WILL VIOLENCE MAR OUR ELECTION?
With 22 days to go before Americans go to the polls to elect a President, it’s becoming increasingly clear that there’s a probability that widespread violence and intimidation will take place at precinct polling places across the country.
In fact,if the election stays this close, I see no way we can avoid it.
Recent organized and violent attacks against various local Bush/Cheny headquarters is, I believe, the tip of the iceberg for what the hard left has planned for America on November 2.
The level of hatred against the President is rising, being fed by people representing the highest levels of the Democratic party. Organizations like Move-On and America Coming Together are ratcheting up their campaign of fear and loathing of the President while more “traditional” left-wing groups like the AFL-CIO have taken an active role in using bully boy tactics designed to intimidate volunteers for the President’s re-election.
The atmosphere of hate is palpable. Two plays that advocate the assasination of the President are currently running off broadway while leftist web sites are filled with the most vile, venomous, calumniously slanderous bile imaginable. Anyone who follows this election closely knows that over the last several weeks, the level of threats and hate have risen to a fever pitch.
Will there be bombings of polling places in Republican precincts? Will labor thugs try to intimidate people into not voting? Who’s watching?
I’m not usually an alarmist, but from what I’ve seen recently, I believe there’s a very real possibility that violence will mar this election in a way that hasn’t been seen since the civil war.
I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
UPDATE:
Perhaps I’m not so paranoid after all…
Check out this article in the WSJ by John Fund about election day violence. (Probably should have gone to Realclear before I posted this AM!)
Fund writes:
“For its part, the AFL-CIO has promised to dispatch thousands of election monitors to battleground states to watch for any hint of trouble at polling places. From the initial reports, they may be the ones for have to be watched as potential troublemakers.”
He recommends that the Justice Department get involved NOW to insure everyone’s vote counts.
Amen.
UPDATE:
The death of Christopher Reeves is a national tragedy. Mr. Reeves’ well documented struggles with overcoming his paralysis to continue a career in movies was an inspiration to all. His activism on behalf of stem cell research garnered millions of dollars and plenty of much needed publicity for this worthy cause.
It’s a pity that Senator Flip Flop couldn’t leave politics out of commenting on his passing. To wit:
“He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on the life-saving cures that science and research can provide.”
This oblique reference to the controversey surrounding stem cell research was uncalled for and demonstrates a lack of sensitivity on the part of the Senator from Massachusetts.
UPDATE:
Here’s a press release from the RNC to AFL-CIO asking them to cease and desist their attacks on Republicans.
Now let’s see if Flip Flop has the guts to call off his union dogs.
UPDATE:
There’s a very interesting discussion going on regarding the “nuisance” comments on terrorism made by Flip Flop in the NYT Magazine article. The Captain has some scathing commentary regarding Flip Flop’s views on a number of topics, and blasts his “vacuous” positions on foreign policy in general. And while not approving of his view on terrorism, Deacon at Power Linesees where the Senator is going with the “nuisance nuance.” He says that he didn’t necessarily quarrel with the Senator on the point but…
“… rather I think he was providing a realistic, though tone-deaf, assessment of what it is possible to achieve in the war on terror.”
Meanwhile, Glen at Instapundit quotes extensively from a statement made by Rudy Giuliani and considers Flip Flop’s statement that his thinking didn’t change with 9/11 very revealing.
Finally, Eugene Volokh has some fascinating insight into the Senator’s personality.
“It seems to me that our attitudes towards what is a not deeply threatening level of terrorism (which, I agree, is more than zero) should be vastly different from our attitudes towards what would be a tolerable level of prostitution or illegal gambling. And the difference is so great that I wonder whether the person who makes such an analogy is missing something big.”
Indeed.