Radicals on the Right - No Respect for the Law

This is the extreme faction that scares me. Let's hope that they're a fringe minority disowned by those on the far right. I'd feel better if I heard anyone on the right criticizing them, but perhaps that's too much to hope for.

"I'm wanting the government officials in D.C. to come in, even if there's force involved," Porta said, using some of the wrap that covered the spoon as a makeshift poncho.

Fellow demonstrator Bob Hunt heard Porta's idea and seconded it. "The government should declare martial law for the whole county, arrest the judge, arrest the sheriff," said Hunt, who identified himself as a government subcontractor.

This last comment is particularly disturbing - a call for martial law from a government subcontractor?

Comments

[wanda]

At this point nothing surprises me. Except for the fact that Terri is still hanging in there.

[Lawrence Krubner]

That kind of thing no longer scares me. As long as I've been politically active I've occassionally run into those who feel that we need martial law. My collisions with the rural far-right has given me the impression of a very mixed crowd. I recall in the mid-90s there were some who were terrified that Clinton was going to use the army of the United Nations to conquer America and make it a dictatorship, and others thought martial law should be imposed so we could end the budget deficit (the army would be needed to control those who were causing the deficit by using up so much of the governments resources - possibly those on welfare?). I remember one fellow in 1992 who told me in all seriousness that Bush Sr. was trying to establish a world wide socialist dictatorship (it was news to me). I recall a lot of people, back then, who insisted that Perot would fix everything (a car mechanic in Lafayette, Louisianna, told me he was voting for Perot because Perot was in favor of "everything").

There will always be those who think that all the problems of their country could be solved if only there was a strong leader who was willing to declare martial law. Always.

[Boyd]

Radical protesters of all sorts tend to be kooks who haven't bothered (or are unwilling) to figure out the substance of the issue and are being led by the nose into this type of conduct, or they're intellectually dishonest "movement leaders" whose most important priority is getting their names spelled correctly when it hits the paper.

I know you weren't really thinking of me when you said "anyone on the right," Kathy, but I certainly criticize these wackos. But what I believe is even worse are the people who spout misleading, irrelevant or outright deceptive propaganda to scare people into supporting their cause. Those who cloud the discussion in order to deceive others into joining their point of view are the true evildoers. While that applies here, it's also true for a host of other issues.

[Kathy]

Actually, I was thinking of you - and any other conservatives that are willing to make their voices heard. The left has certainly been criticized for not disassociating with the militant left and properly so. This is the equivalent and while it would be nice to see criticism of the whackos on powerline or LGF I'm just as glad to see it on your site. But I looked and didn't see it. In the past, I've posted my annoyance at the lecturing from the right because I didn't disown the radical fringe on my side of the aisle. I said that I didn't take them seriously and thought any reasonable person would know that they were fringe. I hardly noticed the stupidity of the fringe on my side - they weren't worth paying attention to. That wasn't smart since they were pointed to as representing the left by
critics.

I'm beginning to understand the anger on the right at the left's silence. It's that same silence on the right that's bothering me now. I suspect, Boyd, that you're doing what I did. Assuming reasonable people know that these folks don't speak for you or your political allies. It may be an accurate assumption but I think folks on the right are making the same mistake the left has made by not puclicly criticizing them. Learn from us and speak up. Or get branded with the same brush the whackos are painted by. It may not be fair, but it is the way of things on both sides of the aisle.

[Boyd]

Several points here:

1) I post when I'm sufficiently inspired, and this point hasn't sufficiently inspired me.

2) I have taken great care in my discussions about the Schiavo case to maintain an even, balanced tone and tenor, except when someone on the "feeding tube in" side of the debate lashes out at me. Then I bring all my fatherly skills to bear, and firmly and definitively chastise them for ad hominem attacks, misstatements of facts, etc. But generally speaking, I've stayed away from even addressing the more outlandish aspects of those on the other side of this issue.

3) I don't consider my blog to be the place for me to draw the lines between me and those with whom I disagree. I mean, I'm not afraid of doing it, but I don't spend any time thinking about how my blog defines me and my opinions. Also, I've gotten used to not posting as much as many others, and spend much of the time I might be blogging, at other sites leaving comments. I want the discussion, and I don't care where I have it.

The bottom line is that the issue isn't really important enough to me to create a post. But when I read it on a friend's blog, I'll often respond. Since neither I nor my blog is a leader in conservative thought, I don't feel like the absence on my blog of my opinion on the matter is going to have much effect.

[zxzxzx]

I always heard something from my neighbor
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I always heard something from my neighbor