Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
The opponents of Progress in our country are showing just what they are made of. There latest target is Tom Periello of Virgina. Think what you want of him but this guy has made some gutsy votes. On one important vote he has already taken a stand and sounded like a real Democrat in doing so. Now for his efforts it appears that the Chamber of Commerce may be running illegal ads against him and that the classy folks within the delusional "Tea-bagger" movement may burn him in effigy, of course right along with Nancy Pelosi.
It all started when Periello again angered those on the Looney-Tune and Greedmeister Right by voting for Healthcare Reform with a public option. The Chamber of Commerce ran this ad:
Ah, but you see, this ad was illegal according to an FEC prohibition:
Most of the ad is an in-bounds attack on Perriello's position on health care -- except for the tail -- when the screen shows a grainy picture of Perriello's face, his office number, and the words: "Wrong on Health Care. Wrong for Virginia."
The "Wrong" part -- which implies Perriello's inadequacy to serve -- violates the FEC's prohibition against corporate spending on "express advocacy" for or against political candidates, according to Perkins Coie attorney Brian Svoboda, a campaign finance lawyer who represents Democratic parties and candidates.
http://www.politico.com/...
Yes, it appears that great stalwart of judicial activist judges, and elitist, liberal ideologues Antonin Scalia agrees:
Svoboda says that declaring Perriello "wrong" for Virginia ad is a clear appeal to unseat him -- and cites Justice Antonin Scalia's concurring opinion in the case, which says corporations can't run ads that "expressly say the candidate is wrong for the office."
Now, some theme music for this next part, it is better if you read right along with the music:
But it evidently did not end there for Mr. Periello. It appears not only has he drawn the ire of the Chamber of Commerce who in turn ran illegal ads against him, but now he has drawn the ire of the "Tea-Bag" movement who are seriously considering burning him in effigy right along with that fiesty Communist vixen from the People's Republic of San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi:
The chairman of the Danville TEA Party Patriots said yesterday he was unsure about whether the group will continue with its planned effigy burning of Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a bonfire rally Saturday in Blairs.
It even apparently brought out some disagreement between warring factions of the Looney-Toon Movement some of whom did not want their tunes quite so looney:
But Coleman said Sunday that some members of his group were "uneasy" with the idea of counter-protesters and that people might mistake the TEA Party Patriots for being violent. Coleman compared the event to similar acts of protest in the nation's history, such as opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765.
The bonfire is still planned, Coleman said, but the effigy burning was in question. However, TEA Party member Patricia Evans wrote in an e-mail to the group Saturday night that "nothing will be burned at our upcoming bonfire except an occasional hot dog."
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/...
In the end, the fates of a couple of big potato bags of leaves dressed up to resemble Tom Periello and Nancy Pelosi still hung in the air like a wisp of smoke:
"I still would like to do it," Coleman said, "but it's still up in the air at this point. We've already started stacking firewood and building the effigy we will have a bonfire. Burning someone in effigy was just gonna be part of it."
Coleman defended the burning, which he said was not violent in nature.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/...
I have found that a good burning or hanging in effigy cleanses the soul, and must applaud the Looney Tunes for finding such an intelligent, and creative way to make idiots of themselves. I have an idea for them, why don't they get some dummies of Periello and Pelosi dressed as Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler?? That would really be classy!!
Such is the fate of Democrats who show some guts. We cannot let them get the upper hand on Tom Periello. While he may not have been perfect on everything, these two votes by him took a bunch of guts and if he were not angering the right folks, he would not be getting hit with illegal ads and burning in effigy with Nacy Pelosi. I submit that Periello deserves for us to fight back for him in his tough district:
http://www.actblue.com/...