The Political Right Turning Violent?

One of the most important books I read this summer was Dave Neiwert's exposé of the relationship between political violence and right-wing political parties, The Eliminationists. This week when I read about the Maryland teabaggers hanging hapless Blue Dog Frank Kratovil in effigy outside his district office, I couldn't help but wonder what Dave was thinking about it. Yesterday Politico pointed to a growing trend on the right to systematically harass Democrats. Fueled by the manufactured-- ratings oriented-- rage on Fox News (Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, etc), Hate Talk radio and CNN (Lou Dobbs), mobs of delusional Know Nothings are on the rampage.

Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety-- welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.

On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman [Tim Bishop, from my old Suffolk Country district] has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.

Other Democrats who have been targeted include Bruce Braley (IA), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Dan Maffei (NY), Tom Perriello (VA) and Blue Dog Allen Boyd (FL). Braley: “I think it’s just the fact that we are dealing with some of the most important public policy issues in a generation,” who was confronted by a protester angry about his position on health care reform at a town hall event several weeks ago. Bishop: “I think in general what is going on is we are tackling issues that have been ignored for a long time, and I think that is disruptive to a lot of people. We are trying, one by one, to deal with a set of issues that can’t be ignored, and I think that’s unsettling to a lot of people.”

NRCC Chair Pete Sessions, hoping to change the subject from his developing bribery scandal, boasted that Democrats haven't seen anything yet and that next year the Republican will have some real nastiness in store for them. According to a leaked memo from one of the lobbyist-run extreme right GOP front groups, Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which has been orchestrating teabag events around the country in coordination with Fox News, the onslaught is hardly spontaneous. The memo reads like an organizing document from the early days of Mussolini's rise to power in pre-War Italy:

– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”

– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”

Why all the anger and violence? Health care reform is the real target and the Big Money interests behind the status quo will stop at nothing to kill it, even ripping apart the fabric of society. Shills like Mike Pence have been on an hysterical rampage, distorting data and making up numbers out of thin air.

But Big Business hasn't unleashed their war machine against Democrats only because of health care reform. They're angered and vengeful because progressives are trying to hold them accountable for looting the economy. Yesterday, for example, the House passed H.R.3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009-- largely along party lines 237-185, 16 mangy anti-family Blue Dogs and Blue Dog types joining the Republicans in opposition-- which, if the corporately-owned House of Lords ever passes it (unlikely) will go about a quarter of an inch on the mile long journey towards getting excessive executive compensation under some kind of reasonable control.

With Blue Dogs and Republicans blatantly crossing the line between accepting campaign contributions from Big Business to just plain participating in an outrageous voting selling scheme, the far right-- the agents of the status quo and the ruling elites-- is moving up the game, dangerously moving it up.

Meanwhile the Democratic response isn't pleasing Sessions and the other radical right puppet-masters of this whole violence movement. The DCCC is running radio spots against some of the crackpot Republican leaders who have been the most corrupt when it comes to the banksters and CEOs, taking their money and voting for their interests instead of their own constituents' interests. Sessions blew his top when he found out ads are scheduled to start running Monday in his own suburban Dallas district and in the home districts of Eric Cantor (R-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), lobbyist John Boehner (R-OH), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Mike Pence (R-IN), David Dreier (R-CA) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI). Down below you can hear the McCotter radio spot. Here's a press release that went out the Wisconsin media outlets about Paul Ryan:

Having already tried to protect outrageous AIG-style bonuses at tax-payer expense, today Representative Paul Ryan tried to score another victory for corporate executives by denying shareholders a chance to voice their objections before an outrageous pay package is given out to the company’s top executives.

“While middle class families worry about keeping their jobs in this tough economy, Representative Paul Ryan is trying to protect outrageous pay packages for corporate executives making millions of dollars,” said Ryan Rudominer, National Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Times are tough, the last thing Representative Ryan should be doing is denying company shareholders a chance to have a say before the top executives get another outrageous pay package.”