The Lunatic is in the Hall, Again

In college, I studied the growth of the militias in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, which culminated in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.  Security specialists can tell you that these people have not gone away or changed their methods, and I wonder what will have to happen before Republican party members decide that they should turn down the heat on the pot of domestic resentment and violence that they brought to a boil, and now choose to conveniently leave unattended on the stove.  A recent article by John Marshall states that "thankfully, nobody has been injured or killed."  I wonder what the workers and victims of the February 18th attack on IRS offices in Austin, TX would say to that?  Maybe we should ask for the opinions of doctors who have been killed by (ironically) pro-life activists for providing controversial--but legal--services to patients?  Perhaps Marshall was referring to those who haven't been killed yet, like Tom Perrielo's brother.  What will it take for people to realize that things have already gone too far?

We all know that both sides of the political spectrum have radicals and people who act out inappropriately (ELF and certain WTO protest organizations would be reasonable comparisons), and all who participate in such thuggery should be condemned.  That said, the moral equivocating of the modern GOP is disgusting, and deserves to be ridiculed not only because its leaders refuse to speak up, but because they were actively engaging in the incitement of these lunatics.  We've all heard countless examples of GOP members touting ridiculous claims since the 2008 presidential race and this behavior is what differentiates the actions of current conservatives from the actions of a group like ELF: one is mainstream, and the other is not.

Christopher Hitchens, when discussing radical Islam, once asked, "Why is it that we can't get condemnation easily, or at all, when, for example, Shiaa mosques and funeral processions in Iraq are blown up Muslim fascists?"  The comparison is no doubt hyperbolic, but the principle can still be applied: Public officials bear the very serious responsibility of loudly rejecting repugnant acts, regardless of how unpleasant it may be to do so, or how disconnected the acts are from a political platform.  Nothing is more damaging to a democracy's political institutions and processes than misinformation, and it is for this reason that the Republican party will suffer for its alignment with the Tea Party movement.

I continue to hear GOP leaders and friends question the necessity or benefits to speaking out against violence, and it saddens me to think that they really don't feel the urgency behind quelling the outrage of their political friends.  What's going on right now is not political activism--it's Quixotic intimidation disguised as patriotic rebellion against the windmill of federal government:

Successful governing (that is, the creation and enforcement of public policies) requires all parties involved in the process to maintain a certain level of sincerity in order to be taken seriously.  In America, there is currently no such agreement between the left and right.  Until that basic trust has been re-established, (starting with a mass renunciation of violence and vandalism by Republican politicians) the GOP will continue to be a party that bases its entire existence on the infantile tantrum it has thrown over being out of power.  In the mean time, the pot continues to boil.