"Conservatives thrived for years as victims. Victims of a welfare state, victims of the poor, victims of abortion, victims of drug-addled criminals ransacking their neighborhoods. When they finally, totally lost in 2008, and to a black man no less, something appears to have finally snapped in the collective conservative id. They’ve fallen back into the victim mythology so forcefully it’s jarred something loose; it’s like someone who just needs a hug finding a binkie and sucking his thumb in the corner until someone sees him and pays attention. Before, there was an air of confidence and, yes, hope that kept the true insanity at bay (or at least churning in the ever-productive conservative bestseller industry) but this may just be too much. The only real questions that remain are one, how long will “mainstream” conservatives defend these as mere exercises of free speech and two, how long will it be until this new round of uber-ranting winds up with yet another person dead from right-wing violence?" - John (a.k.a. dendroica) from Bookmarklet

On Palin's "death panel" comments ... "Such a system also does not exist. And has not been proposed. But it’s emblematic of this perfect storm of crazy: conservatives have spent so long trying to keep so many groups angry about so many things that the supports have started to fall and it’s all come down together like an amateur’s splatter-paint canvas. Government bureaucrats are labor unions are pro-choicers are gun control advocates are euthanasia advocates are welfare recipients are gays and lesbians are race baiters are immigrants are feminazis are socialists are communists are fascists are the nanny state are skate punks are Israel-haters. None of it makes much sense, and when combined together, any one of these becomes a trigger to every other bit of hate. The hatred of government dovetails into a belief that government will kill off babies and old people because of the great deals we’re getting on mass furnaces from China or something, which also means they’re going to take guns because the patriots will rise up and strike down tyranny. They scream because it’s the only way to be heard over the onrush of every single other element in society conspiring against them." - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

How fast the health care debate has escalated into threats of violence really concerns me. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Just imagine the amount of shame Americans will have to suffer if one of these extreme right wingers kills the president. And for what? For totally misunderstanding what Obama is trying to, by listening to "news"casters that only incite hate. Things get more and more volatile by the day. - Rene Wirtz

I think Obama is probably safe. There are definitely a lot of threats (30 a day!), but he's also well-protected by very effective bodyguards. I'm more worried about the rest of us. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Political assassinations and assassination attempts are quite common. Think: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Yitzhak Rabin, Benazir Bhutto, etc. In the present climate we are witnessing strident and relentless efforts to stir up political violence from leading mainstream media outlets, like Rupert Murdoch's Fox News -- Murdoch minions keep recklessly throwing matches on gasoline. One of the two major political parties -- the Republican Party -- is enabling and encouraging this incitement. There is a strong probability that something very bad is going to happen -- all the elements are in play. (Also: see wikipedia(Assassination http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...) - Sean McBride

I know the potential for assassination is serious and that Obama is probably at higher risk than most recent presidents. The current atmosphere is very scary. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Hasn't anyone in this thread noticed that the violence is coming from the left-wing union thugs that Obama and his team mobilized? - David C. Cooper

Thanks David for making that point. union thugs from SEIU are the ones beating up protesters. Can liberals possibly believe that conservatives lost their right to protest socialist policies because they lost an election last November? - Daltonsbriefs

The ability of everybody involved to make gross generalizations and envision conspiracies and central coordination never ceases to amaze me. - Ken Sheppardson

None of the unions have advised their members to bring firearms to the meetings or threatened their opponents with violence just for showing up. And SEIU members aren't thugs. They're ordinary employees. Protesting policies that one disagrees with is an essential American right; threats and intimidation are not a right. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

SEIU members aren't thugs? What do you call this http://www.youtube.com/watch...? - David C. Cooper

@David: OK, so SEIU members are thugs (I speak hypothetically, though). At least they are not telling people to go to teabag parties or town hall rallies and bring their gun(s)! - Rene Wirtz

David: using your logic, then, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly are directly responsible for the death of Dr. Tiller. Hey, if one conservative nutjob is a killer, then the rest of them are killers, too, right? - Steven Perez

Steven: What logic? - Ken Sheppardson

Exactly. - Steven Perez

As a matter of fact, the SEIU has asked for cooler heads at these town hall meetings: http://friendfeed.com/us-poli... - Steven Perez

Wow, based on the responses that video must've touched a nerve with the Obama brown shirts. >.> I'll have to post that link more often. http://www.youtube.com/watch... (X^P - David C. Cooper

shhhhh ... watching the entire video ... - Steven Perez

http://www.youtube.com/watch... - David C. Cooper

As opposed to the first five seconds you're fixated on. - Steven Perez

It's hard to tell what's going on in that video because the fight is pretty much over by the time the video starts. And the people in the SEIU shirts are limping around. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

keep watching. ^^ http://www.youtube.com/watch... - David C. Cooper

Yeah, nice video, David. And it ends with the arrest of at least one SEIU member. That just screams conspiracy to me. - Steven Perez from IM

And in any case, the SEIU is still not encouraging people to carry guns to these meetings. The combination of weapons plus heated discussions is a real recipe for trouble. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Perhaps you could explain what it is you think you see in that video, David. I must be missing something. I watched the whole thing twice, and what I see starts with somebody on the ground and continues with a bunch of guys arguing about who did what to whom. - Ken Sheppardson

Your "logic" is specious, at best, David. If some pushing and shoving in the parking lot somehow equals "left-wing jackbooted thugs fomenting violence", then that brush can be used on every single anti-abortion conservative because one whacko with a voice in his head thinks God told him to kill an abortion doctor to save unborn babies. - Steven Perez from IM

And you've also missed the point, David. Blaming the union members for being there to support the town halls is like blaming the Patriot Guard Riders who shield military funerals from those whack-a-doos from Westboro Baptist Church - those folks wouldn't be there if not for a handful of loudmouths who think God is on their side. - Steven Perez from IM

The note on the video says "six people were arrested. Two of those were arrested on suspicion of assault, one of resisting arrest and three on suspicion of committing peace disturbances." Anybody know which of the folks in the video were arrested? - Ken Sheppardson

The historical "brown shirts" were anti-union, anti-socialist provocateurs. Hitler had them march into union strongholds and pick fights with everyone they ran into. He then used that excuse to avenge the "martyrs." I am always amazed at the right wing's total lack of historic context for their name-calling delusions. The first name Mussolini chose for his party was the "Corporatist Party," but his fellow gangsters wanted something more romantic, so they chose the Roman "fasci" a symbol of unity. - Phil Boiarski

Phil – Thanks for the historical perspective. It's good to have a reminder of what brownshirts (and blackshirts) actually stood for. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

Ken, here's a link to a local newspaper report ( Stl Today ) that gives more info http://www.stltoday.com/stltoda... - Wallace

The update to the story linked above (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoda...) has a bit more information as to what led to people being arrested (point of order: most of the scuffles that happen at major sporting events happen in the parking lot after the game, and this seems to apply to town hall meetings, too), such as photographing officers and some kicking and pushing, but no details as to what group did what to whom. - Steven Perez

Speaking of suppressing freedom of speech, the arrest of the newspaper reporter was kind of weird. - John (a.k.a. dendroica)

It's not just the brown president thing, they were nuts under Clinton as well though I guess its a matter of degree. Yes someone is likely to get killed and it won't be a one of Fox's teaparty conservatives. - John Hardy