When Newt Gingrich baselessly accuses Obama of ignoring the law and trying to move the U.S. towards a dictatorship, he's not only challenging the legitimacy of the Obama presidency, he's also laying the predicate for political violence.
In all likelihood, Gingrich doesn't believe what he is saying. He is probably just a cynical opportunist, using rhetoric that he thinks will appeal to his base.
But the insincerity of Gingrich's words do not excuse them. He is claiming is that President Obama has assumed dictatorial power; that the President is engaged in a radical power grab aimed at depriving Americans of their fundamental constitutional liberties.
The logical implication of Gingrich's accusation is that Obama must be stopped by all means necessary, including a violent revolution.
Gingrich is too smart to openly admit the implication of his argument, but other right-wing leaders like Glen Beck feel no such restraint, eagerly advancing the notion that the only way to stop President Obama is through force:
That clip of Glen Beck sums up everything that is wrong with the violent rhetoric from the right-wing. Instead of accepting that they lost the last election and organizing for the next, they are trying to make the case that President Obama is an illegitimate president.
Instead of arguing that the way to stop President Obama's agenda is through the ballot box, they are arguing that the way to stop his agenda is by driving a stake through his heart.
That's wrong -- and it's time for it to stop. We need dissent in this country, but there is no room for those who encourage political violence.