Conffederate
Confederate

March 24, 2010

Rules of Engagement

If you are an American and value your individual liberties and the responsibilities that go with them, this week has been a very troubling one. Using bribes, coercion, bullying and lies, a disgraceful Democratic Congress and President have passed a law that usurps power over one-sixth of the economy, and now eagerly plots their next power grab.

Predictably, many in this nation of 300 million have taken this transformative undermining of the Republic quite seriously, and harbor righteous anger towards the corrupt and powerful who made this unconstitutional law.

Several Congressional offices have been vandalized. These were acts to be condemned, though understood.

But a line was crossed in Virginia last night, and such behavior cannot be tolerated:

Law enforcement authorities are investigating the discovery of a cut propane gas line at the Virginia home of Rep. Tom Perriello's (D-Va.) brother, whose address was targeted by tea party activists angry at the congressman's vote for the health care bill.

An aide to the congressman confirmed to POLITICO that a line to a propane tank behind his brother's home near Charlottesville had been sliced.

[snip]

"While officials are not willing to characterize the exact nature of the incident because of the ongoing investigation, it did not involve an immediate threat to occupants of the residence. However officials are taking the incident very seriously and conducting a vigorous investigation," the statement said.

The cutting of the line—a thin, flexible tube that delivers propane from the bulk tank—was not an immediate threat as the Fire Marshal investigating the incident makes clear, but it was a threat, and a threat against innocents that had nothing to do with making or passing the law.

No matter what you think of Obamacare and the craven ideologues that passed it, is totally unacceptable to threaten their relatives or friends and put them in danger.

Go to your Congressman's office and scream at him in the most colorful language possible. Hang him in effigy at protests. If you're willing to do the time for the crime, have a swing at him.

Better yet, throw a shoe... after all, the left values such behavior as a form of "vigorous dissent," and will no doubt ask for any charges against you to be dropped.

Perhaps one day stronger action will be required if Progressives continue to trample on our liberties in their blind quest for power. But that time is not now.

At this time, I suspect Shikha Dalmia's call for massive civil disobedience is the correct path. Show your anger. Make sure those who have trampled your liberties are stuck down by ballots. With your help, the Democratic Party's assault on the Republic can be undone.

The right way.

Posted by Confederate Yankee at March 24, 2010 03:37 PM
Comments

I have a feeling that this is going to be just as accurate as all those nooses hanging from liberal professors doors. Or the "N" word shouted out in a crowd of TeaPartiers. Did anybody ever ask why those congress critters found it necessary to walk through the crowd to get to the meeting? Unless and until a tea party activist is arrested, I am not going to believe the hype. It has happened too many times. Conveniently the cut was fairly far from the house, so there was fairly small danger to anybody. It sure does sound like an inside job to me.

Posted by: TimothyJ at March 24, 2010 03:52 PM

Well put. We're not going to defeat Socialism by using the well-rehearsed tactics used by Socialists in all it's guises.

Let's beat 'em at the ballot box by using CLEAN tactics. Civil disobedience, taking over the political parties at the local level and working on up...Once we have Liberty-minded folks running the government (which can be done in 4-8 years easily), then we can get about restoring the Constitution.

Going after relatives? Friends? That's something Socialists, whether in brown shirts with those little red, white, and black arm-bands or red T-Shirts with 'Che' or Lenin on 'em do.

Orion

Posted by: Orion at March 24, 2010 03:52 PM

I think the Iraq War was an act of mass murder.

Despite this, I don't advocate violence against Congressmen who voted for it even if the violence is discriminate and carefully targeted.

Posted by: AJB at March 24, 2010 03:52 PM
I think the Iraq War was an act of mass murder.

Yes, but you're an idiot.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at March 24, 2010 03:54 PM

Great one mantis.

It's astounding that the main stream media associates right wingers with violence. I mean don't they realize many of them have clear rules of engagement for when it's OK to punch your Congressmen?

Thanks CY for making this brave and non-violent call for civil disobedience (and swings) -- for now.

Posted by: Jim at March 24, 2010 04:26 PM

This will not stand. Right, Newt?

Posted by: Jason at March 24, 2010 04:44 PM
Posted by Ryan at March 24, 2010 04:40 PM

A predictable post from the type of folks who admire Chinese totalitarianism and wish we could get more of it here. True reactionaries who would enjoy putting several million Americans into camps for reeducation or termination.

Posted by: iconoclast at March 24, 2010 04:45 PM

Still don't get it, do you? 'Have a swing' at a Congressman? That's an incitement to physical violence. But it's okay for you to sit back and incite some poor soul willing to 'do the time' for the cause, is it?

'Colourful' language? Ya mean like, dozens of Congressmen (and women, and their families) receiving death threats, and calls to assassinate Obama up 400%? Sticking things up someone's rear end and putting them in front of firing squads and hitting them with baseball bats and throwing bricks through windows? That kind of 'colourful' language?

Glad to see there's been some pull-back on the frenzied insanity, but that line is still really fuzzy to far too many, ain't it? I might not necessarily want to live in a 'nanny' state, either - but right now this one is being overrun by a rabid pack of out-of-control brats with no sense of morality or conscience.

When you come out with a call for your supporters to attend public debates, protest peacefully, hold up signs that are less about race, and hatred, and fear-mongering, when you can talk about specifics in issues rather than denigration of personalities, argue your passions with logic rather than hatred, then maybe the line will be a littler clearer, to us all.

But here, all I see is more of the same, but with an admonition to get a better bead on the target, that's all.

Posted by: nonny mouse at March 24, 2010 05:06 PM

Leave the bribes, coercion, bullying and lies to the experts in DC

Posted by: Neo at March 24, 2010 05:19 PM

Too many Reichstag fires originating out of the left lately. This is their MO, not ours.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at March 24, 2010 06:31 PM

Bet the "cut propane line" turns out to be an attempted theft of fuel on the first warm weekend of the season.
"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity." - Robert A. Heinlein

Posted by: Stretch at March 24, 2010 06:38 PM

I have no opinion on the threats/attacks/slurs, if real, aimed at Congresscritters. Frankly, I don't care.

I also don't think that Republicans will achieve the majorities they hope. I think the Democrats have banked that the bulk of the American people will grow to like this latest iteration of "something for nothing" (see also social security, medicare, medicaid, SCHIP, food stamps, etc.), and that the outrage will disappear come November. I believe the Democrats have bet correctly. Secondly, even if Republicans achieve their majorities, they do not have the spine to repeal it. They will nibble at the edges of this monstrosity, and leave the core of it untouched. The Democrats will label any attempt to repeal this bill as "mean", "racist", "killing children and the poor", and Republicans will do what they always do when tarred that way: tuck tail and retreat.

Yet, there is a truism embedded in all of this that few can see. Congress feels perfectly fine with screwing you over because THEY DON'T FEAR YOU. They spit in your face, and you do nothing but make pathetic promises of electoral re-shuffling. They destroy your livelihood, steal your bread, corrupt your children, and you appeal for redress to the same people who created these conditions in the first place. Oh, but for ancient wisdom: It was a tradition of the Athenian assembly that if one proposed a law and that law was not passed, the one who proposed it was put to death. The possibility of violence tends to sharpen one's focus quite well.

Congress does not FEAR you. The federal bureaucracy does not FEAR you. And neither do the judiciary, for that matter. Quite the opposite: it is the people who are fraught with fear.

To clarify, I urge nothing nor advocate anything. It is far too late to talk of the Constitution; that ship set sail long, long ago. Even violence cannot achieve the restoration of something outside the experience of anyone currently living.

The American Republic died generations ago. What we live under is merely an echo of its former self. I give credit to Obama for dispelling once and for all that this is anything but a society of drones ruled by philosopher-kings and their attendant Guardians.

Posted by: Mike at March 24, 2010 06:46 PM

Really, Stretch? Clutching at straws much?

And, CY, it's as they say. "He who troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind." Ya think you can stir them up and then disengage when they commit a crime? Again ... really???

Posted by: BBH at March 24, 2010 06:50 PM

CY, I'm not at all comfortable at your equivocation ("condemned, though understood") or which actions you keep inside the realm of acceptable when you draw the line (hitting Congressmen is OK? Really?). But I'll give you credit that you are drawing that line, that you're agreeing there are boundaries in this political game, that there are tactics being practiced by some on your side that are unacceptable & deserve condemnation. We can work on the details of the boundaries another time. For now, I think I've gotten enough of what I came here for. Thanks.

Posted by: scalefree at March 24, 2010 07:07 PM

scale, let me make something crystal clear to you.

I do not care what you find comfortable, not do I care what you feel is acceptable. The same goes for the rest of your craven liberal brethren.

For eight long years I watched and listened to your kind bray and buck, make threats, fund terrorists, harass our soldiers, and publish the addresses and make threats against Republican politicians in their homes. The only difference is that no one took your threats seriously, even after your side murdered people. We simply have more credibility, even when our rhetoric is softer.

The simple fact of the matter is that your side is far more vile in your commentary and far more violent in your actions, and your whining here is nothing more than the cries of a petty bully bested.

"He hit me back, first," is the cry of the American liberal, and frankly, the majority of Americans don't care what you think anymore.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at March 24, 2010 07:44 PM

I don't know about what is happenning in your areas, but in mine people are beginning to awaken. I am not talking about the conservatives, but many of the people who just love Obama suddenly found out that they are going to be paying a bunch of money. They are not happy about this. Somehow they thought that they would not get taxed. Now they understand that the government is in their pocketbooks.

The RNC needs to begin hitting this topic. Many of the people involved in housekeeping, yard care and other activities are now facing the fact that the small amount of money they are getting is now going to Obama. They are not happy.

Posted by: David at March 24, 2010 07:55 PM

CY,
Thanks for the firm stand. I wish that more had the balls to throw off the polite mantel and begin to speak like we mean it. Many of my patients who are in the 70's and 80's and starting to talk like this as well and would just as soon end their lives marching on Washington in a less than peaceful manner.

Posted by: David at March 24, 2010 08:01 PM

Oooooooh Yankee. Not only was that clear, it was CRYSTAL CLEAR.

All is settled.

http://miltownkid.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/internettoughguy.jpg

Posted by: CJ at March 24, 2010 08:15 PM

CY - when you referred to the other side murdering people, what were you referring to? When did the libs off someone?

Posted by: pd at March 24, 2010 08:17 PM

Do you want to back up any of that, CY? Particularly the funding terrorists, harassing soldiers, and murdering people?

Posted by: Ryan at March 24, 2010 08:21 PM

Craven is someone cheering for others to take a swing at Congressmen. Bravery would require action.


BTW CY, before throwing words around like "majority" you should really check out the latest polls.

Posted by: Jim at March 24, 2010 08:23 PM

I do not care what you find comfortable, not do I care what you feel is acceptable. The same goes for the rest of your craven liberal brethren.

CY, I'm not seeking your approval or acceptance either. I'm still glad to see you capable of drawing a line & saying there are tactics those on your side are using that you find unacceptable. Again, thanks for that.

Posted by: scalefree at March 24, 2010 08:33 PM

This one smells, and it's not the smell of propane. But first, the obligatory disclaimer: all such actual acts of violence or attempted violence are wrong, without qualification or excuse.

Obviously, I write without firsthand knowledge, but if this was an actual attempt to do harm, ie: to cause an explosion, those responsible were incompetent. An outdoor propane tank would simply vent into the atmosphere, particularly if there was any breeze at all and the probability of ignition would be vanishingly small. No, you really don't know what you think you know about this; what you've seen in the movies is special effects, like every car that has an accident in a chase bursting into flames and exploding. But even an incompetent should understand that merely releasing propane would not result in anything more than an increased propane bill (which could be nothing more than juvenile vandalism). Absent any ignition source, timing mechanism--and there seems to be no such thing here--it is unlikely that this is a bombing/arson attempt.

On the other hand, if you're a leftist, unfamiliar with firearms, to say nothing of field expedient explosives, cutting a propane line and crying "bomb" would make all manner of sense. Do I know that's what happened here? Of course not, but which, given what we know at the moment, is more likely?

Posted by: mikemcdaniel at March 24, 2010 09:14 PM

pd, Ryan, I'm sad that you don't know--or are trying to forget--your own history.

Funding terrorists The example that immediately leaps to mind for most people is Code Pink sending $600,000 of money and supplies to the al Qaeda terrorists holed-up in Fallujah as the Marines prepared for the second and final battle of that city. some of your kind referred to the terrorists as "freedom fighters." That doesn't begin to account for the various leftists that have palled around with Muslim front groups that have had people go to jail for funding terrorism. That could take days to cite. If you want go further back I can easily cite the various robberies and murders carried out by American leftists through the 70-and 80s to support their nutty little terrorist groups. Just tell me where to stop.

Harrassing soldiers Your wonderful analogues in Berkley are of course famous for obstructing recruiting at an armed forces recruiting station there, having made the news countless times for their various stunts. One of your punk allies bombed a Times Squire Recruiting Station. And the constant drone of leftist pansies calling our soldiers and Marines war criminals, terrorists, baby-killers, etc. You Presidents co-baord member and fundeaiser Bill Ayers targeted cops and soliders, even trying to blow up an Army Dance at Fort Dix. Need I go on?

Murdering people While countless liberals have published fantasies, made movies, and even products hoping for the deaths of Republicans, none of that ever got the media's attention. Neither did Andrew Mickel, an IndyMedia journalist who assassinated a police officer in hopes of triggering a war against capitalism. If he wasn't on death row, I'm sure Obama would have him in an Cabinet position by now. Carlos Hartmann left Michigan for the Netherlands in hopes of killing Dutch soldiers because they were part of hated Bush's "war for oil." Unable to find a NATO ally to kill, he murdered a student with an axe instead.

Again, I could go on, and the further back I go, the deep the blood gets, all pointing back to a diseased common leftist ideology that had put a hundred million souls on ice in the past one hundred years.

We can continue, if you have the stomach to face your past, present and future.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at March 24, 2010 09:32 PM

It wasn't a "leftist" that targeted the Perriello home, it was a known Tea Party activist & blogger, Mike Troxel. It wasn't a "leftist" who, when he found out he'd targeted the man's brother's family instead of the Representative himself, said "oh well, collateral damage". We may never know who actually slashed the gas line, but we sure as hell know who put this family in the line of danger, who intended them harm. It wasn't any hypothetical "leftist", it was Mike Troxel of the Lynchburg Tea Party.

Posted by: scalefree at March 24, 2010 09:35 PM

Correction: it wasn't Mike Troxel who said "oh well, collateral damage", it was his fellow Tea Partier Nigel Coleman who said that. Troxel said some equally stupid things but his blog is down at the moment so I can't give you exact quotes.

Posted by: scalefree at March 24, 2010 09:42 PM

Correlation=/=causation. Criminals of all sorts have any number of political views, religious confessions, etc. You wouldn't find it fair for me to say that the preponderance of Christians in the US prison system means that Christianity predisposes people to crimes, and likewise the fact that a very few individuals committed crimes (or donated money to innocent civilians whose only "crime" was living in the city they did) is no indictment of leftism, liberals, or the Democratic Party.

Posted by: Ryan at March 24, 2010 10:16 PM

How about we identify an actual culprit before we start smearing the blame around?

Rather wide brush everyone is using.

Posted by: ThomasD at March 25, 2010 05:27 AM

Whew! Check the polls---the Left's answer to everything they don't like! Never mind the fact that the state-controlled MSM creates these push-polls to justify the outrages of the LEFT!

This just in from the MSM: Sam Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry and Geo Washington check their polling and find only one third of the colonists support the Revolution, one third remain "Loyalist", while the remainder doesn't give a damn! Can't you Patriots just get along with every one? Imposing these massive commerce-destroying taxes is for your own good. We, here in London obviously know what's best for you! Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm! HRH George III

Posted by: Earl T at March 25, 2010 08:59 AM

It will not be too long before some misstep shall cause a landslide of emotion and outright armed conflict will erupt. Right or wrong, people will then have to make a decision and take a stand. Only 30% of folks cared who ruled during the American Revolution (it was all the same to them and a person was too busy trying to live). Only 3% actually participated. I think we have that pissed off 3% already. Are you ready to RUMBLE?

Posted by: Odins Acolyte at March 25, 2010 10:02 AM

Hey CY: Don't forget Obies good friend, mentor, and book writer, Billie Ayers.

Posted by: TimothyJ at March 25, 2010 10:30 AM