The brown-shirts of liberal intolerance

The 2008 presidential election was marked bya decidedly sinister undertone emanating from the Democratic camp. Beyond the usual Tammany Hall-style voter fraud and the mindless media cheer-leading, there was an undercurrent of threat and intimidation. It was in evidence on the nightly news broadcasts, if you were paying attention. Here’s an unnerving example:A Fox News reporter and cameraman were attempting to get a quote out of leftist loony toon Ward Churchill. The substance of the quote was immaterial, as was the reporter’s motivation for being there in the first place. But, the presence of thugs was disconcerting. Churchill was surrounded and ‘protected’ by a group of young men who eagerly pushed aside the young reporter, shoved the cameraman to the group and demanded the tape. They shouted down the reporter as he tried to ask questions and then hustled the flaky professor away from the scene. From the smile on Ward Churchill’s face, he was thoroughly enjoying the confrontation. Fox did not press charges. The local constabulary, who could clearly see the faces of these thugs on TV, didn’t arrest anyone. Ward Churchill did not apologize for the rough treatment of the reporter or the cameraman.

At the Republican national convention, small groups of men and women were found in safe-houses a short distance from the convention site. They were preparing balloons filled with urine and powders to irritate the eyes and nose, among other such niceties. Outside the convention hall, in what is typically a quiet and well-ordered town, unruly crowds picked fights with convention attendees and destroyed property, all in the name of hope and change. The Republican convention itself was marred with ‘technical’ glitches. Thuggery has entered the political process. These people justify their actions with flowery arguments about equality and fairness at the same time they intimidate, insult and injure those who don’t agree with them. They knowingly and willfully break the law, then justify it as a necessary action to achieve peace and harmony, of all things. The parallels between these ‘liberal’ thugs and Hitler’s infamous brown-shirts or Lenin’s Cheka are too close for comfort.

Somehow, I just can’t see young conservatives holed up in safe-houses manufacturing urine bombs or injuring reporters who merely ask a legitimate question. The mainstream media outlets, both print and electronic, cover this up or dismiss it as well-intentioned exuberance. They’re providing cover for what can and will turn much darker and more violent in the days to come. And maybe, that’s their intention.