Burris Breaks From the Violence.

Filed in National by on March 24, 2010

I could not have said it better myself:

This behavior by Congressional Republicans (childish) and certain Tea Party elements (criminally dangerous) will cost the GOP in 2010.

By now, you have heard that 10 Democratic members of Congress have had their lives threatened since the passage of health insurance reform. One member from Virginia, Tom Perriello, had his brothers’ home vandalized in such a way, at the express direction of a teabagger blogger coward named Mike Troxel, that could have lead to an explosion, fire, or worse… death. This teabagger terrorist listed the address of the brother of the Congressman on his blog and told his readers that they should “drop by” and provide “a personal touch” in expressing their opposition to the new health care law. And being a teabagger, and thus by definition being ignorant and stupid, Troxel posted the wrong address, thinking that he was in fact posting the address of the Congressman himself. By the grace of God, no one was hurt and the only property damage was a cut gas line.

You know, calling Congressman horrible racial and bigoted names is one thing. That only proves them to be racists and bigots, but it really does not harm people, except their feelings. It is a horrible consequence to free speech that we must live by in order to enjoy the greater freedom of free speech. But directing or threatening violence to those you disagree with politically is not free speech. It not only should be a crime, but it is a crime.

And this Troxel bastard and the as of yet unidentified vandals should be arrested. And to put the fear of God in them and those like them, they should be charged with Attempted Murder, and should they be convicted, they should receive the maximum penalty under the federal or state laws (this could be a state crime or a federal one).

And before Hube or other right wingers bring up my infamous “Round them up” remarks from September 2008, it should be noted that I would have been just as culpable if some deranged liberal had followed my direction and shot a Republican. I was engaging then in the type of hyperbole we saw often during that election year, to our (hopefully) mutual disappointment. But the level of hyperbole embraced by the teabaggers now has left the realm of hyperbole, especially when you actually call up Congressman and threaten their lives, and the lives of their children, directly. It stops being hyperbole when you post specific addresses. It stops being hyperbole when you take action and vandalize property and hurt people.

So I give the utmost credit to Dave Burris for recognizing the same thing, and for calling out his own party and ideological brethren for it. And I agree that the Republican Party is going to pay for their actions with a disappointing showing at the ballot box. Sure they may still win 15 to 20 seats, but they all expect a complete takeover of Congress by such margins that will make complete repeal of health insurance reform not only possible but probable. When that doesn’t happen, I fear the even more violent and hyperbolic reaction from the right. We often say that the hate can’t get much worse…. but it can.

About the Author ()

Comments (116)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

Sites That Link to this Post

  1. It’s Time | March 26, 2010
  1. donviti says:

    you could have said it way better actually and have in the past.

    the question is what is he going to do about it?

  2. Jason330 says:

    I agree w/ dv. Fuck this empty goat fuckery pantomime. Who the hell is Burris in the scheme of things? I want a GOP leader like Boner or Beck to step up.

  3. bamboozer says:

    Tea Baggers seem to be a ticking time bomb at this point, I am not surprised. Republicans are making a huge mistake in not condemning these acts long and loud.

  4. Delaware Dem says:

    What do you mean by “You could have said it way better and have in the past?” Do you mean Burris or me? And what could we have said better? As for what Burris is going to do about it, I would hope he continues to give no quarter to the teabaggers who now populate Delaware Politics and other sites. He should denounce such actions and comments where he finds them. I think that is all he can do, and I would expect him to do.

    Perhaps an op-ed or LTE in News Journal.

  5. Delaware Dem says:

    Bamboozer, I do think it is too late for the GOP. They have already cast their lot with these insane sociopaths, and will have to live with the consequences of their actions. I can easily see an assassination of a Congressman at this point. I can also easily see another Oklahoma City style terrorist attack.

  6. Delaware Dem says:

    By the way… agreement between DV and Jason has occurred in this thread and that of course means PEACE IN OUR TIME! 🙂

  7. Jason330 says:

    PLease. Burris hangs with real republicans like mike castle. Where the he’ll is castle??? …. Crickets chirping…. Okay then.

  8. Jason330 says:

    DV and I are going to do a fortnightly political podcast. Will you guys post it?

  9. There’s been more violent threats. Both Stupak and Clyburn have had pictures of nooses faxed to their offices. Stupak’s office has also gotten death threats.

    I fear that the most likely victim will probably be a Congressional staffer.

  10. donviti says:

    I remember a few times being question by Burris on what have I done. This would be one of those times where he can put his political weight behind his words….

    or be just like a sadder less influential version of David Frum

  11. anon says:

    Can you really break from a lifelong partnership in 140 characters?

    I hope so.

    The fringe was always behind all Republican majorities.

  12. Jason330 says:

    “Dems Targeted After HCR Votes … Stupak Receives Drawing Of Noose And Gallows … Hoyer: Approx 10 Threatened … FBI Probing Cut Gas Line At Home Of Dem Rep’s Brother … Slaughter: GOP ‘Fanning The Flames’ … Palin Uses Cross-Hairs To ID Dems … Steele: Get Pelosi Ready For ‘Firing Line”

    C’mon Dave. Throw your weight around. Your party needs a grown-up.

  13. cassandra_m says:

    There’s a certain fringe behind all Republican minorities too.

    But it is not false equivalence to note that both parties have their fringe elements. The deal for Rs is that the fringe has largely taken over and is calling the tunes and the dances. The traditional strategy of running towards your base in primaries and run to the center in the general is almost gone for Rs. Because increasingly their base is way more important than the genuinely persuadable — which are some independents. It is pretty amazing to watch one party transform itself into an American Taliban for real and have that be treated as AOK.

    David Neiwert’s book The Eliminationists is really excellent at tracing how the fringe got mainstreamed in the Republican Party. It is a short book of great reporting and highly recommended.

  14. Jason330 says:

    OMG. I’m not easily shocked, but this….” We must remember that we are all Americans and people who use slurs really only belittle themselves.”

    Was on the Delaware Tea Party web site.

    Chris Shirey, I would salute you, but you snuck that in after a bunch of nonsense.

    Where is Castle’ comment on the Republican threats of violence?

  15. Jason330 says:

    Cassandra,

    Your post reminded me of this poll which shows that the Republicans are isolating themselves in an ideological ghetto.

    Strong Democrat 18%
    Not strong Democrat 12%
    Independent, lean Democrat 17%
    Independent, not lean 20%
    Independent, lean Republican 13%
    Not strong Republican 8%
    Strong Republican 13%

  16. anon says:

    There’s a certain fringe behind all Republican minorities too.

    I disagree. In recent memory, Repubs have yet to lose because they are too crazy. The crazy has been building since 1980. Crazy has been very, very good to Republicans up until now. Maybe it still has some juice left for them, who knows?

    “Republicans are dangerous nuts” has only been in the news cycle for a few weeks – once at the end of the 2008 campaign, and now this week. The story doesn’t really seem to have staying power in the media.

    Unlike the left’s fringe, the right fringe drives GOP fundraising and GOTV. Nutty screeds with violent imagery are their calling card.

  17. Jason330 says:

    “Repubs have yet to lose because they are too crazy” That’s debatable. The NY-23 race was a rebuke to crazy. It is hard to imagine Obama winning if you don;t think that it was a rebuke of Bush McCrazy.

    “…right fringe drives GOP fundraising and GOTV. Nutty screeds with violent imagery are their calling card.” That is all true. The GOP headquarters needs to keep the nuts buzzing – the question is, have they created a Frankenstein monster that is out of their control?

  18. cassandra_m says:

    You should read the book I referenced. It isn’t about losing because they are too crazy — it is about getting the mainstream (everyone) to acknowledge a new normal for repubs. That is why the Rs are crazy never has any staying power — they reset the expectations.

    And I can’t figure out what you are disagreeing with. Republicans have not always had majorities in government since 1980 or whenever.

  19. MJ says:

    While watching Countdown and Rachel Maddow tonight, my partner and I had the same thought – all this “oh, this is wrong, however” BS from Mr. Orange and others means nothing. The country is not going to wake up and call these bastards (Bachmann, Beck, Palin, et al) out or hold them responsible until some wingnut takes a shot at a Democratic Member of Congress. And I pray that the shit-for-brains teabagger that does this is a lousy shot.

    This so reminds me of Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch.

  20. anon says:

    Actually, you are witnessing the promised RNC political strategy in action. They are doing this to drive fundraising. Check out p. 29 of the leaked RNC memo, where they plan to fire up the rabble into “Visceral Giving” via:

    – Fear
    – Extreme negative feelings toward existing Administration
    – Issue/circumstantially oriented
    – Reactionary

  21. Von Cracker says:

    Burris’ revelation is nothing special. A simple, honest person would come to the same conclusion.

  22. Delaware Dem says:

    And what is left of the GOP are simply not honest.

  23. You can tell many of them aren’t honest by the response to my earlier post, which was basically so what.

  24. anonone says:

    Actually, the headline is misleading – Burris never condoned, advocated, or embraced “the violence,” so there was nothing for him personally to “break from.” But since he is banned from commenting here, he can’t respond.

  25. Delaware Dem says:

    Well, he is not breaking from the GOP, and if the teabaggers tone down their violent rhetoric I am sure he will be back with them, so he is not really breaking with the teabaggers. He is condeming violence and childish behavior now.

    As for what he has condoned or accepted in the past, if you really want to get into it I am sure I can find examples in the past where some sort of threats, intimidation and childish behavior were completely accepted and condoned by Burris. Remember, the reason he is banned here is for outting Kavips. Was that reasonable intelligent behavior to you, anonone?

    So I will not change the headline.

  26. Rebecca says:

    From today’s NYT, Timothy Eagan:

    snip

    “But consider the policy positions. Do Republicans really want to campaign in favor of insurance companies’ right to drop people when they get sick? Do they really want to knock the 25-year-old graduate student, living on Top Ramen and hope, off his parents’ health care? Are they going to deny tax credits for small businesses?

    “It was the ancient Greeks who gave us a sense of what Republicans will be living with under this pact with rage. Many people are afraid of the dark, the saying goes. But the real tragedy is those who are afraid of the light.”

  27. anonone says:

    I didn’t say you should change it; I was just pointing out that it was misleading and why. By the way, “some sort of threats, intimidation and childish behavior” does not equate to violence. And I don’t condone the outing of kavips at all, but that is not violence either.

  28. donviti says:

    the real news in this post got glossed over!

    bitches!

  29. pandora says:

    What’s the “real” news?

  30. anon says:

    Remember, the reason he is banned here is for outting Kavips.

    Kabuki theater. If you guys are going to hang with him on Twitter, Facebook, and IRL you may as well let him comment here.

  31. Delaware Dem says:

    If you guys are going to hang with him on Twitter, Facebook, and IRL you may as well let him comment here.

    I do none of these things. He made a comment on Twitter that was retweeted by someone I know, which is how I became aware of it. Otherwise, I don’t follow him on Twitter personally (although I do think the DL twitter page does) nor am I his friend on Facebook nor have I met him in real life.

  32. I know the GOP has been orchestrating terror and violence. Come on. Get real. I do agree that we cannot condone threats and violence and must condemn those who do. I disagree with you that it is somehow reflective on the Tea Party or the GOP.

    I condemned the left hanging and burning images of Bush, Cheney, and Rice. I condemned the movie on Killing the Pres. I did not hear the left jumping to do so. It is no surprise that the law and order right stands against lawless behavior.

  33. donviti says:

    DV and I are going to do a fortnightly political podcast. Will you guys post it?

  34. anon says:

    I disagree with you that it is somehow reflective on the Tea Party or the GOP.

    David, read the RNC memo. Then check your fundraising emails from various rightwing PACs. The orchestration was there all along. They are following the plan:

    – Fear
    – Extreme negative feelings toward existing Administration
    – Issue/circumstantially oriented
    – Reactionary

  35. Von Cracker says:

    hummm, a podcast….good idea.

  36. pandora says:

    Too little, too late, David. You guys went out of your way to own this, and despite your recent half-hearted post at DP we only need to scroll down to find your other post warning people how Obama/Dems through HCR will be implanting microchips into people.

  37. Wrong again, the post was not about Obama Care implanting microchips it was about how the constant changes in bill inspire concerns like the story on two internet news sites that it did the same. I then challenged progressives to look through the bill to debunk it. I already knew the answer and posted it today (the clue was that it claimed an incorrect definition of class two medical devices. Though it does give cart blanch authority to the Secretary to implement any measure deemed to reduce fraud and abuse. Those folks may not be too far off.

  38. anon says:

    The crazy spectrum:

    Low crazy: Tax cuts for the rich create jobs and prosperity
    Middle crazy: Death panels and microchips talk
    Top crazy: Actual bombings and shootings

    It is a continuum.

  39. cassandra_m says:

    And that is the thing here, isn’t it? The lies meant to fire up their base — and their base does not know they are being lied to. Steve Benen:

    Republican leaders, including Boehner, have whipped up the GOP base into a frenzy, pumping so many lies into right-wing activists, incidents like these aren’t even that surprising.

    What do Republicans expect to happen? They’ve told confused, misguided activists that health care reform it a “totalitarian” scheme that attacks our “freedom” and represents the “end of America as we know it.” The policy breakthrough is, as several GOP leaders have put it, “Armageddon.”

    It’s quite likely that most Republican lawmakers know that their over-the-top rhetoric is just a political gambit, and that their more insane attacks on the new law have no foundation in reality. But therein lies the point: their base doesn’t know that Republican officials are lying. When enraged activists are told by leaders they trust that health care reform will destroy America, these activists actually believe the nonsense.

    And let’s remember that even in his so-called liberal equivalents, David is still succumbing to the lies — no one paid much attention to a movie (by definition, a piece of *fiction*), and the people burning others in effigy certainly run nothing and have no influence in the Democratic Party.

    In many ways — these incentives to belligerence and violence are just plain lazy. And especially two-faced coming from people who constantly throw about words like liberty and freedom. Because the one thing that the world counts on us for us revolution at the ballot box. And here are these whackos who get organized for their usual belligerence and violence. No wonder no one thinks you are the party of ideas any more.

  40. I will gladly be credited with partial ownership of the freedom revolution. It is a counter revolution of thought and ideas not violence and intimidation. I will always stand for both the revolution and nonviolence so does practically everyone else. I just want to inspire people to speak up and not let the movement go the way of the Viet Nam protesters. Don’t let the few extremists define you. The real issue is the ruin of America by the hard left.

  41. a.price says:

    Meanwhile, back in reality, right wing terrorists are attempting to kill members of congress, trying to have their own Crystal Nacht, and the republican party can no longer control them. Stand there with your fingers in your ears and deny reality all you want David. Im sure when someone is actually hurt or killed you will talk about a “lone wolf”. You guys have been pre-using that defense for almost a year.

  42. In Case, you missed it Pandora http://www.delawarepolitics.net/americans-are-outraged/, I first addressed the extremism Monday. Nip it in the bud. People are right to be angry. It just has to be focused.

  43. cassandra_m says:

    I will gladly be credited with partial ownership of the freedom revolution. It is a counter revolution of thought and ideas not violence and intimidation. I will always stand for both the revolution and nonviolence so does practically everyone else.

    And here would be more of the lies. You people are not running a freedom revolution, you are just having an extended tantrum over the fact that you lost a bunch of elections. As long as the only thing that you base your so-called revolution on some bullshit claims of socialism, you will always and everywhere be a Fraud.

  44. cassandra_m says:

    And in case you missed it, Dave, you should read a. price’s comment just above yours. You aren’t distancing yourself from anything.

  45. pandora says:

    David, you should probably be asking yourself why these extremists feel so comfortable and at home in the Tea Party.

  46. Delaware Dem says:

    David, if anyone dies at the hands of a teabagger terrorist, you are guilty of murder.

  47. anon says:

    FFS, DD.

    Actually, if teabaggers do commit any crimes, the local teapartiers have the same level of complicity Obama has with anything done by ACORN. Maybe a bit more, but you get the idea.

  48. pandora says:

    Nip it in the bud? LOL! Like I said, too little, too late. But I realize you’re attempting damage control – and failing miserably.

    The real issue is the ruin of America by the hard left. Ruin, David? But keep pretending you’re above this crap – you’re not. You’re the guy who throws around words like evil and regime.

  49. The evil left gave health insurance to people who need it.

    The patriotic right wants to secede from the union and nullify laws.

    Get the picture yet?

  50. pandora says:

    Um, DD… I wouldn’t say that.

  51. I agree that your statement is too harsh, DD.

  52. Geezer says:

    AS long as we’re dispensing advice: David, you should learn to spell “briar.”

  53. Geezer says:

    Please, DAvid, by all means, fight to restore the freedom of insurance companies to deny coverage for their variety of reasons. I’m sure it’s a winning strategy. Employ it, please!

  54. Brooke says:

    I’m talking to a conservative homeschooler who is CONVINCED healthcare reform threatens her family. She was going off about how the new law won’t permit her to use flex plan spending for OTC drugs in 3 years, and reduces the amount people can spend, in some plans, from 4000 to 2500.

    This women has NO idea what the difference in tax liability for her household is in these plans. I mean, she probably thinks the whole $1500 is a loss for her, and I flat don’t believe any workingclass family should be spending thousands of dollars on OTC drugs in a year. If you’re that sick you need, um, what would we call it? Oh, that’s right, HEALTHCARE.

    But she’s extremely “knowledge-resistant” .

  55. Delaware Dem says:

    Actually, legally speaking, it is going to far to say he would be guilty of murder, since it would be, depending on the circumstances, impossible to prove the conspiracy. But morally speaking, he is guilty, along with all the other teabaggin brethren and Republican officials who incited and participated in this “freedom revolution.”

  56. It is not insurance if you already are sick. How about letting the families of the dead pay for life insurance?

  57. Geezer says:

    “It is not insurance if you already are sick. How about letting the families of the dead pay for life insurance?”

    How about if some dumb-ass black man who happens to hold a job sold out his race for a position in the “I’ve got mine, Jack” conservative movement? See, that’s the reality that stares you in the mirror every day — as opposed to the imaginary scenarios you like to traffic in.

  58. cassandra_m says:

    So is that the result of the freedom revolution? That “it isn’t insurance if you already are sick”? This is what I mean by an overreliance on the lies. And I’ll add in Brooke’s “knowledge resistant”.

    This:
    It is not insurance if you already are sick.

    is a worthy motto for your website, really.

  59. anon says:

    Geezer.. it might not be too late to edit that.

  60. The Ruling Regime has to go or America will no longer be a free Republic. That is the choice. Naturally people are charged up. They not only have a right to be, but a duty to be. I just want it be focused power. Focus on restoring the Republic at the ballot box.

    You say that the fact that on our blog, which I pay to host, that the fact that I refer to the administration as the ruling regime is somehow akin to violence. That is funny. I got that phrase idea from a liberal pastor Tony Campolo when Reagan was in power. He always referred to the Reagan regime. Obama regime doesn’t rhyme. Ruling regime does in spite of its redundancy. It goes well with ruling party in Congress. There is your insight for the day. Liberals have a hard time taking it when you put the shoe they crafted on their foot.

  61. It is not insurance if you already are sick.

    Uh…what? I’m still trying to parse this one.

    So, it’s o.k. when insurance companies drop you when you’re sick because you no longer need their services?

  62. anon says:

    It is not insurance if you already are sick.

    No, I think he is talking about pre-existing.

    David actually has a good point here that should not be ignored. He puts his finger on the absurdity of trying to implement universal health care via private companies who are seeking profits.

    Democrats confronted this issue during the fight for the bill and said, essentially, “So what?”

  63. Tim actually wrote a great post on the subject of insurance and preexisting conditions. It is stupid to make insurance companies some social service agency. Health insurance is a product not a right. There are much better ways to handle the issue. Since we have written essays on the subject, I would say search our healthcare archives.

  64. a.price says:

    the Republican leaders are no more culpable for the actions of the teabagz than is Carl Ratzinger is for boy-raping priests that he ignored and never tried to bring to justice. <snark

  65. Geezer says:

    Anon: I have no interest in editing that. I”m sick of this intellectually stunted, religiosly intoxicated asshole coming to a web site not to debate but to assert talking points. And sorry, but I do consider him a race-hating African-American, proved nearly every day by his lack of interest in the problems of the black community — at least, beyond telling them to find the Lord.

    He’s an asshole, and a blight on this blog. I have no interest in watching otherwise interesting bloggers trying to teach pigs to sing.

  66. anon says:

    David is nuts but he is a Happy Warrior.

  67. Geezer says:

    So what? So was Atilla the Hun.

  68. cassandra_m says:

    Tim wrote a blog post that was at best misleading and really pretty much let you into the fact that he has no idea how insurance actually works. Or even how the HCR is supposed to work, either. It is pretty much a good exhibit of the lies and idiocy that get fed to the right to get them fired up. There was nothing in that that addressed any policy whatsoever.

    And guess what? No one here is saying this:
    You say that the fact that on our blog, which I pay to host, that the fact that I refer to the administration as the ruling regime is somehow akin to violence.

    So way to get your victim on via more lies and disinformation.

  69. What does “which I pay to host” have to do with the rest of the statement?

  70. donviti says:

    I’m so surprised none of you have gotten through to David after all this fact throwing the past 2 years.

    At this point I’m not sure which side is more dense

    I have wall space you can bang your head on for sale. Anyone interested?

  71. U. I is called freedom of the press. I pay for the right to publish what ever I want. I do not have to check with anyone else. I am a free American who has a right to exercise his right to redress the government for his grievances.

  72. So, in the GOP mind money = speech so then it’s important if he pays for the blog?

  73. cassandra_m says:

    And again — no one is challenging your freedom to publish what you want. Just pointing out that you are overly reliant on lies and deception to do whatever dog-whistling you are doing over there.

  74. I think that I have a lot better idea of how insurance works than you do. I was a life and health agent though I got out of health years ago. There is no money in the health side anymore. The costs are increasing so much that the insurance industry can barely keep up. I am glad to have nothing to do with health insurance.

  75. Geezer says:

    “I have wall space you can bang your head on for sale. Anyone interested?”

    Can I rent to own?

  76. cassandra_m says:

    Lots of people sell stuff they don’t know a damn thing about — which would explain why you think that your compatriot’s post was so meaningful.

  77. anonone says:

    “I have wall space you can bang your head on for sale. Anyone interested?”

    You need to tell people that it is used.

  78. anon says:

    You know, issuing press releases and even goddam TWEETS against the threats and violence is weak tea.

    Republicans who want to take a stand against the sick tone of their party’s discourse need to make a statement and take responsibility the old-fashioned way:

    Resign.

    Resign from your party post, your PAC, even your elected office. That’s taking personal responsibility. That’s accountability. That is conservative.

    And if you don’t agree with resigning and think it is better to continue working within the party, call for special investigations. Be a sane Republican. Go all Howard Baker on their asses.

    But whatever you do, don’t try to denounce the wackos now, and then try to profit from them in November.

  79. Joanne Christian says:

    cass @11:54–how come that’s the way I feel everytime I go to Home Depot or Lowe’s, and we read the instructions together? Why can’t those “clinic” people or Ace hardwareman ever be on duty while I’m dazed in the aisles? Nothing beats a great local hardware store–thank you Buckworth’s of Middletown–from screen repair to clothesline digging you’ve been there!!!!

  80. anon says:

    how come that’s the way I feel everytime I go to Home Depot or Lowe’s, and we read the instructions together? Why can’t those “clinic” people or Ace hardwareman ever be on duty while I’m dazed in the aisles?

    I never have that problem. But then again, I’m a guy.

    🙂

  81. cassandra_m says:

    Joanne, local hardware stores are very cool. Love going up to Fairfax Hardware. Mainly because they have everything and I have no idea how they get it all in that small space. But they have lots of really good problem solvers on staff — which is alot different (and more effective) than being sales people, I think.

  82. Anon, come back to earth.

  83. Joanne Christian says:

    anon- does that mean “home court advantage”, or you don’t read instructions? 🙂

  84. anon says:

    Men don’t shop – men buy. In the hardware store we are all Chuck Norris.

  85. MJ says:

    Actually, Dumbass David, I probably know more about health and life insurance than you do since I work with it everyday and the programs I work with (and have worked with for over 22 years) are the largest insurance programs in the country.

    You should do us all a favor and go stick your nose in some Bible and really read what it says, instead of what your false prophets have interpreted it to mean over the past 50 years. You might learn that you’re wrong on so many issues. And while you’re at it, take a basic civics class so you can learn what the Constitution really says.

    And it’s spelled carte blanche, not cart blanch, unless that’s your new drag name.

  86. Brooke says:

    Sorry, totally stuck, here. “Obama regime doesn’t rhyme.” Check.
    “Ruling regime does.” NO check.

    “Dream regime” rhymes. “Beam regime” rhymes. “Team regime” also rhymes. “Ruling regime” is alliterative.

    Test any 3rd grader I’ve ever had a paper from and they’ll get that right. It is extremely sad for me that people are entitled to express their opinions on public policy who can’t manage even that.

  87. just kiddin' says:

    Let’s get real. These looney tunes have been around for decades. They were a tiny minority the republican party never permitted them to “take over”, but gladly accepted their votes. The ole John Birchers, the Klan, the right wing militia groups of the 70’s,80’s and 90’s were permitted to act openly. With the internet their craziness went postal. The supremacist groups have been organizing, buying up weapons, storing up supplies since at least the 60’s. They were waiting their turn. April 19th will be a day we should all watch. April 19th was Waco! April 19th was McVeigh/Oklahoma bombing, and this April 19 the gun toting whackos are convening in a park near DC. Now do they think they plan to hold a picnic? Or do you think they have a real plan? Remember in Feb/March when Napolitano was discussing the “rise of militia groups”? These are the new domestic terrorists who believe the government will declare martial law and take them to the Fema Camps! These are armed, bigoted dangerous people who have been permitted for over a year to incite, inflame and install hatred against progressives. Glen Beck, Rush, Hannity, Coulter and that crowd indeed want to foment civil unrest. They want this country “fighting and shooting at each other”, so they can say see what you get when the country is polarized behind a black man? This morning on WILM a looney called in to say, “he thinks Obama should resign because that would stop the tea party movement, and if he won’t do it, there could be civil war”. The milita groups want civil war, thats why they started buying up all the bullets last year! I recall seeing on some TV show back in the 70’s down in Alabama, Miss and TN where the militia groups were “practicing” with paint ball guns to get ready for their “revolution”. We need the FBI to make some arrests, send some people to jail. We need Castle and Rollins to come forward in Delaware and denounce these fools.

    I blame the media for much of this. The 300 teabaggers in DC over the weekend were front and center on every station, while over 200,000 people marched for Immigration Reform, and tens of thousands marched for Health care not Warfare! The Media has pushed this movement for over a year. Its the media attention they want and the get. Turn on any channel tonight and see how many mention “teabaggers”.

  88. P.Schwartz says:

    unbunch your panties, this is nothing new.

    Let’s document here the numerous death threats the Left has made against us and right-wing politicians.

    A few that come to my mind immediately:

    The movie “Death of a President” (2006) by British film makers Gabriel Range and Simon Finch

    Cindy Sheehan’s Book: “Peace Mom” in which she fantasizes about going back in time and killing the infant George W. Bush.

    Alec Baldwin’s suggestion on the David Letterman show that Henry Hyde and his family should be dragged into the street and stoned to death.

    Nicholson Baker’s ” Checkpoint,” a novella conversation between two people about the advisability of assassinating Bush.

    “Kill Bush” t-shirt on sale at CafePress.

    The constant vandalism of ALF and ELF.

    The movie, “The Last Supper,” starring Cameron Diaz and others where a group of young, hip Libs invite Conservatives to diner to poison them under the rationale that they are preventing a future Hitler. At the end of the movie, they come to realize that killing is wrong so they spare their last Conservative who then goes on to be the next Hitler. Moral of the story, kill Conservatives if you have the chance.

  89. P.Schwartz says:

    Cantor’s Office Shot,Says,”Stop Fanning the Flames of Violence” Pence Outraged at Dem Fear-Mongering

    The Lid/Congressman Cantor/Congressman Pence ^ | 3/25/10 | The Lid

    An angry Eric Cantor stepped up the microphone today to talk about the bullet was shot through the window of his Richmond, Va., campaign office on Monday , and that he’s gotten threatening emails. “I’ve received threats since I assumed elected office, not only because of my positions, but because I am Jewish,” Cantor said.[As House Republican whip, Cantor is the highest elected Jewish politician in the country.] “I’ve never blamed anyone in this body for that. Period. Any suggestion that a leader in this body that would incite threats or acts against other members is akin to saying that…

  90. P.Schwartz says:

    Pro-Life Office Inundated with Hateful Calls in Wake of Health Care Vote

    standardnewswire.com
    WICHITA, Kan., March 25 /Standard Newswire/ — Telephones at Operation Rescue’s national headquarters were inundated with hateful messages in the wake of the weekend vote on health care in the House of Representatives. Operation Rescue has been outspoken in its opposition to the Obama health care takeover plan, especially provisions that would provide taxpayer funding for abortions. The calls filled the mailboxes of several extensions and ranged from nonsensical messages, to sexually explicit “dirty phone calls,” to anti-Christian, hate-filled tirades. In weeks preceding the vote Operation Rescue staff members received death threats.

  91. John Manifold says:

    @Schwartz: Unlike the rabid right, which is tossing bricks like acorns, the left doesn’t act on celebrities’ hyperbole. The GOP VP nominee is acting like George Lincoln Rockwell … and you killed a lot of work time in Googling to generate that wan post.

    Nicholson Baker sailed way above your reading group, I’m afraid. Open the book.

  92. anon says:

    Speaking of Nicholson Baker, I’m reminded The Fermata was awesome. Totally NSFW though.

  93. just kiddin' says:

    The left had to sit through 8 years of the reviled bush regime, starting with the 2000 stolen election. Going forward with lies and deceit leading up to the Iraq War. Torture, wiretapping, detentions! Making up intell to fit their ideology. The C student from Yale with his Traitorous VP Cheney avoided reviewing the memos which would have warned them about 911 and on and on. Did the left threaten to throw bricks through GOP headquarters! Did they arm themselves and practice violence in the mountains of this country? Did the left spit on republicans in DC and call them vile names. No, we had to sit for 8 long years as Tweetle Dee and Tweetle Dumb took this country so far to the right, tripled our deficit, and took away our civil rights which have not been given back to this day. There is no comparison with the “movies” you listed here and the crazy thuggery going on in this country right now.

  94. P.Schwartz says:

    Bomb threat against Tea Party organizers (Sept 2009)

    Hot Air ^ | 9/12/09 | Ed Morrissey for Hot Air
    The Washington DC Tea Party appears to be a big success, but it’s not for lack of trying among the movement’s more lunatic opponents. Yesterday, the DC Metro police evacuated the offices of Freedomworks after several threats, including a bomb-threat phone call that police considered credible enough to investigate:

  95. P.Schwartz says:

    4 reach plea deal in tire slashings – Politicians’ sons agree to misdemeanors (Gwen Moore Milwaukee)

    jsonline ^ | 1/20/2006 | derrick nunnally
    After a two-week felony trial culminating with notes from a conflicted jury, four Kerry-Edwards campaign workers – including the sons of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt – had their charges in the Election Day 2004 tire-slashing reduced to misdemeanors and accepted the deal. The fifth Democratic staffer accused of crippling Republican vans won a jury acquittal by sticking with a fight against the felony charge. “Any other case like this, they would have made the offer (to reduce charges) right away, but for the people involved,” said Adam Essling, attorney for Lavelle Mohammed, one…

  96. V says:

    P. I’d love to actually read those articles in their entirity, can you link please?

    funny you had to reach back to 2006 thought for something approaching destruction of property.

  97. Von Cracker says:

    I wonder what that krazy GOP op who carved that backward “B” in her face is doing these days?

  98. pandora says:

    LOL, VC!

    Have I told you how much I’ve missed you?

  99. Von Cracker says:

    I’m back baby! Gotta lot of free internetz time since I’m currently looking for a job ~ which means I’m officially a DFH on the Gov’t teat.

  100. pandora says:

    I’m glad you’re back! What field are you looking for a job? I may have a contact – given how important I am. 😉 You can email me at pandora@delawareliberal.net.

    Can’t make any promises, but I’d help any way I can.

  101. Von Cracker says:

    Well thanks P! Looking for SQL/SAS work, though I have an interview for a position next week….we’ll see, but in the meantime I’ll send you my info.

  102. pandora says:

    Anytime, VC.

  103. MJ says:

    P can’t link to anything because he/she is pulling these stories out of their ass.

    Note on the DC Police – they don’t do anything else, so evacuating a building makes them look busy and useful.

  104. P.Schwartz says:

    here is a brief list from your friends at FreeRepiblic:

    March 21, 2003: GOP Headquarters in Madison hit with bricks, paint bombs Journal Sentinel

    In 2004, Republicans were subject to an aggressive and sometimes violent campaign of harassment and intimidation orchestrated by Kerry supporters. At least three Bush-Cheney offices were shot at during the election season. A swastika was burned into the front yard of a Bush-Cheney supporter in Madison, Wisconsin. Other incidents included offices burglarized, windows smashed, tires slashed and other property damage. The following is a timeline of documented election-related violence and intimidation against the Bush-Cheney ‘04 campaign and Republicans in 2004.

    September 2, 2004: Gun Shot Fired Into Huntington, WV, Republican Headquarters.

    September 3, 2004: Windows Broken, Anti-Bush Messages Scrawled At Gallatin County, MT, Republican Headquarters.

    September 2004: John Kerry supporters and other libs/dems take to the streets of NYC destroying property, beating a NYC detective into a state of unconsciousness and harassing/threatening attendees during the 2004 GOP convention in NYC

    September 6, 2004: Huntington, WV, Republican Headquarters Egged.

    September 13, 2004: Swastika Drawn On Duluth, MN, Resident’s Lawn, Signs Also Defaced With Words “Nazi” And “Liar.”

    September 16, 2004: Community College Professor In Florida Punched Republican County Chairman In Face.

    September 22, 2004: West Elmira, NY, Resident Found Swastika Drawn On Bush Campaign Sign In His Yard.

    September 23, 2004: Office Ransacked During Break-In At Vilas County, WI, Republican Headquarters, Obscene Words And Graphic Pictures Sprayed On Campaign Signs.

    September 26, 2004: Windows Smashed And Signs Stolen At Oxford, MS, Bush-Cheney ‘04 Headquarters.

    October 1, 2004: Laptops Of Executive And Field Director Stolen From Bush-Cheney ‘04 Headquarters In Seattle, WA.

    October 1, 2004: Swastika Burned Into Front Yard Of Bush-Cheney ‘04 Supporter In Madison, WI.

    October 2, 2004: Collinsville, OH, Resident Chains Down Bush-Cheney ‘04 Signs After Several Signs Stolen And One Was Replaced With Kerry Sign.

    October 3, 2004: Burglary At Thousand Oaks, CA, Victory 2004 Headquarters Where Bush-Cheney ‘04 Banner Was Stolen From Outside Premises.

    October 5, 2004: Gun Shots Fired Into Knoxville, TN, Bush-Cheney ‘04 Office, Shattering Office’s Glass Front Doors. October 5, 2004: AFL-CIO ACTIVISTS RANSACK BUSH HEADQUARTERS IN ORLANDO, The Orlando Sentinel . . . part of 20 coordinated union attacks across U.S.

    October 8, 2004: Two Men Were Caught On A Hidden Camera Tearing Down And Urinating On Bush-Cheney ‘04 Sign In Akron, OH.

    October 9, 2004: Oxnard, CA, Supporter Placing Bush-Cheney ‘04 In Yards Verbally Abused, Knocked Down And Had Signs Stolen.

    October 9, 2004: Bush-Cheney Signs Near Vail, CO, Cut In Half And Burned In “Ransacking.”

    October 10, 2004: Office Windows Broken And Field Director’s Laptop Bag and Purse Stolen In Burglary At Canton, OH, Victory Office.

    October 11, 2004: Windows Broken, Petty Cash Stolen And Computers Tampered With In Burglary At Spokane, WA, Victory 2004 Headquarters.

    October 13, 2004: Walls And Windows Of York, PA, Victory 2004 Headquarters Vandalized With Pro-Kerry Spray-Paint And Signs Outside Destroyed.

    October 13, 2004: Window Smashed At Laconia, NH, Victory 2004 Headquarters.

    October 13, 2004: Kerry Supporter Caught Stealing Bush Sign In Cape Girardeau, MO, Pulled Knife On Sign’s Owner And Was Arrested.

    October 15, 2004: Someone Destroyed Large Plywood Bush-Cheney ‘04 Sign, Then Tried To Smash Debris Though Glass Door Of Santa Fe, NM, Republican Party Headquarters.

    October 15, 2004: Someone Lined Window Sill With Bullet Casings At Littleton, NH, Republican Headquarters.

    October 16, 2004: Unknown Suspects Vandalized Large Bush-Cheney Campaign Sign In Hollister, CA, With Obscenities.

    October 17, 2004: Stickers Placed Over Windows Of Gettysburg, PA, Victory 2004 Headquarters.

    October 18, 2004: Eggs Thrown At Keene, NH, Victory 2004 Headquarters.

    October 18, 2004: 21 Protesters Arrested At Bush-Cheney ‘04 Campaign Headquarters In Arlington, VA.

    October 20, 2004: Rocks Thrown Through Windows At Multnomah County, OR, Republican Party Headquarters.

    October 21, 2004: Bomb Threat Made Against Lake Havasu, AZ, Republican Party Headquarters.

    October 21, 2004: Windows Smashed At Multnomah County Republican Party Headquarters In Portland, OR.

    October 22, 2004: Break-In Discovered At Cincinnati, OH, Victory 2004 Headquarters.

    October 22, 2004: Break-In Discovered At Flagstaff, AZ, Victory 2004 Headquarters. Perpetrators gained entry by throwing a cinder block through a plate glass window.

    October 22, 2004: Chunk Of Concrete Tossed Through Glass Door Of Republican Headquarters In Santa Cruz, CA.

    October 23, 2004: Two Kerry Supporters Arrested After Stealing Pro-Bush Signs From Activist And Pushing Police Officer At Edwards Rally In St. Petersburg, FL.

    October 26, 2004: A Florida man has been charged with attempting to run over controversial Republican congresswoman Katherine Harris with his Cadillac.

    November, 2004: Editors say Yale Free Press stolen Yale Daily News

    November 2004, Election Day: 30 vans intended for getting out the vote in Milwaukee in 2004 had their tires slashed . . .Of the four men who were arrested, one is the son of Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, and one is the son of former acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt.

    June 8, 2004: Court sets release of Ryan’s divorce file Chicago Tribune

    May 10, 2005: Vladimir Arutyunian, a native Georgian who was born to a family of ethnic Armenians, threw a live hand grenade toward a podium where President George W. Bush was speaking at Freedom Square in Tbilisi, Georgia.

    August, 2005: Reservist suspected of spray painting pro-Bush bumper stickers in Denver – Associated Press

    October 26, 2006: A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data. New York Times

    October 30, 2006: RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Responds To Today’s Letter From DNC Chairman Howard Dean GOP October (?) 2006: Staffers from Chuck Schumer’s office steal the social security number of Michael Steele then run an illegal credit report.

    June, 2008: Speaking of inflammatory rhetoric, it was candidate Obama who urged followers in June, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun”

    Sept 17, 2008: Sarah Palin’s E-Mail Hacked

    October, 2008: Sarah Palin effigy hanging in someone’s yard

    December, 2008: Sarah Palin’s church was set on fire by arsonists while children were inside.

    September, 2008: Obama telling is supporters to “get in their faces” when confronting opponents. Columnist Michael Barone wrote at the time, “In this campaign, we have seen the coming of the Obama thugocracy, suppressing free speech, and we may see its flourishing in the four or eight years ahead.”

    September, 2008: In Orlando Florida, a small group of middle-aged homemakers took their little McCain signs to an approved street corner, carried their small American flags and assembled to do their hour’s vote-for-our-guy walk, when they were accosted by a group of Obama thugs and terrorized.

    September, 2008: A videographer at a Tampa, Florida townhall got roughed up by union thugs and had his camera smashed.

    September, 2008: A local doctor from Douglasville, Georgia was shouted down by his own Democratic congressman and accused of not being a constituent, a charge that was later shown to be blatantly false.

    September, 2008: St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce warned citizens that they would bring criminal libel prosecutions against anyone who made statements against Obama that were “false.”

    September, 2008: the Obama campaign called for a criminal investigation of the American Issues Project when it ran ads highlighting Obama’s ties to Ayers.

    September, 2008: Obama’s minions orchestrated a massive stream of complaints on the phone lines of Tribune Co.-owned WGN-AM in Chicago. “The offense: The station hosted National Review’s David Freddoso, author of ‘The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate,’ (Chicago Tribune)

    October, 2008: conservative Stanley Kurtz appeared on Milt Rosenberg’s WGN radio program in Chicago to discuss his lack of access to papers about Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers in the Richard J. Daley Library in Chicago — papers that were closed off to him for some days, apparently at the behest of Obama supporters.Obama fans jammed WGN’s phone lines and sent in hundreds of protest emails.

    October, 2008: McCain-Palin campaign bus coming under gunfire in New Mexico.

    October, 2008: the home of a Republican headquarters manager in central Florida was shot up that same week as the shooting of the McCain-Palin bus in New Mexico. McCain supporters in the area woke to find the brake lines on their cars severed, their telephone and cable television lines cut, and political graffiti scratched into automobile paint and scrawled on their homes.

    October 1, 2008: Vandals destroy Republican candidate signs, PolitickOr.com

    October 6, 2008: Laptop stolen from regional GOP headquarters CNET News

    October 8, 2008: Tennessee Man Indicted in Hacking of Palin’s E-Mail Account Fox News

    October 12, 2008: Authorities have arrested two men after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a 4-foot by 8-foot campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a southeast Portland yard.

    Karen Scrutton said she was asleep inside her home at 7956 S.E. 17th Ave. in the Sellwood neighborhood when she saw her sign go up in flames after 1 a.m.

    October 17, 2008: an unprovoked assault by an enraged Democrat against a [female] McCain volunteer in midtown Manhattan: “Defendant grabbed the sign the informant was holding, broke the wood stick that was attached to it, and then struck informant in the face.”(from police report)

    October 22, 2008: Minnesota, Senator Coleman campaign: Senator’s garage vandalized Associated Press

    November, 2008: Black Panther with a billy club threatening voters outside polling place in Philadelphia. Eric Holder let him walk.

    January, 2009: Hackers get Republican Senator Norm Coleman’s donors’ credit card info and post it on the internet

    August (1st week?) 2009: a black gentleman who was a Tea Party participant named Kenneth Gladney went to a town-hall meeting hosted by Rep. Russ Carnahan, Missouri Democrat. While passing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, he was viciously attacked by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members. One called him a “nigger.” A woman filming the violence also was accosted. NBC News.

    August 4, 2009: a communique was issued from DNC headquarters about mobs of right-wing extremists whose extreme mobbiness threatens to mob ObamaCare with extremism.

    Summer (?), 2009: a handicapped woman in a wheelchair was attacked by a protester at an Obama town hall in New Hampshire. Another protester kicked an armed man in the groin, & spit into a camera filming it.

    Summer (?) 2009: At a tea party in Milwaukee, a heckler attacked several people and rushed the stage while a speaker was talking, YouTube video shows. Police tackled and removed him

    September, 2009: The Washington DC Tea Party appears to be a big success, but it’s not for lack of trying among the movement’s more lunatic opponents. Yesterday, the DC Metro police evacuated the offices of Freedomworks after several threats, including a bomb-threat phone call that police considered credible enough to investigate.

    September 3, 2009in Thousand Oaks , California, a nationalized healthcare advocate attacked and bit off the finger of a Tea Partyer who was a healthcare opponent, Associated Press.

    November 14, 2009: in Fort Lauderdale, Florida violence broke out between tea party protesters and pro-amnesty protesters who had e-mailed group members calling for “a militant confrontation” with “tea-baggers,” the Christian Science Monitor reported.

    November 14, 2009, in Phoenix, tea partyers were attacked by a group of neo-Nazis brandishing a swastika flag and a portrait of Adolf Hitler. Police intervened quickly, and no one was hurt.

    March 22, 2010: Bullet shot through window of Republican Congressman Eric Cantor’s Richmond, Virginia campaign Office.

    March 24, 2010: Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt of Ohio receives telephoned death threats.

    March 24, 2010: Republican Congresswoman Jenny Brown of Florida receives telephoned death threats.

  105. P.Schwartz says:

    Andrew Breitbart Offers $10,000 Prize for Anyone Who Can Document Tea Party Protesters Yelling

    reason.com ^ | 3/25/10 | Matt Welch
    Considering that some of the staffers within proximity of the alleged slurs were reportedly pointing cameras toward the crowd, this would seem like easy money if the story is true. As Michael Moynihan pointed out earlier this week, the anecdote has been presented as fact all over the journalism world.

  106. pandora says:

    Oops, better scratch the Cantor incident off the list. You can add it to the backward B girl list.

  107. Apparently the word of the Congressman and his staff isn’t enough for Breitbart. Breitbart, the guy who was punked by a 24-yo pretending to dress as a pimp?

  108. pandora says:

    Digby is documenting this nonsense.

    Breitbart: Congressional Black Caucus members went “searching for … racism” by walking through Tea Party crowd

    Graham tells Beck — Beck! — Tea Partiers “get mad” because they “don’t like being called racist

    Michael Graham: Pelosi was “asking for” response by carrying Medicare gavel

    Rove warns Dems that discussing threats against them may “inflame emotions”

  109. Dave Burris says:

    Nice to see I’m still good for 100 comments.

  110. Geezer says:

    Dave: You wouldn’t be if so many REpublicans didn’t disagee with you.