Political Violence? Conservatives Don't Throw Bricks.

I find it mildly amusing after decades of violence from the left over everything from war to the environment that they are so fearful of flag waving patriots at Tea Party Protests. There has been a concerted effort to liken Tea Party protests to the actions of an angry mob but those that have attended those rallies know who and what the Tea Party is. Most Tea Party groups know that the main stream media has been scouring these events so they can hand pick a few pictures of the more extreme protestors to impugn the movement as a whole and it would do well to treat those reporters with suspicion whenever they are present.

The power of the media comes into its own once they have an audio conversation of more than a few words. The less scrupulous of these media organs have absolutely no problem dissecting a five minute conversation and using snippets of your comments to craft a controversial answer to a question you were never asked. Those in the public eye know this and most are savvy enough to skirt these traps by crafting their answers to avoid particular statements that could be inflammatory when taken out of context. Still, a few slip through the cracks such as Sarah Palin’s comment on reloading or that she was putting a “sight” on Democrats she was “targeting” in the 2010 elections.

Sarah Palin was the subject of numerous jokes during the 2008 campaign because she is an avid hunter in her home State of Alaska. He references to weapons and hunting terminology was meant to be an “in your face” swipe at those who tried to use her love of hunting against her and rather than submit to the criticisms, she decided to wear it as a badge of courage. The left however, seized the opportunity to claim her statements were meant to incite violence against Democrats and attempted to link the post-healthcare bill brick throwing incidents at her feet and at the feet of her Tea Party followers.

I really do have to wonder about all these claims of violence anyway. During the heated healthcare debates in August of 2009, multiple windows at the Democratic offices in Denver Colorado were smashed adding up to more than eleven thousand dollars in damages. Since the windows that were targeted held posters praising Obama’s efforts to reform healthcare, Democrats were quick to accuse right wing zealots and Tea Partiers claiming they were trying to invoke fear and foment hatred against supporters of the President’s healthcare initiative.

Days later, Denver Police arrested 24 year-old Maurice Schwenkler for the attack but Schwenkler was neither a right wing zealot nor was he a member of the Tea Party. Schwenkler was in fact, a Democrat activist and a supporter of the Healthcare Bill. He had previously been arrested for misdemeanor unlawful assembly at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN and had worked for the Democratic Party in the past. Schwenkler had also been paid five-hundred dollars by the Colorado Citizens Coalition, a non profit group that supports Democratic candidates, for his work in a door to door campaign to drum up last minute support for Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

While the motives for Maurice Schwenkler’s acts of vandalism were never disclosed, it is clear that this was not someone that had been angered over the Democrat’s push to pass Healthcare Reform. Could it be that this was an idea he and his other radical friends came up with to discredit Tea Party opposition to his beloved President? Could this have been a contrived act perpetrated with the hope that the Republicans and Tea Parties would be blamed?

One can never be certain but since their list of heroes include Marxists, Socialists and some very radical thinkers, it is a credible possibility. This is curiously reminiscent to the 1933 blaze that gutted the German Reichstag building. The fire was deemed arson and there was an outcry from Hitler’s loyal party that Dutch Communists were responsible. Several Dutch Communists were arrested but just one, Marinus van der Lubbe, would be tried and executed for the act. The fire was then used by Adolf Hitler to suspend many of the German Republic’s civil rights and to disperse the various Communist opposition Parties present in Germany at the time. It was not until years later that Gestapo Archives seized by Russian forces during World War II were rediscovered in Moscow. These archives show that the fire was actually the work of Hitler’s loyal SA or Sturmabteilung (Storm Troopers), the paramilitary arm of the Nazi Party. The work of several modern day researchers claim that the fire was intentionally set by SA commandos so that the Nazis, under Hitler’s command, could create a crisis that would radically broaden his powers.

The reality of the situation is there is an understanding among Democrats that most Tea Party activists are law abiding members of society that abhor violence and ignorance. I believe their hope is that if they can connect the Tea Party or Republican supporters with random acts of violence that it will fracture the Tea Party and render it impotent; that independents and conservatives will flee if they believe the Party has been taken over by dangerous factions.

We saw this strategy employed during the Tea Party protest that gathered in Washington before the final House vote on the Healthcare bill. Instead of entering the Capitol Building through their usual underground passageway, House Democrats lead by Nancy Pelosi challenged the crowd as they walked to the Capitol Building. There were reports that racial slurs were lobbed at black Congressmen and that some were even spat upon. Really? Well, despite hundreds of news cameras, microphones and security agents, not one of them actually witnessed these alleged events; there were no arrests made and none of the so-called victims of these horrendous acts would agree to appear on a single news show to tell America what happened to them.

Is that even possible? Do you doubt for one moment that if a Congressman were assaulted, threatened or spat on that the perpetrators wouldn’t have been arrested on the spot? The films I saw of the Congressional Democrats walking to the Capitol Building showed that their security people had cleared the path for them and maintained a comfortable distance between the crowd and the Congressmen. I clearly heard security personnel tell people to move back but I didn’t hear one racial remark. The cameras didn’t capture a single image of anyone spitting and neither did any of the other news networks that were present.

House Democrats equated their walk through the Tea Party protest with the historic civil rights marches of the 1960’s when in reality; it was far more similar to the marches staged by American Nazis, Skinheads and the Ku Klux Klan. Like those marches, this little walk was designed to challenge the protestors. They were hoping that someone, anyone, would do something that would bring shame and scrutiny upon the Tea Party movement. When they couldn’t incite the response they wanted, I believe they made it up as they went along. That is why none of them would appear on the news programs. It is one thing to have Nancy Pelosi tell us that she heard that this had happened, its quite another to convince someone to stand before news cameras and lie to the American people that you were the victim of an assault that never happened; an assault that not one of the hundreds of cameras that were present had filmed.

Now we have windows being broken again; a few Democrats here and a few Republicans there. Even though the perpetrators have not been apprehended, we are being told that it is the acts of right wing zealots and angry Tea Partiers again. Has anyone even asked where Maurice Schwenkler has been lately? No I don’t actually believe he is responsible this time but considering what did happen this past August and the unsubstantiated nature of the alleged assault on House Democrats earlier this month, I am more inclined to believe in Elvis sightings than I am in their claims that Tea Partiers are suddenly throwing bricks again. Let’s face facts. Acts of violence and vandalism are the calling card of the left; not the Tea Party. Conservatives don’t throw bricks and we don’t make pipe bombs. We don’t incite violence and we don’t get arrested at protests. In fact, we even pick up our trash when we leave, something that the left never does; ironically, not even at a protest for the environment.

Paul

Has Washington Gone Bonkers?

Last month I had written a couple of articles outlining the political similarities between the fall of the Roman Empire and the current course of politics in America. Needless to say, the major causes for the fall of Rome are frighteningly close to the discussions we see all over America today. One of the more recent theories being bandied about claim that lead poisoning had seriously affected the mental competence of the Roman elite which contributed to the fall. Lead was used in great quantities all over the Roman Empire, particularly for the comfort of the elite ruling class.

Lead pipes brought drinking water to the homes of the wealthy, the Senate and to the Imperial palaces. Lead was used to seal anything used in conjunction with water including baths; it was even used to sweeten wine for the most privileged members of the society. Lead was in such broad use that it could have posed a significant threat to the health and sanity of those upper classes and scientists say they have found tell-tale signs of lead poisoning in human bones recovered from Roman necropolises. The lead was concentrated in amounts well above the levels needed to impede rational thought and may be the smoking gun that explains the wild stories of eccentricity prevalent in the Roman elite during the final years of the Empire.

Watching the antics going on in Washington these days, one must wonder what has affected their behavior. We know that America has prohibited the use of lead for household plumbing and paint. We are well aware of the dangers associated with lead and have taken the proper precautions to protect ourselves from this insidious killer so it can’t be that.

It’s no mystery that our illustrious Congressmen drink too much because it was disclosed that the liquor bill on Pelosi’s private flights between Washington and San Francisco outspend the food consumed on those flights and probably runs a close second to the cost of the fuel used to power the aircraft. Recently disgraced Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) apparently drank heavily enough to get into “tickle” fights with other men in their 50’s and with members of his staff. This erratic and childish behavior continued to the point where some staffers had accused him of inappropriate physical contact. His retort to these charges were equally bizarre and consisted of a string of unsubstantiated claims that this was the manifestation of a concerted effort to force him out of Congress because of his opposition to the Senate Healthcare Bill; an opposition shared by dozens of other Democrats that obviously have not been subject to similar attacks.

Ted Kennedy was also famous for his imbibing ever since the days of Chappaquiddick. His bloated figure and large reddened nose had been the subject of many stories of three martini luncheons and hazy vacations in Martha’s Vineyard before his illness had taken their place in the tabloid headlines. Charlie Wilson (D-TX) may have been recorded in history for his involvement in the clandestine military operations against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan but he was equally famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for raucous womanizing fueled by drug and alcohol consumption.

Of course it could just be the stress of the job or some other deeply emotional issues that we are seeing. Even Nancy Pelosi has shown evidence of mild dementia; at least that’s what it looks like to me. How else could you claim that American’s want Congress to pass healthcare reform immediately in the face of overwhelming opposition? She seems to have no concept of how miserably people are rating the approval of Congress and has no concern for the future of her party despite poll after poll that says there will be a heavy price to pay for passing this; especially if there are more back room deals and legislative tricks. Harry Reid has been reduced to a babbling fool incapable of rendering a coherent thought without infuriating massive segments of the population; something politicians never do unless they are at the point of mental collapse. His last statement basically said that Congress must pass a jobs bill because unemployed men beat their wives and the abuse shelters in Nevada are overflowing. Yeah; poor fellow.

Speaking of someone that appears to be on the verge of mental collapse, we have the incredible display put on by Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) yesterday. While debating a bill proposed by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), that if passed, would have required the immediate withdrawal of U.S. Military forces from Afghanistan, Representative Kennedy threw what can only be described as a kindergarten tantrum about the lack of press coverage. His voice cracked as he screeched at the upper levels of his vocal range, shouting that the reason Americans are so upset with Congress is the lack of coverage the press gives to Congressmen actually doing their jobs. Pointing at the two news agencies that had reporters present, Kennedy called the media’s lack of interest “despicable” noting that this bill speaks of “war and peace” and affects the lives of the military personnel risking their lives in the call of duty and in the defense of their nation.

He continued saying that the press was covering the resignation of Eric Massa “24-7” but failed to show up for this crucial debate. I’m not certain whether it was the media’s lack of attention to that bill that angered Patrick Kennedy or if it was the unnerving reality that for the first time since the Kennedy family entered American politics, the media was not riveted to their seats to hear a Kennedy speak. In fact, Patrick Kennedy’s career has been so unremarkable that even his announcement that he would not seek reelection populated news stories for a mere twenty-four hours. His tantrum only proves that you can kick a Kennedy, you can disgrace a Kennedy you can even despise a Kennedy but if you should dare to ignore one, they become unglued. Hopefully our poor little Patrick won’t suffer the same fate and lifelong feelings of inadequacy that have plagued the children of so many of America’s Hollywood stars. It is a terrible thing to live in the shadows of the public giants that preceded you only to be brushed aside as an inferior copy of the original.

The media did not attend the debate on this bill because the bill was meaningless. The Kucinich resolution was based on the 1973 War Powers Act that requires the President to obtain congressional approval when he sends troops to a conflict for more than 90 days. Since Congress has been regularly authorizing expenditures for the conflict since it’s inception, the requirement for approval has been adequately met to the satisfaction of all but a few of the more extreme Democratic Progressives in the Congress and the resolution failed with predictable margins. The Massa resignation had the potential for far reaching consequences because of the accusations Massa had launched against the White House and the Democratic Leadership. It wasn’t until Massa’s showed no interest in pursuing those charges that the media realized that there was no credible reason to believe they were true.

Since his resignation, the House investigation into the charges has been terminated because the House Ethics Committee has no authority to investigate private citizens. Unless the staffer that levied the charges is willing to pursue the matter with other authorities, we will never know the full extent of Massa’s behavior in connection with this. Well, that’s not entirely true. I fully expect another “tell-all” book will surface either written by the violated staffer or someone else close to the Congressman’s office. That is just the way these matters are handled in Washington these days.

I’m sorry Patrick. The American people are not angry because we have not seen Congress at work. In fact, we are angry precisely because we have seen, felt and fear the work that you have been doing. If Congress were to take a protracted vacation and leave the poor taxpayers alone, the approval rating of Congress would probably climb twenty points every month you folks were off playing golf and sailing schooners. I hate to tell you….we don’t even care if you “tickle” each other until you all need diapers; just stop the taxing and the spending and you’ll be fine in the end.

I guess all we can do now is watch for more of this strange behavior and try to connect the dots in an attempt to find the cause. Lead poisoning was likely responsible for Roman Emperor Nero torching a large part of urban Rome and legend has it that he played his fiddle as he watched the flames consume hundreds of buildings. I know Obama smokes….I just hope he doesn’t play any musical instruments; at least until we find out what is driving our elected officials crazy.

Paul