It's the winter of 2003, the day after the invasion of Iraq. An angry mob of African-American protesters gathers outside of the entrance to the White House, screaming imprecations and waving American flags. Several hold signs accusing the president of sending young black men to die for a family vendetta. A group of white Bush aides nervously makes its way through the crowd, hearing shouts of "killer," "murderer," "thug," and at least one unprintable racial slur.
A number of Democratic party representatives and senators exhort the crowd into a greater frenzy. A blast from a pagan horn quiets the mob so that one of them can invoke the blessings of God on a Congressman who has joined them.
Two Republican Congressmen who support the war and a state party leader report that unknown people have hurled bricks through windows of their home offices. One received death threats made against her and her family, including use of the word "assassinate." A number of other representatives receive threats as well. When reporters contact a leading anti-war activist, he disavows responsibility for the death threats:
I’m advocating broken windows. I’m advocating vandalism...How ambiguous is it if I say break windows? Am I saying kill people, absolutely not.
The spouse of a third representative, one who supported the war after initially expressing reservations, tells him that she has had to unplug their home phone because of threatening, obscene messages left with their answering service. One caller says that "I hope you get cancer and bleed out your ass and die."
A prominent Democratic senator speaks out about the militarization of America, arguing that the war is unaffordable and foreign to our way of life.He argues that America simply can't afford a massive defense establishment.
An anti-war leader releases the home address of another pro-war representative. Someone cuts a propane line leading to the house, creating the danger of a massive explosion. Police reveal that the house is actually family home of the brother of the representative. When contacted, the activist who supplied the address calls the episode "collateral damage" and "condemns" the vandalism initiated by his actions. Other activists insist that the address was correct, apparently to justify the vandalism.
Does it take much imagination to imagine the reaction of Republican politicians and the conservative media had any of this actually happened? Does it even require your imagination?
NOTE: Version with links here.