America is no stranger to peaceful demonstrations and protests; they are an integral part of its historical, social, and political fabric. The Constitution guarantees the American people the protection of their rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, and as long as protest is conducted within peaceful means, it is generally considered acceptable by the Supreme Court, lawmakers, and the American people as a whole.
Cheapening human life by using violence as a means of protest and political expression, and bloodshed as a means of achieving political ends is considered anathema to Americans who value the rule of law and civility (with few exceptions, such as the “Bloody Kansas” conflicts of 1854, where both abolitionist and pro-slavery forces used violence in the pursuit of their respective political ideals).
Terrorism is properly defined by many political scientists as that which transcends the limits of legitimate discourse, as it relies on the Hobbesian and communist notion that humans are mere “matter in motion.”
Those who adhere to this philosophical orientation believe in using violence in the pursuit of policy changes. And those who lack an appreciation for the inalienable right to life logically also lack an appreciation for the right to property. So violent protests are also frequently destructive — explaining why looting, thievery, and hooliganism are common elements of civil unrest, especially when committed by leftist and communist forces.
The unions protesting on the streets of Madison are the political incarnation of various radical leftist groups, and true to the history of leftist activism, the AFL-CIO and its allies in the Democratic Party are once again advocating violence and bloodshed in the pursuit of their economic and political demands. They are effectively moving beyond the pale of what is considered legitimate political discourse — into the realm of terrorism.
A perfect embodiment of this mindset is a recent speech by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.). As reported by the Dorchester Reporter, Capuano — addressing a union rally in front of the Massachusetts State Capitol along with Massachusetts Democrat Representatives Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch — advocated that labor unions use violence as a means of achieving their desired political aims:
The protest of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate core bargaining rights for unions gave the three Congressional Democrats a ready platform to reach out not just to the crowd, but to Democratic voters across the state watching the rally unfold on television and through the media.
“This is going to be a struggle at least for the next two years. Let’s be serious about this. They’re not going to back down and we’re not going to back down. This is a struggle for the hearts and minds of America,” Capuano said, referring to the Tea Party counter-protestors as a “couple of nuts in the background.”
“I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going. Every once in a while you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary,” he continued.
The crowd cheered and hooted for each Congressman as they spoke — the tougher the talk, the louder the reception.
Capuano also supported the illegal dereliction of duty committed by his Democratic Party comrades in the Wisconsin and Indiana state legislatures, who abandoned their electoral duties by “jumping ship” and fleeing their respective states in order to prevent there being a quorum to vote on proposals they opposed — gathering for a community organization-style retreat in the friendly territory of the Democratic Party-controlled state of Illinois. Capuano claimed,
They have an obligation to do their job and fight for what they believe in any way they can. That’s what the rules say. The rules require a quorum and I absolutely think they’re doing 100 percent the right thing.
Such incendiary rhetoric was clearly delivered with the intention of inciting union members to violent street protests. Capuano, a career politician, previously sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat formerly occupied by the late Ted Kennedy, now currently held by Republican Scott Brown. Brown is reviled by Capuano and most labor unions (with the notable exception of the Massachusetts Police and Fire Unions, which have endorsed him throughout much of his political career, largely because of his stance on homeland security and national defense).
In his speech to the union rally in front of the capitol, Capuano essentially declared that he is willing to cheapen the blood and lives of union members as a means of advancing his own political ambitions. For him and others of his ilk, human life is meaningless and carries no intrinsic value. It is a cheap commodity which exists only to serve him and his desire for greater political power. For him, blood is cheap — whether it is the blood of working men and women or that of the unborn. An ardent supporter of abortion-on-demand, he has supported an abortion funding amendment, while opposing legislation that would recognize fetal pain.
Like so many pro-abortionists, while Capuano is willing to sacrifice human life for his own gain, and supports the slaughter of the unborn in the womb, he is at the same time an animal rights advocate. He shows more respect for horses than he does unborn babies, as he has consistently supported measures such as the Horse Slaughter Prohibition Act, while opposing restrictions on abortion such as the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act.
Union protesters in Wisconsin and their comrades across the country have preemptively followed Capuano’s advice. Just as their union forefathers were willing to bomb Haymarket Square in Chicago in 1886, violence has inevitably found its way into what is being dubbed the “Hemlock Revolution.” On Wednesday, as members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in Washington, D.C. protested outside the offices of the grassroots conservative group Freedom Works, a male CWA organizer violently struck and injured Tabitha Hale, a Freedom Works employee on the scene.
The organizer's attack on Hale demonstrates his movement’s hatred for both life and property — the two characteristic elements of all major socialistic regimes to arise in the 20th century, whether totalitarian communist states, or so-called “social democracies,” in the latter of which more nuanced violations against natural rights occur as a matter of daily life.
Ironically, while liberal Democratic congressmen are directly instructing crowds of union protesters to engage in violent bloodshed for the sake of political change, the liberal mainstream media make the unsubstantiated claim that conservatives are somehow guilty of using violent rhetoric that mysteriously caused gunman Jared Lee Loughner's shooting rampage in Arizona — all in spite of the fact that there has not been one documented example of any Republican elected official instructing Tea Party activists or any other constituents to “get a little bloody.”
Rather than apologizing for his words and promising not to engage in such rhetoric again, Capuano offered a self-defense:
“I strongly believe in standing up for worker rights and my passion for preserving those rights may have gotten the best of me yesterday in an unscripted speech. I wish I had used different language to express my passion.”
Capuano himself has a history of violent rhetoric. He has long advocated violence as a means of achieving political goals, placing him squarely in the tradition of violent leftist groups such as the Weather Underground and the Young Lords gang. As reported by his hometown paper, the Somerville Journal:
It's hardly the first time he has evoked a certain amount of violence with his words. In the late 1990s, Capuano allegedly threatened to beat a dog to death because it came too close to one of his kids. Earlier this year, when discussing running for Senate, he said, "Nothing wrong with throwing a coffee cup at someone if you’re doing it for human rights.”
Capuano’s speech is an example of what has always been the historical reality of labor unions and other radical leftists liberal Democrats (and their base in the labor unions): They are simply unafraid to cheapen what they believe lacks value when it suits their own purposes for power: human life.
Photo of Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.): AP Images
