Today’s object lesson in viral media comes courtesy of Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), who grabs at a blogger’s camera — twice — while admonishing the owner, “Let’s be courteous.” The blogger in question asks why Kind wasn’t available to meet with him a year ago when the blogger traveled to Washington DC to protest ObamaCare. Obviously unimpressed with both the question and the statement, “ObamaCare is making me sick,” Kind decides not to just walk away but grab the camera:

It didn’t look as if the camera was “shoved” in Kind’s face when Kind first grabbed for it. In fact, the shot gives a great view of Kind’s tie at that point in the video.  While the interview was hardly friendly, Kind had the option of walking away.  Instead, he crossed the line by creating a physical altercation.  And now instead of giving the blogger a great shot of the back of his shirt, Kind has a YouTube video that will live forever, where “let’s be courteous” is a request enforced by physical contact.

Kind’s seat has been considered safe up to now.   Dan Kapanke is challenging him in WI-03, and in a D+5 district where the entire state seems to be turning red, Kind may not be as safe as he thinks anyway.  This incident probably came too late to be much of an influence on the outcome — unlike, say, NC-02 and Bob Etheridge’s “Who are you?” debacle — but it may be useful to keep in mind as the returns come in tonight and tomorrow.