Tony Blankley’s recent column, “Politics Turns Dangerously Rougher,” reflects my own thinking on where all of this conflict between the socialist left and pro-Constitution Tea-Party right is headed. Since the history of socialism is rife with revolutionary violence, and undoubtedly socialist Obama knows that history well, I have feared that the present conflict may be leading us to civil violence. The words of labor leader Hoffa at the Labor Day celebration in Detroit had a dangerous ring. Blankley writes:
Whether Hoffa’s words are criminal or not, with words like “terrorist,” “lynching,” “go to hell,” and “take them out,” the emerging tone of the Democratic Party regarding the Tea Party is ominous. It is the language of murderous violence, and it is targeted at a specific group of people. Most disturbing is the failure of the Democratic Party leaders to condemn such language — including Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz -— who on national television specifically and repeatedly evaded any comment on Hoffa’s statement.
Thus far, we have heard no repudiation of Hoffa’s intemperance from any high-ranking Democrat. Indeed, Hoffa’s language seems to indicate that the left is not at all averse to using violence to get its way. He offered Obama the use of his labor force as an “army” for combating the tea partiers. In the end, the conflict between socialists and constitutionalists is supposed to be settled at the ballot box, but many things can be done to intimidate voters, stuff ballot boxes, and turn election day into chaos.
Anyone who watched the actions of the unions at the Wisconsin capitol in Madison could see how easily that mob could have turned violent. Death threats against Republican legislators were made. But the leftists settled on recall votes as their way to punish the Republicans. They won two of the six recall efforts. The left took this as a great victory. And now they will go after Governor Scott Walker himself. So far, there has been no violence suggesting civil war.
But it took a steadfast Republican Governor to resist the threats of potential labor goons that permitted the government to do its job in the most legal and democratic way possible. Of course, Hoffa’s language in and of itself is a sign of leftist desperation as they see the nation rejecting Obama’s socialist agenda. And Hoffa must know that violence by the labor unions will destroy whatever sympathy the American people have for unionized labor.
The nation is still committed to the political process set forth in the Constitution to solve its political problems. If the left resorts to violence, they will only send the rest of the nation into the ranks of the Tea Party. While the left and their liberal allies may talk violence as a means of intimidating the voter, they know that using violence will only turn the rest of the country against them.
The country is not yet ready for civil war. The vast majority of Americans still have jobs. All you have to do is drive by the parking lot of any large corporation and you will see it filled with cars. And at the supermarket, you still see well-fed shoppers filling their carts with hundreds of dollars of food and other items. The government may be on the brink of bankruptcy, but most Americans are not.
California farmers are still supplying the rest of the nation with fresh lettuce, strawberries, and cantaloupes. Fashion magazines are fat with advertising pages. People may not be buying as much as they used to at the malls, but they seem to be buying enough to keep most stores open. Good restaurants are still packing in the usual crowds. New cars are being bought by the thousands.
Yes, many businesses are hurting, and there are many empty stores in the strip malls. Unemployment is still much too high, and everyone is concerned about the future of the economy. But the ballot box is still America’s preferred way of dealing with national and local politics. There will be no civil war, unless the left is stupid enough to start one.
The more the Hoffas rant and rage against the Tea Party, the more desperate they sound. Which is good news for conservatives.
