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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Pushing the "threats" story

Partially because it is news, and partially because it reflects the idea that Repubs are becoming too extreme, Steny Hoyer pushes the story that Dems are receiving threats and are the subject of violent vandalism.

And it gets big coverage. It's the AP number two, the NYTimes covers it in their top stories, and the WaPo frontpages.

It's a pretty disgusting set of acts and threats, but the cut propane line is probably the most serious.

PS: We're bordering on the technical definitions of terrorism: Coordinated acts of violence or threats of violence intended to effect a political action.

Later: Add a coffin left on Mo. Rep Carnahan's lawn.

3 Comments:

  • Remember when DHS came out with that report on right wing extremism...? Yeah. That was WAAAAY off base.

    Somebody's got to really push back on this. And I mean push back on the Republican leadership for being the bellows to this flame.

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:02 AM  

  • Tea Party activists say coffin "not a threat." I think the KKK would say the same thing about burning crosses, and the mafia would say about horses heads.

    The insinuation of death or violence is a threat. The FBI needs to take this stuff as seriously as they did durring the Civil Right era.

    Separate note:
    Several political hack AGs are threatening to sue the government over the constitutionality of the insurance mandate. Of course, no serious legal thinker -- left ro right -- thinks theres any merit to the claim.

    Still, wouldn't it be interesting if progressive Dems used this as support for implementing a public option of some sort? Really, the only affective solution is to have universal Medicare for all -- what the French call Social Security. It need not be a sigle payer system, like Canada, nor a government-run healthcare provider system, like the UK. The mechanics of how this is accomplished are varied and many, and one needs only look at the rest of the developed world to find ideas.

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:21 AM  

  • I think that's one of the things Hoyer's trying to do. It's both security good and politically good.

    And, the FBI is looking into several of the threats.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 8:32 AM  

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