Democratic offices vandalized across the country
By JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star
Authorities in Wichita and some other cities across the country are investigating vandalism against Democratic offices, apparently in response to health care reform.
And on Monday, a former Alabama militia leader took credit for instigating the actions.
Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Ala., former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia, put out a call on Friday for modern “Sons of Liberty” to break the windows of Democratic Party offices nationwide in opposition to health care reform. Since then, vandals have struck several offices, including the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita.
“There’s glass everywhere,” said Lyndsay Stauble, executive director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party. “A brick took out the whole floor-to-ceiling window and put a gouge in my desk.”
Stauble said the brick, hurled through the window between Friday night and Saturday morning, had “some anti-Obama rhetoric” written on it.
Vandals also smashed the front door and a window at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ office in Tucson early Monday, hours after the Arizona Democrat voted for the health care reform package.
Over the weekend, a brick shattered glass doors at the Monroe County Democratic Committee headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.
Attached to the brick was a note that said, “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice” — a quote from Barry Goldwater’s 1964 acceptance speech as the Republican presidential candidate.
And on Friday, a brick broke a window at Rep. Louise Slaughter’s district office in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Slaughter, a Democrat, was a vocal supporter of the health care reform bill passed by the House on Sunday.
Tyler Longpine, spokesman for the Kansas Democratic Party, called the incidents troubling.
“It’s kind of an alarming context,” he said. “We haven’t had any trouble here, but we’re fortunate enough to be on the seventh floor of an office building in Topeka.”
However, he added, “Most of our county offices are storefronts, which are a little bit more vulnerable to that kind of intimidation.”
Vanderboegh posted the call for action Friday on his blog, “Sipsey Street Irregulars.” Referring to the health care reform bill as “Nancy Pelosi’s Intolerable Act,” he told followers to send a message to Democrats.
“We can break their windows,” he said. “Break them NOW. And if we do a proper job, if we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democrat party headquarters across this country, we might just wake up enough of them to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary.”
Vanderboegh told The Kansas City Star that the action was meant to “get everyone’s attention.”
“What I was trying to get across was that people do not understand how on the edge of civil conflict this country is,” he said.
Those who monitor right-wing extremist groups said they weren’t surprised to hear of the vandalism.
“Passage of health care reform will elicit a variety of responses from its opponents,” said Leonard Zeskind, author of the 2009 book “Blood and Politics.”
“We can expect militia types like Vanderboegh to become even more far-fetched and violent.”
To reach Judy L. Thomas, call 816-234-4334 or send e-mail to jthomas@kcstar.com.
Posted on Mon, Mar. 22, 2010 10:45 PM
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Window War: Wichita Update.
My old friend Judy Thomas at the Kansas City Star writes up the latest contretemps.
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16 comments:
Stay classy, guys
Oh, so now we are your "followers" and not "like minded individuals". Will they ever get over Koresh-syndrome?
Damn Mike, I'm sure glad to hear you're "far-fetched and violent," I was beginning to think I was all alone.
When does Absolved come out? And the technical workbook that goes with it????
It's gonna get MUCH worse when folks that supported this nonsense get laid off because their employers cannot afford to provide them health insurance.
While I'll shed no tears for them, that category will also include those that DIDN'T support this, like me.
I'm "underemployed", work part time, don't WANT any health insurance, and I could get the axe.
Bricks may be the least of their worries! Here's hoping the HC reform bill's most onerous provisions get tossed as being unconstitutional, or my state sues to render those provisions moot.
I think it is telling of the limited mindset that the commenters at CNN have. They think that the protest is about PARTY. They think that this protest is about GOP whining because the vote was lost. Or "Tea Bagger, KKK, Racist, neo-Nazi Thuggery". "OMGWeHaveABlackPrezident!!!!eleven11!"
Fools.
Keep asking for those chains from your Statist masters. May they rest lightly upon your neck. It is too bad we won't remove them when we free the rest of the people from this tyranny.
Sucks to be them...
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wv: "cultr" - What the Left lacks.
HooRAH!!!
I think the "troubling" thing is how ready they are to disregard the overwhelming and vocal opposition of the American people. And how ready the media is to paint a few broken windows as being akin to burning crosses. I guess both are to be expected though, given the sources.
Zeskind, eh?
http://www.cashill.com/intellect_fraud/whos_watching_watchdog.htm
They know what's coming, just like we do. Most of the big-mouths think they're gonna get a pass.
Richard
III
Even if all the others states cleaned up their acts, we will *still* count on Alabama to deliver the finest of human garbage.
This is clearly an act of 'Domestic Terrorism' as defined by the U.S. Patriot Act.
The definition encompasses activities that are:
1.)dangerous to human life
2.)that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State"
3.)and are intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population," "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion," or are undertaken "to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping" while in the jurisdiction of the United States.
"Followers".
Cool.
That means they still don't understand us, and can't properly anticipate us.
@Anonymous (internet tough guy extraordinairre): "This is clearly an act of 'Domestic Terrorism' as defined by the U.S. Patriot Act."
Um, when Bush signed the PATRIOT Act, you guys all screamed that it was TEH EVVUL!!!!! Now you suddenly like it?
Ok....
Tyler Longpine, spokesman for the Kansas Democratic Party, called the incidents troubling.
“It’s kind of an alarming context,” he said. “We haven’t had any trouble here, but we’re fortunate enough to be on the seventh floor of an office building in Topeka.”
Anyone in Topeka good with a golf ball? Club, Baseball bat, or pneumatic launcher should have the range.
Well, you certainly got their attention.
Hopefully all the irregulars here recognize the tactic being used. It's right out of Alinsky' book: "Any effective means is automatically judged by the opposition as being unethical."
The trolls reaction is solid evidence this tactic is effective.
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