Former Cantwell Aide in Street Scuffle

            Michael Meehan, former aide to Senator Maria Cantwell, shoved a reporter from The Weekly Standard to the ground earlier this week.  The incident happened on Tuesday, January 12^th, outside a Capitol Hill fundraiser for the Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate, Martha Coakley. 

           Meehan served as Senator Maria Cantwell’s aide in 2006.  He is now a senior vice president at Virilion, a Washington D.C. consulting firm.  According to the Virilion website, Meehan managed Cantwell’s Senate office and served as the chief strategist of her 2006 landslide re-election campaign. 

           In a statement to Fox News Meehan stated that a number of reporters were chasing Martha Coakley and that “in the confusion the reporter fell over the fence.”  When told that the incident had been caught on video he said, “It wasn't my intention to knock him on the ground.”

           According to Fox News, Coakley blamed GOP “stalkers” for the incident outside the fundraiser and told the Boston Herald she was not “privy” to what happened despite the fact that photos shown on FoxNews.com and the WeeklyStandard.com clearly show her watching the events.  Apparently, Michael Meehan believes in bare-knuckle politics.