Anyone who reads Media Matters or Digby (hopefully, everyone) is by now aware of the Newsmax columnist John Perry's incendiary call for a military coup against Barack Obama.
The piece itself is an amazing new low even for the depths of today's conservative media. It's apparently so revoltingly beyond the pale that after Media Matters highlighted the piece, Newsmax saw fit to quietly take it down without fanfare. Links to the piece itself now take the reader directly to the Newsmax homepage, and John Perry's page has been scrubbed of the document. Fortunately, Media Matters has captured the distilled essence of wingnut authoritarian fantasy for perpetuity in a PDF.
Here's a taste of the column:
Will the day come when patriotic general and flag officers sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a "family intervention," with some form of limited, shared responsibility?
Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would
replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making.
Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for "fundamental change" toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.
Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don’t shrug and say, "We can always worry about that later." In the 2008 election, that was the wistful, self-indulgent, indifferent reliance on abnegation of personal responsibility that has sunk the nation into this morass.
It is not the first time I have heard such language, nor will it be the last. From ominous wingnut tweets about the "military ultimately defending the constitution" to outright calls for military intervention by drunken conservatives with whom I have foolishly argued, this is the new subtext of conservative thought when faced with just 9 months of a black, center-left president.
But it's not quite mainstream enough for NewsMax. Yet. Perhaps Beck will be the one to mainstream this discussion. Or Malkin. Or Bachmann. When a healthcare bill with a public option crosses the President's desk with cap and trade legislation waiting in the wings, expect this level of discourse to become more acceptable in "conservative" circles.
For now, however, Media Matters has caught Newsmax with its pants down:
Yesterday, we highlighted a Newsmax column by John L. Perry essentially advocating a military coup to resolve the "Obama problem" (while, of course, claiming he was advocating no such thing). It's just the latest example of extreme right-wing rhetoric directed at President Obama.
Now, it appears that Newsmax has removed the column from its website; the link to it defaults to Perry's main column page. Fortunately, we made a copy.
As of this writing, Newsmax has posted no explanation or apology on its website -- arguably par for the course for Newsmax when it gets caught screwing up. But Media Matters has received the following statement from a Newsmax spokesperson:
In a blog posting to Newsmax John Perry wrote about a coup scenario involving the U.S. military. He clearly stated that he was not advocating such a scenario but simply describing one.
After several reader complaints, Newsmax wanted to insure that this article was not misinterpreted. It was removed after a short period after being posted.
Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.
Mr. Perry served as a political appointee in the Carter administration in HUD and FEMA. He has no official relationship with Newsmax other than as an unpaid blogger.
Interesting that Newsmax makes a point of highlighting that Perry worked in the Carter administration, as if it somehow proves he's not really a right-wing nut. And its dismissal of Perry as nothing more than an "unpaid blogger" is a tad disingenous since Perry has been writing for Newsmax since 1999 and Perry's Newsmax bio touts how he "contributes a regular column to NewsMax.com."
Right now, the link to Perry's piece goes not to his column page, but to the Newsmax main site.
Regardless, the door is gradually opening to overt talk of a military coup. It's not a question of if the conservative movement begins to embrace this sort of discussion, but when. Sooner or later, one of the major outlets for wingnut opinion-making won't shy away from what a large number of teabaggers are currently thinking and hoping for.
I give it one Friedman unit. Max.