By now, I hope you've heard about the attempt to blow up Rep. Thomas Perriello’s (D-Va.) brother and his family by cutting the propane line leading to their home. And perhaps you heard that the house became a target because "Tea Party" activists mistakenly published his address instead of his brother's in a blog post urging angry Teabaggers to "stop by and "add a personal touch" to their views about Perriello's yes vote on health care.
Worse yet, when Politico and other news outlets informed the blogger of his mistake, he refused to correct himself because (brace yourself)
Troxel, a 2005 graduate of Liberty University, added "I was a journalism major in college, so I have every reason to believe my research is accurate."
(The Stupid, it burns.)
But the icing on the cake came today when the blogger responsible dismissed the attack on the family with a flippant:
Oh well, collateral damage."
Is your blood boiling yet? Because mine is, and while I am trying very hard to be a better person than our opponents, part of me wants to start a telethon to buy the brothers Pirriello matching .357 Magnums (VA is a must issue concealed carry, no permit needed open carry state) and wish them happy hunting.
This isn't funny, or cute anymore, this isn't mere political passion or slightly over the top rhetoric, this is demagoguery of the worst kind that damn nearly had a body count last night and almost certainly will in the future. This is not over-reaction or exaggeration; if you are unfamiliar with the explosive properties of propane mixed with air, just ask your local firefighter why a punctured propane tank is his worst nightmare. A residential tank like that would have had no trouble leveling a city block, had it not been caught in time. Let that sink in for a second. Some idiot was willing to kill a man, his entire family and probably a few neighbors, solely because he was upset over his vote on a extremely modest package of health care reforms. Moreover said anonymous idiot needed no more urging to commit multiple homicide than a blog post from a fellow-traveling idiot.
And sadly, the Lynchburg Tea Party Bloggers are only one of a chorus of voices calling for violence against Democrats because they had the audacity to vote in a way that displeased them. Take for example, Alabama Blogger and conservative activist Mike Vanderboeg's LITERAL call for a modern-day Kristallnact
"To all modern Sons of Liberty: THIS is your time. Break their windows. Break them NOW."
Funny he forgot to tell them to make sure they wore their brownshirts...
And whatever are we to make of noted Quitter and Teabagger Goddess,Sarah Palin's odd phrasing of her call to political activism today
Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!'"
Palin then refers supporters to her Facebook page, where she once again employs gun imagery in offering a list of 20 potentially vulnerable pro-reform Democrats in Congress.
"We're paying particular attention to those House members who voted in favor of Obamacare and represent districts that Senator John McCain and I carried during the 2008 election," Palin writes. "We'll aim for these races and many others." This is followed by a map of the United States showing gun crosshairs over the targeted districts.
But I'm sure she meant nothing by that oddly clunky gun imagery, I mean just look at her message to her followers on Glenn Beck's show, where she clearly stated that violence was not the answer-at least not yet anyway:
"Leadership is not hitting somebody over the head. It's not taking up arms at this point.
There is something deeply troubling going on and it can no longer be brushed aside or ignored. While we were deeply unhappy when Republicans were in charge, and, as a loyal opposition should, did what we could to block them and even at time called for their LEGAL removal from office, we never once denied their basic RIGHT to rule, to have opinions, to propose, and pass laws when they had sufficient votes.
The same cannot be said for the radical right. The simply do not an will not recognize the right of Democrats to rule this country, Democratic process or will of the people be damned. Remember in the days of Clinton's presidency, when lawmakers openly joked about the military trying to assassinate the president? At the time I supposed that sort of thing was a reaction to Clinton personally, but now we know better don't we? From the "Birther" Nonsense, to the "Seekret Muslim" BS, to the latest "OMG he's a Socialist/Communist/Nazi" (he can't be all three, but forget it, they're rolling) rhetoric, EVERYTHING coming out of the right these days is not so much a disagreement with Democratic ideas, but a rejection of our very right to HAVE ideas they disagree with. The phrase "elections have consequences" apparently only applies, at least in their minds when THEY win.
At this point, the Tea-bag wing of the GOP is no longer at war with our party but the Democratic process itself, and a slashed propane line this morning proves they'll stop at literally nothing to get their way. This is no longer a question of if we want to pick this fight, but a recognition that the fight is upon us, and we can't afford to lose it.