So, here's a question I'd like to ask those macho Republicans. A pair of terrorists have been identified. They are American citizens, but they have renounced American law. Followers are flocking to their presumably fortified compound and threatening armed conflict with the American government. They are thumbing their nose at the United States legal system, holding press conferences and inviting like-minded individuals to join them in their struggle.
If you were President, Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Romney, Mr. Brownback, Mr. McCain, what would you do about them? Should they be treated any differently than an anonymous foreign fighter? Should we just take them out? If so, how?
In short, what would you do, GOP candidate for President, do about my former neighbors, Ed and Elaine Brown, of Plainfield, New Hampshire?
I repeat (with links), what would you, GOP candidate for President, do about my former neighbors, Ed and Elaine Brown of Plainfield, New Hampshire?
For those of you who have only read my links or some scattered reporting on the Browns, let me provide you some background. The Browns have been well-known tax scofflaws for years. Ed drove around with "Constitution Rangers" signs on his vehicle for a while. He used to post anti-Government statements on a signboard outside his wife's dental practice building. I've met Ed; he's perfectly nice. My daughter has had dental work done by Elaine, and she reports the same.
The Brown's "compound" is an uncompleted house on a hilltop, surrounded by acres of fields on all sides. It's about fifteen miles from Dartmouth College, and about four miles from a well-traveled road linking Plainfield's two villages of Plainfield and Meriden. Plainfield has about 2200 residents; the village of Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a well-regarded prep school. Plainfield's main claim to fame is that it was the home for many years of the painter and illustrator Maxfield Parrish, as well as other members of the Cornish Art Colony. These days, the town functions primarily as a bedroom community for Lebanon and Hanover, New Hampshire. As a final, odd aside, the other recluse in the area is JD Salinger, who lives about six miles from the Browns (and no, I won't tell you where).
As my daughter, son-in-law and six month old grandson live a half mile from the Browns, I can't pretend to be objective about what happens in this situation. I lived in Plainfield for ten years; I feel for my friends who live there.
On the other hand, I'd expect the candidates to be perfectly objective, especially the Republicans who have brayed about their machismo. Here's the real deal, folks, and it's in New Hampshire, where you've all spent time mouthing platitudes about how tough you'll be on terror.
You can argue that these are not terrorists. Yesterday, I picked up one of those "crank" radios that can receive shortwave radio signals. I chanced upon a broadcast from the Brown's home -- Alex Jones, I think -- and it was professionally done, with advertisers (for solar power systems and nutritional supplements). Based on what I heard, these folks are well-prepared for a long seige, and the folks joining them pose as much a danger as, say, the dolts allegedly planning to attack Fort Dix -- perhaps more. I will not personally accuse them of being terrorists; I will say, however, that the GOP definition of terror is not far from what the Browns and their supporters are threatening.
My point is that the GOP candidates have been comfortable with violence begetting violence when terrorism is involved in the abstract. Here it is, at some level, in the here and now. The only one who appears to have commented, Ron Paul (see links above), compared the Browns to Gandhi and Martin Luther King. What would the others do?