Whitehead named ‘worst person in the world’ by news pundit

MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann named Charlottesville-based John W. Whitehead as the “worst person in the world” during his Monday night broadcast.

Whitehead was selected for the superlative insult because he sent a letter last week to U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, urging the freshman congressman to relocate his office to a site where opponents could more easily protest.

The owner of a next-door spa had complained that the frequent protests had started to hurt her business. As a result, police asked protesters - specifically the Thomas Jefferson Area Tea Party and members of the University of Virginia College Republicans - to stay off the office building’s privately owned parking lot and to protest on a nearby sidewalk.

Whitehead - who is the founder of the Albemarle County-based conservative civil liberties group the Rutherford Institute - in a Dec. 10 letter told Perriello the ban on protesting directly in front of his district office infringes the freedoms of speech, free assembly and to petition government.

In his nightly commentary on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” Olbermann noted that members of the anti-government spending Tea Party movement in Perriello’s district have publicly considered burning the congressman in effigy.

“Whitehead wants Perriello to move his office to make it easier for the teabaggers to protest him,” Olbermann said.

Olbermann suggested - incorrectly, it should be noted - that Whitehead is the leader of the local Tea Party organization that has repeatedly held demonstrations against Perriello.

“He may not lead the most famous Teabag outfit, but he certainly leads the laziest one,” Olbermann said. “… John W., you want us to carry your signs for you too because they’re soooo heavy?”

In a statement, Whitehead accepted the dubious honor.

“I accept with great humility Keith Olbermann’s conferring me with the ‘World’s Worst Person’ gold award,” Whitehead said. “However, I’m surprised that Rep. Perriello hasn’t come to my defense. Perriello, Olbermann and others should be reminded of what Voltaire once remarked, ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ That is precisely the issue of concern when it comes to Tom Perriello’s failure to facilitate the free speech rights of his constituents.”

Perriello’s press secretary has pointed out that Perriello fully supports the protesters’ right to protest. The decision to ban the protesters, she has said, was made by the landlord, not Perriello or his staff. Perriello’s office has offered to send staff members to protests held anywhere, such as the Free Speech Monument on the Downtown Mall or elsewhere. Alternatively, she added, the protesters can always make an appointment and meet with Perriello or his staff directly to have their voices heard.