Just keep saying, It Can’t Happen Here.
The Tom DeLay campaign operation is going out in style. Last night it sent out this message to supporters:
We would meet tomorrow morning at 9:45 am on the first floor of the parking garage attached to the Marriott. Please get folks to call our campaign office 281.343.1333 and let us know they can do it – or e-mail Leonard Cash (in the cc field above) so that we can get some head count. Let’s give Lampson a parting shot that wrecks his press conference.
Not surprisingly, this call to action incited violence.
Eyewitness report and photos. More details here.
I think its great that you advocate civility and peaceful behavior in the public square. Our democracy becomes stronger that way.
But curiously your blog has been silent on violent protests by liberals. Oh I don’t know, just about every WTO meeting, ecoterrorists, etc.. Of timely relevance are violent acts by pro-illegal alien groups:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2006/03/26/news/top_news/06b86321de0829538625713d0001758b.txt
Your blog is also silent on incivility and violence used to silence conservative speakers invited to events, such as Ann Coulter:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1022042coulter1.html
You are pro-union, but are we to believe that striking members have never, in the history of strikes, attacked scabs?
On the international front, French muslims beat, raped, and burned cars. Not covered in your blog.
I’m just curious as to why, given your interest in fair and civil discourse in the public square, the De Lay incident caught your fancy more than the others listed above?
Yes, Michael, didn’t you know that you’re only supposed to post about what Briclayer deems important?
I would have thought that it went without saying that my relation to the actions of our government and our elected officials (or would-be elected officials) is of a different nature than my relation to random foreign countries and random groups that I have little to do with. But now I’ve spelled it out for those who need thing explained.
The contrast, or is it similarity, of the incident described in my post to the FTAA protests is instructive: in the case of the Miami trade protest, the Miami police violated the civil rights of the protesters. In the DeLay incident the protesters, organized by the staff of a key member of the ruling party’s power structure, violated the civil rights of the candidate opposition party. Both incidents are too much like those which take place in a poorly governed third world country to give any thinking person comfort.
Bonus: Since Ann Coulter’s name was invoked, I’ll offer this educational link.