In the spirit of the hateful rhetoric coming from the right wing during our nations Independence Day, let's play a little game of guess who wrote this:
The government is afraid of the guns people have because they have to have control of the people at all times. Once you take away the guns, you can do anything to the people. You give them an inch and they take a mile. I believe we are slowly turning into a socialist government. The government is continually growing bigger and more powerful, and the people need to prepare to defend themselves against government control.
Taxes are a joke. Regardless of what a political candidate “promises,” they will increase. More taxes are always the answer to government mismanagement. They mess up. We suffer. Taxes are reaching cataclysmic levels, with no slowdown in sight. Go ahead, take everything I own; take my dignity. Feel good as you grow fat and rich at my expense; sucking my tax dollars and property, tax dollars which justify your existence and pay your federal salary. Do you get it? By doing your evil job, you put me out of work. All you tyrannical mother fuckers will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States. Remember the Nuremberg War Trials. “But…but…but…I only followed orders…” Die, you spineless cowardice bastards.
I reached the decision to go on the offensive - to put a check on government abuse of power, where others had failed in stopping the federal juggernaut running amok. I wish to use the words of Justice Brandeis dissenting in Olmstead to speak for me. He wrote, “Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.”
Those who betray or subvert the Constitution are guilty of sedition and/or treason, are domestic enemies and should and will be punished accordingly. It also stands to reason that anyone who sympathizes with the enemy or gives aid or comfort to said enemy is likewise guilty. I have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will. And I will because not only did I swear to, but I believe in what it stands for in every bit of my heart, soul and being. I know in my heart that I am right in my struggle. I have come to peace with myself, my God and my cause. Blood will flow in the streets…Good vs. Evil. Free Men vs. Socialist Wannabe Slaves. Pray it is not your blood, my friend. Is a Civil War imminent? Do we have to shed blood to reform the current system? I hope it doesn’t come to that. But it might.
A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal. What I’m asking you to do, then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that ‘06 through rock, swamp and cactus…to get off the needed shot? In short, I’m not looking for talkers, I’m looking for fighters…And if you are a fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing (isn’t “enforcing freedom” an oxymoron?) and think twice about catching us with our guard down – you will lose…and your family will lose.
Before I let you know who wrote those hateful words, let's recap what has been going on for the last year. John McCain was pressured to pick Sarah Palin (a notorious neocon) as a way to appease the extremist base of the GOP, many of whom actually called him a...gasp...liberal! After a the RNC boost, their poll numbers started to tank and their handlers decided it was time to go on the offensive. The rhetoric turned very ugly very quickly. Fear and paranoia were intentionally stoked to energize the conservative base, but soon the Palin rallies started to look more like circus events, so this was ultimately counterproductive to their intended goal of winning the election.
Things seemed to subside a bit following the election, but in December and January, the internet began to get flooded with wingnuts trying to push an ultra-conservative agenda. This was quite a storm, and as a regular user on Digg, the comment sections of story submissions often turned very negative. It almost became my full time job to debunk their baseless accusations.
Then Obama took the oath of office, and the attacks began. In fact, the conservatives even attacked Obama for taking the oath itself! The flames of fear, paranoia, and hatred continued to get stoked in the months that followed, all part of the same GOP playbook that took place in 1993-1994.
This is all part of a scripted plan straight out of their playbook which we saw back in 1993 and 1994. They will obstruct and attack relentlessly in the hopes of souring the public towards both dominant political parties, then the calls for terms limits will come, then they will offer some type of bullshit promise (like they did with the 'contract with America'), hoping to take back congress, effectively hamstringing the president (and by default, derailing the movement for change and reform in this country). It worked in the 90s, and could work again unless we stand strong against it.
Anyways, just like back then, the fears of 'socialism', an Orwellian government, and taking peoples guns away is having the same effect: it is leading to right wing extremism and terrorism on our soil. This only goes to prove that the conservatives care less for the country than they do for their own political fortunes, but hopefully people are more wise today and will see it coming. Either way, it has already taken a toll in 8 acts of domestic terrorism:
Wednesday, January 21 -- the day after the inauguration -- 22-year-old Keith Luke goes on a violent spree in his Boston neighborhood. He rapes and kills one woman, and also kills the sister who tries to help her. He then goes out onto the street and shoots a passing homeless man. Police intercept him on his way to a local synagogue, where he tells them he intended to "kill as many Jews as possible during bingo night." He also says that he was fighting the extinction of the white race, and had stockpiled 200 round of ammunition to that end.
Tuesday, February 10 -- In Belfast, Maine, radioactive "dirty bomb" materials are found in home of James Cummings, who had been shot and killed by his wife after years of domestic violence. Cummings was an admirer of Adolf Hitler, and a large collection of Nazi memorabilia and a filled-out application for the National Socialist Movement were found on the scene.
Thursday, February 26 -- In Miramar Beach, FL, 60-year-old Dannie Baker walks into a neighboring townhouse where 14 Chilean students -- all in the US legally -- are gathered. He fires, killing two and wounding five. Those who know Baker describe him as a mentally ill man obsessed with fear that immigrants are taking over the country.
Sunday, April 5 -- Budding white supremacist and recently discharged veteran Richard Popalowski shoots and kills three police officers following a standoff in Pittsburgh. They were responding to a domestic disturbance call. He believed they had been sent by the Obama Adminstration to take away his guns.
Tuesday, April 28 -- US Army Reservist Joshua Cartwright shoots and kills two sheriff's deputies in Fort Walton Beach, FL. His wife escaped from him after he beat her, and called police from the emergency room. In the incident report, she reported that her husband believed the US Government was conspiring against him, and was severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President.
Wednesday, May 6 -- Stephen P. Morgan of Middletown, CT kills former NYU classmate Johanna Justin-Jinich, whom he had been harassing since at least 2007. A diary found in his belongings included an entry: "I think it's ok to kill Jews and go on a killing spree" and "Kill Johanna. She must Die." Justin-Jinich was Jewish, and the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Sunday, May 31 -- Dr. George Tiller is shot to death while ushering at his Lutheran church in Wichita, KS. His killer, Scott Roeder, is captured by police within hours. Roeder is found to have ties to several violent right-wing groups, including the Montana Freemen and the Sovereign Citizen movement. He had also been committing acts of vandalism against abortion clinics for years, most recently just days before the assassination.
Wednesday, June 10 -- Well-known anti-Semitic blogger James Wenneker von Brunn walks into the national Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and opens fire. Two security guards are shot; one is dead and the other still guarded as of this writing. Von Brunn himself was killed in return fire. He had been prominent in Holocaust denier circles for several decades, and considered Holocaust museums to be a crime against white history.
Which brings me to my point: the Tea Parties. Although the original Tea Parties (there were a handful in 2007 and early 2008) were a real libertarian event, the modern Tea Parties have been hijacked by neocons and other Republicans who had no problem with 'borrow and spend' policies of the Bush regime (including domestic espionage, invading a foreign country under false pretenses, torture, etc.). In fact, I would love to see a survey done of the attitudes of those attending the Tea Parties, I'm willing to bet most voted for Bush and support neocon policies (like the drug war). The Tea Parties are NOT a libertarian event anymore, they are a partisan platform in which to attack Obama and fuel more right wing hate.
So who was the 'true tea party patriot' that wrote the quote above? This is a bit of a trick question, because he is not actually part of the Tea Parties going on today, he is the right wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh. His words reflect exactly what is going on with the conservative movement today and why we need to fight back against it. There is already wind that White Supremacists and Anti-Semites Plan to Recruit at July 4 Tea Parties, we can only hope this right wing hate doesn't continue to escalate until another building gets blown up.
*a special word of thanks to http://www.muckmakers.com for the original concept
