Forum moderator Ken Grant says the respect rule was applied to Arminio “as they would have been for any candidate”
Moderator of the Jewish Federation of Delaware candidates forum, in a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer
“treat everyone on stage with respect. … When a candidate declined to do so after a clear and public warning, the rules were applied — as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
The Philadelphia Inquirer's report. It carries moderator Ken Grant's statement that the ground rules shared with candidates in advance were to “treat everyone on stage with respect,” and reports that Arminio did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
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About this source
Moderator Ken Grant's introduction before the first-half candidates spoke. He describes the forum as “an opportunity to express and hear issues in a civil way,” says all campaigns “received and agreed to the guidelines,” and reads what he calls “just a few of the important ground rules”: opening and closing time limits, the question-card process, his discretion over follow-up questions and a code of conduct under which audience members who disrupt the event will be asked to leave. The rules read aloud do not include a requirement that candidates show respect to one another, and neither does his shorter reminder before the second half. We could not locate the written guidelines the campaigns received.
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About this source
Joseph Arminio's three-minute opening statement as the second-half U.S. House candidate, identified on his table placard. In it he refers to Rep. Sarah McBride as “his” (“the representative from Delaware, through the net of his comments and his actions”), the audience reacts, and he says “I would like to show respect to the speaker, that would be nice.” Later in the statement the recording captures the words “he's accomplished,” then “she is accomplished,” then Arminio saying “Thank you for the correction.” Moderator Ken Grant then says “We saw an example over the past hour of candidates acting with decorum and with respect towards each other. This is your final warning.” Mike Katz, opening for the U.S. Senate candidates, apologizes to “everybody here and everybody else on the stage” for the comments. The only use of “sorry” in Arminio's remarks in this half is the phrase “I'm sorry to have to say that the representative from Delaware…” that opens the sentence containing the first male terms.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Grant had warned Arminio on stage — “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave” — after Arminio used male terms for McBride, and asked for Arminio’s microphone to be cut after a second instance. The rules Grant read aloud before the forum covered time limits, the question process and audience conduct, and he said all campaigns “received and agreed to the guidelines.”
After the quotation
The Inquirer reported that McBride had said on stage she wanted Arminio to stay and that organizers “held firm.” The statement as reported does not address McBride’s request. We could not locate the written guidelines the campaigns received.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the case’s fixed reference point — Arminio’s use of male terms for McBride at the forum after correction and warning, and his removal for it — Grant condemns the conduct, describing it as a refusal to treat everyone on stage with respect after a clear warning, and defends the removal as the even-handed application of a rule. Following this dossier’s convention that a position on the removal is a position on the conduct that drew it, support for the removal is recorded as condemnation of the conduct. The closest competing label is defends_or_excuses, which loses because what Grant defends is the response, not the conduct under scrutiny.
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- People and groups discussed
- Joseph Arminio
Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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“I strongly believe that when you allow people to show you who they are they will do so, and I think my opponent was showing himself to be not serious in this debate … I've dealt with people like that in Washington, I know what they're trying to do: They're trying to get attention [and] go viral … I have thick skin; I can handle things. That doesn't mean what he was doing or saying was right or appropriate... but I thought it was important to make clear that his removal from the stage was not a byproduct of my request.”Read statement
“When someone seeking public office is given an opportunity to correct his conduct, acknowledges his mistake, receives an explicit warning, and then repeats that conduct, it raises serious concerns about the standards we should expect from those who seek to represent us. … For these reasons, I am calling on Joseph Arminio to withdraw his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives.”Read statement