The sad part is that we do not even have to wait to see what happens next. Half a mile from my house a relatively ordinary freeper/stormfronter shot three policemen because he thought Obama would take his guns away.
All these guys need is one martyr to put on their t-shirts and name blogs after. Nobody needs to get shot, although they would love it if someone did. Their intense police state paranoia will be validated enough when a local cop confiscates some bubba’s precious AR-15. Rumors were enough to send several recent crazed shooters over the edge. How many more need just one aggrieved victim of guvmint overreach with a photo and a name?
The second funny thing is that I don’t think that any of these guys have any idea what to do when they have their little revolution. I suppose they hope to take power just by making America ungovernable by anyone else. That works of course, but you need a crippling depression (ergo, anti-stimulus frenzy). You need a credible enemy group to rally against, and demonizing ‘liberals’ (and attendant hate magnets such immigrants, minorities, poor people, rich people who don’t hate the first three groups enough, etc) is just stupid. The word means nothing any more. If a fire-breathing Republican crosses Glenn Beck, the base calls him an Obama-loving liberal. Pick any three guvmint-hating bubbas and one of them will inevitably be more ‘liberal’ than the other two.
Honestly, I would pay good money to watch people who associate book learnin’ with the enemy try and fail to produce a modern-day Federalist Papers. If they do manage something it will be the first book ever written in all caps.
Arachnae
“The second funny thing is that I don’t think that any of these guys have any idea what to do when they do have their little revolution. ”
Warlords. They want to be mad-maxian warlords.
matoko_chan
<a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081401495_pf.html”Crazy Tree in full bloom.
matoko_chan
Crazy Tree in full bloom.
Zifnab
Wingnuts were for the police state before they were against it.
cleek
they’re all rugged individualist cowboys. when the government falls (because it’s a single monolithic beast that stretches from town clerk to Capitol Hill, i guess) they’ll trade their goods and services with other hard working honest folk in a libertarian paradise where Honor is Law. book learnin is a waste of ammo-reloading time.
matoko_chan
It’s just quien es mas macho for the teabag demographic.
An evolutionary dead end.
The GOP is going to die of testasterone poisoning.
Aspasia
Human desire is a strange thing. These people want something desperately, but they are not sure what it is, and they seem too ill-educated to be able to find out what has made them so angry.
I’d bet that none of these protesters are worse off now than they were in 2008 (to echo Ronald Reagan’s question). People who are worse off are too busy trying to make ends meet and feed their kids to take to the streets, armed or not.
linda
If they do manage something it will be the first book ever written in all caps.
best line of the day…. lol
Hunter Gathers
How long before one of these gun-toting teabagger idiots drops their loaded pistol onto the concrete, causing it to discharge into a crowd of people?
eric
They want what the Founders wanted except for the democracy part.
Zifnab
@Hunter Gathers: How long until said teabagger becomes the new martyr for the right wing when he gets hit with a police citation?
JenJen
I think a real argument can be made that the nuttiest of the gun nuts consider open-carry their raison d’etre; a commenter at TNC’s place made a similar point:
Posted the following over in the gloomy Monday thread; I’ll re-post here because I thought it was pretty damned interesting to find out that “Chris” is just another Paulite:
By the way, remember the man, known as “Chris”, who came to Obama’s Phoenix event yesterday with an AR-15? He was the African-American man featured prominently on CNN and on Talking Points Memo.
Since yesterday, everyone has been wondering what his motivations are, since he refused to say other than to tell the press “Because I can.”
Well…. turns out he’s a Ron Paul guy, just like the dude with the pistol in New Hampshire last week:
http://washingtonindependent.com/55411/we-will-forcefully-resist-people-forcing-their-will-on-us
I, for one, find their speech (“we will forcefully resist”) accompanied by their weapons to be the most disturbing political development since the 90’s. I don’t like this shit one bit, and I’m growing concerned.
lawnorder
They want to be proven right, to be called winners.
Hell hath no fury like a wingnut scorned (tot the tune of 10 million votes, I might add).
thomas
They’re all Morans.
Always remember St Ronnie said, ‘government’s not the solution, government’s the problem.’ (I think I paraphrased) then went on to turn government into a total failure to prove his point.
WJC started to bring us back from the brink then bushie boy sent us back.
Hunter Gathers
@Zifnab: You have to assume that said teabagger doesn’t accidentally kill someone or the other paranoid baggers grab thier loaded pistols and start shooting because they think the cops started it.
freelancer
OT but Robert Novak is dead.
What was it Clarence Darrow said? “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”
Crashman06
@JenJen: I keep telling myself that people like this are just a very, very loud super-minority. I hope I’m right.
Mike G
And their concept of ‘freedom’ extends only as far as gun laws. This crowd is hunky dory with a US government under Cheney/Bush that is oppressive and corrupt, launches political prosections against its opponents, sabotages government functions, that spies and tortures so long as the victims are groups that they hate.
El Cid
THEY ARE BUT SIMPLE PATRIOTS RELUCTANTLY TRAINING AND ARMING TO PRESERVE THIS FAIR REPUBLIC AGAINST THE DAY WHEN THE ACORN THUGS START THEIR HOUSE TO HOUSE DEATH PANEL MARCH WITH THEIR PETITION CLIPBOARDS AND INTIMIDATING BLACK SKIN
Jim Pharo
These people only become a problem when a demagogue sees their value in achieving his/her own ends.
These people are just one charismatic leader away from becoming a threat to the nation’s continued existence…
Zach
And of course here’s Jonah Goldberg saying how it’s just two events and they’re just expressing their 2nd amendment rights: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGY0ODY1ODg2NjA5YjEzM2MyZGFiMjY3ODI4Y2FhNDk=
He does actually read his e-mail, which puts him on a plane above everyone who frequently posts at NRO (although some of them do look through it occassionally to find insulting e-mails to make their critics look bad). Here’s what I sent him:
Q
Last name: “Neiwert”
BFR
@Zifnab: You have to assume that said teabagger doesn’t accidentally kill someone or the other paranoid baggers grab thier loaded pistols and start shooting because they think the cops started it.
Maddow had some ex-Secret Service guy on last night. Point he made was that these guys alter the visual landscape around the President. Even if they’re completely peaceful, they create a visual distraction which makes it harder for the Secret Service to do their jobs.
It’s pretty concerning on all sorts of levels.
Hunter Gathers
@El Cid: The ACRON thugs won’t be black. They’ll be hispanic, and after the death paneling, they’ll take their jobs, too. A win, win, in my book. Down with Whitey!
EthylEster
Tim F. wrote: The second funny thing…
What was the first funny thing?
Svensker
If they do manage something it will be the first book ever written in all caps.
New York Times Bestseller List
Non-Fiction Hardcover: Michelle Malkin
Non-Fiction Softcover: Glenn Beck
This is the sort of country we live in now.
The Moar You Know
Good.
azlib
I find the folks carrying weapons to Presidential events are either stupid or naive. If there is an incident, who do you think the Secret Service will be targeting? You may as well paint a bullseye on your shirt. These people are morons. Sadly innocent folks will get hurt or killed.
There was a story about how Austin, TX banned the carrying of firearms. There was apparently a bank robbery downtown about 100 years ago. When the robbers fled, a lot of folks on the street started firing. Unfortunately, a number of innocent bystanders were killed or wounded.
An earlier comment has it exactly right. Folks who bring an AR-15 to a public event are exhibitionists with a suspect very low self-esteem.
ppcli
From Goldberg’s NR piece:
“It was all perfectly legal and the Secret Service was hardly worked up about it.”
O Rly? I seriously doubt the second part, and I’m sure that Goldberg is in no position to know it, true or not. But if so, then we need a new Secret Service pronto.
azlib
I find the folks carrying weapons to Presidential events are either stupid or naive. If there is an incident, who do you think the Secret Service will be targeting? You may as well paint a bullseye on your shirt. These people are morons. Sadly innocent folks will get hurt or killed.
There was a story about how Austin, TX banned the carrying of firearms. There was apparently a bank robbery downtown about 100 years ago. When the robbers fled, a lot of folks on the street started firing. Unfortunately, a number of innocent bystanders were killed or wounded.
An earlier comment has it exactly right. Folks who bring an AR-15 to a public event are exhibitionists with very low self-esteem.
Unabogie
@El Cid:
You know, snark aside, my neighbor said almost those exact words. He thinks the strapped teabaggers are there to defend themselves from “ACORN thugs”.
Insanity rules the day in 2009.
Sam Hutcheson
This crowd is hunky dory with a US government under Cheney/Bush that is oppressive and corrupt, launches political prosections against its opponents, sabotages government functions, that spies and tortures so long as the victims are groups that they hate.
Your error is in assuming that the “libertarian” right is actually concerned with liberty. They’re not. They’re concerned with authority and order. They couch their fear of losing control over power – their control over authority and order – as fear of losing liberty because they can’t concieve of an authority because they believe on a fundamental order than another authority can’t exist without “oppressing” the existing order.
These people aren’t libertarians. They’re authoritarians. And authoritarians are always terrified when they lose *authority.*
IndieTarheel
Petulant children is what they are, the lot of them. No self-control, no impulse control, no emotional control – the only thing they appear to be capable of controlling is the trigger on the weapons they insist on brandishing, much like a midlife-crisis sufferer wields a shiny sports car. Takes overcompensation to a whole new level.In any event, I say they want to act like spoiled children, treat them that way. It is just about time for someone to let these All-American Rejects know they’re not going to get their way this time. Glenn Beck got it wrong – they may be louder, dumber, and full of themselves, but they aren’t “surrounding” ANYBODY. (rant off)
Jay in Oregon
@Zifnab:
Jay in Oregon
@Zifnab:
Fixed.
Jay in Oregon
Whoops, double posted. :( I miss previews…
bjacques
Already addressed above, but to keep it snappy:
Mad, desperate mob
Add machine guns to the mix.
Sounds like a winner.
ericblair
THEY ARE BUT SIMPLE PATRIOTS RELUCTANTLY TRAINING AND ARMING TO PRESERVE THIS FAIR REPUBLIC AGAINST THE DAY WHEN THE ACORN THUGS START THEIR HOUSE TO HOUSE DEATH PANEL MARCH WITH THEIR PETITION CLIPBOARDS AND INTIMIDATING BLACK SKIN
That’s another thing: this year has turned into a complete paranoiapalooza, and everybody with a couple of toys in the attic has been given free reign to unleash their inner gibbering lunatic. Unless somebody can talk the nutbags down by next year, the census is going to be a real mess.
Paul L.
So it is now Ok to paint a group with a broad brush.
Such as this “Racist” post from our Lady of Perpetual Outrage.
Bubblegum Tate
@Zach:
Did El DoPa respond to you?
I’m curious about that, too. As soon as somebody comments on some tebagger toting around his assault rifle, you get screams of, “I’M ALLOWED! SECOND AMENDMENT! FREEDOM! CONSTITUTIONIEST!”
Of course, nobody’s saying that you’re breaking the law; we’re just pointing out that you look like paranoid, overcompensating douchebags.
Zach
@Paul L.: I followed all Malkin’s links and as far as I can tell, the only reason the story is “racially charged” is because the accused killers are black and the victims are white. Apparently because of this, the national media has ignored the story. The only reason the Duke case blew up like it did was because both parties were extremely keen on getting their story out into the media. If you’re willing to discuss a crime that you are a victim of or are accused of committing in the media, you get on TV. If there’s a disagreement there, you get on TV even more. Ditto for every other case that turns into the national story of the year ever. We only heard about Natalee Holloway for so long because her parents went to the media about it constantly for years.
Molly
@Paul L.: “So it is now Ok to paint a group with a broad brush.”
When the shoe fits…
I’m hoping when August in past, and the relentless heat gives way to the first cooling breezes of fall, school marching bands in the distance, the turning of the leaves to radiant colors, the gentle reminder that everything comes in seasons…the gun nuts will get back to deer hunting. Always seems to soothe them.
Nothing says manhood like shooting a deer from a deer blind after you’ve been hand-feeding it corn all summer.
Napoleon
@ericblair:
Hey, its the guy who came up with my character. How is it going George?
LanceThruster
BEING AGAINSTS “ALL CAPS” DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE ELDERLY WHO OFTEN HAVE A HARD TIME READING SMALLER FONTS (THAT IS IF THEY’D BOTHER TO READ IN THE FIRST PLACE!)!
Mnemosyne
@Aspasia:
No, but I guarantee you that they’re worse off now than they were in 1980, and that’s what they’re really pissed off about. The problem is, the Republicans have convinced them that it’s not the Republican policies of the past 30 years that have screwed them. It’s all the liberals’ fault. So they’re directing their anger towards the people who didn’t actually have much to do with the predicament they’re in.
Paul L.
I remember Nifong being the one who pushed the story in the media. The media ignored the player’s side until the case begin to fall apart when DNA tests came back negative.
The exception was the New York Times and Nancy Grace who ignored the player’s side until the end.
Mnemosyne
So it is now Ok to paint a group with a broad brush.
Gosh, yes, why on earth should we be nervous around gun-toting right-wing nuts? It’s not like any of them killed people inside churches (in two separate incidents) or ambushed a group of cops or killed a guard at the Holocaust Museum or murdered women at a gym. Why, they’re all just gentle as lambs and all of those “incidents” were fakes generated by the MSM.
You’re really going to have to try harder. Either that, or get your guys to stop going on shooting rampages.
Zach
@Paul L.: Your memory is selective. The players family’s were interviewed; there were a billion press conferences from their side. Also, Dan Abrams was on the players’ side (well, actually the “wait until we have actual facts and evidence” side) and more or less ran the show on that case at MSNBC. That was back when MSNBC had even more miserable ratings than it does now, though.
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
And it’s not surprising the parents of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom aren’t bringing it up, much less the media. From what I’ve read, the details of the case reported are so brutal/outrageous/horrible that I think it would traumatize most people. And were the news media to report it heavily, aside from turning a lot of people off (think of the children!), I think you could make an argument that it’s essentially waving the bloody shirt to rile up all kinds of white supremacists who would love an excuse to rough up a black guy. They’ve obtained sort of martyr status as it is with the white supremacist community.
freelancer
@Mnemosyne:
HA! That would involve dialing down the crazy or having a modicum of self-discipline about their collective gun lust.
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say Nazi death camp denizens were treated better than those kids.
pharniel
i’m just pissed the assholes keep buying up all the ammunition.
I finnaly got grandpa’s firearms in good enough shape to use and i can’t find amy to save my soul.
well, ok, pistol ammo (lever action ’76 winchester) and wonky rifle ammo(m-1 carbine), but even meijer’s was sold out of 22 (short and long, and long rifle).
12-gauge buck shot and slug still seems to be plentiful though.
as does .30-06 and .30-30. Which is what you’d, y’know, actually want to use if you needed to kill someone.
stupid fucking wingnuts.
Ferd of the Nort
Car backfires
Wingnut reaches across
Sniper fire
All fall down
JenJen
@Zach: The Channon Christian/Christopher Newsom murders were horrific, indeed. It turned out that a lot of the most sordid claims didn’t turn out to be true, but that didn’t make the crime any more awful.
Still, it amazes me that people like Malkin insist there is some kind of national media conspiracy to not cover those particular murders. To be fair, shocking and horrible murders are not uncommon in this country, and often remain local stories, especially if the perpetrators are quickly caught and the murders do not remain a “mystery.” The media as far as I can see is more interested in endless speculation about an unsolved murder (Jon-Benet comes to mind) than they would be about a quickly-solved murder. What are they supposed to do, endlessly repeat what those monsters did to those kids, ad nauseum, day after day? Is that really “news”?
LanceThruster
“Guns don’t kill people. Bullets do.”
This American Life
Please everybody, read this essay from the Gawker website from last week. It is a MUST read, and I don’t know why it hasn’t gotten more play. His theme: they are testing the waters and daring one another to assassinate President Obama.
http://gawker.com/5334956/lets-just-say-it-were-scared-someones-going-to-try-to-kill-barack-obama
Joel
Not politically correct, but don’t these clowns scream of someone in desperate need of sex?
bob h
I recall a militant Mullah being arrested in Pakistan for carrying an assault weapon in public, a crime there. In Arizona, in our supposedly civilized nation, that is quite ok, even in the proximity of the President.
Should we think of Arizona as our ungovernable Tribal Areas?
If the Dems cave on healthcare now, the lesson will be that physical intimidation in the form of psychotic shouting, death threats, and brandishing weaponry works. That is a rather sobering lesson. Doesn’t it mean we have to go thru with it?
Jay in Oregon
My standard for such writing is Time Cube. Or, possibly, Atlas Shrugs surreal “Obama is the love child of Malcolm X” post.
lamh31
Bringing Guns To The Obama Events Is Stupid
Mike Furlan
Josh Huaco
@lamh31:
Thanks for the link, although I could do without the commenter “Almatt.” His black shorts are a little snug.
Lisa
Honestly, I would pay good money to watch people who associate book learnin’ with the enemy try and fail to produce a modern-day Federalist Papers. If they do manage something it will be the first book ever written in all caps.
lmfao!!!!!!