problem. Think what you will of Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann, but they still are a former Governor, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a current member of the U.S. House. We may, to the very core of our being, disagree with their policies; but by virtue of the offices they hold, or have held, they deserve better than having glitter thrown at them. No matter how “great” someone might think it looks.