This is too funny:
A Christian civil liberties organization on Thursday asked centrist Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello (D) to move his home district office to a location more favorable to protesters.
The Rutherford Institute, which was founded by conservative constitutional lawyer John W. Whitehead, penned a letter to the freshman Perriello citing the concerns of a local tea party group and the University of Virginia College Republicans that the location of his Charlottesville office interferes with their right to protest there.
Again, you can’t make this stuff up. They want him to move his office to a location that provides more space for them to harass him.
On the other hand, poking around the Rutherford Institute’s site, it seems like they were on the side of angels regarding torture.
scav
do they require public transit too?
AhabTRuler
Well, at least they cared enough to write!
MattF
Perriello is obviously an enemy of the First Amendment. And anyone who mocks a Christian. And anyone who agrees with Perriello. Also. Too.
jrg
What’s the problem? Is his current office not in a “free speech zone”?
joeyess
I don’t think I’ll be “poking around” the Rutherford Institute, thank you.
parksideq
Maybe Perriello would have moved his office if their note had said “green balloons”.
calipygian
His office is in a little strip mall and the other businesses there don’t like it when tea baggers are dipping their balls on each other’s chins in the spots reserved for customer parking.
SGEW
The Rutherford Institute, apparently, was on the side of both Paula Jones and Jose Padilla.
Huh. I smell principle, maybe? It’s an unusual thing, really.
JenJen
It’s moments like these where I really wish I were a Congressional Chief of Staff, just so I could author the response to these jackholes.
Not too long ago, the Teabaggers went to the offices of our local congress members, Republican and Democrat alike, and staged protests where they walked around the offices. Watching all seven of them walk in a circle around the high-rise that houses Jean “Patriotic Scrunchie” Schmidt’s offices was comedy gold.
Leelee for Obama
Perhaps they’d like to donate a site more to their liking? That would be democracy in the hands of the people, and then he could refund the gubmint for his office rent. Wonder how much it would cost to buy out his current lease?
On the torture issue, broken clocks and all that notwithstanding, they still should get credit for standing up against it.
GReynoldsCT00
Maybe they’d like one of those food vendor carts installed too, can’t protest on an empty stomach
Punchy
He needs to move betwixt to the ACORN office, Planned Parenthood cubicle, the DNC loft, during the DKos Yearly Whatever.
BruceFromOhio
This is oxymoranic on several levels.
beltane
@scav: And refreshments. The teabaggers work up an appetite while protesting.
Xanthippas
Is that an oxymoron?
Mike in NC
He defeated tobacco company whore Virgil Goode, so maybe he can arrange for free smokes for those teabaggers.
Tea Party Tantrums
What’s next with these people?
Political commentator Stuart Rothenberg listed Perriello as one of the twelve most vulnerable incumbents in the House of Representatives up for reelection in 2010
Based upon the above statement they’ll demand Perriello resign “NOW” so they can seat the tea party candidate who will undoubtedly win in 2010 because God is on THEIR side.
Xanthippas
@BruceFromOhio:
Dangit! I suppose I should read the comments before I post my witticisms.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Mandatory government-paid leg massages after a long day of protesting or fight!
Christ. The dudes at The Onion must read shit like this and weep because there’s no way to mock it.
JenJen
Along these lines, this little fight between Wonkette and one of Dick Armey’s teabagging soldiers is pretty amusing.
I liked this line:
Actually, lefties didn’t bring this crude term into the mainstream. Also, judging by the kneejerk reaction wingnuts have to it, I’d argue that the term “teabagger” hasn’t lost any impact at all.
Xecky Gilchrist
@Xanthippas: Is that an oxymoron?
Heh, depends on the brand of Christian, IMO. I can believe it from, say, Quakers. Though the Quaker meeting I occasionally attend has a few outspoken atheists in it, which I gather is not uncommon among meetings, so maybe they’re not very representative Christians. My kinda folks, though.
Sly
So?
There are people who agree with me on 90% of political issues, and yet because of their use of simplistic and superficial narratives, conspiracy theories, and generally shitty arguments, I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.
Well… maybe if it got them to a polling station.
Any relation to these guys?
burnspbesq
Here’s a thought. Perriello could have office hours on the 50-yard line at Scott Stadium. Then when the UVa College Republicans whip themselves into a frenzy and start breaking shit, they will violating University rules. And when they lie about it, the will be violating UVa’s Honor Code, and can be expelled.
Works for me.
gnomedad
Periello should also be required to bend over upon request.
scbarr
I just feel dirty and a little bit sad after clicking over to the rutherford site..
burnspbesq
@scbarr:
It does look like their primary objective is to blow a big hole in the Establishment Clause, doesn’t it? I’m not down with that. I like the First Amendment as the Framers wrote it, thank you.
Elise
He should write a letter back and it should just say, “LOL” – nothing more.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@JenJen: Bu-but, calling someone a teabagger is as bad as calling someone the n-word while forcing them to eat a sHitler sandwich!
Should the ReaLAMErican Patriots ever translate their words about armed revolt into actions, we’ll just drop a few f-bombs on them. The medics won’t be able to bring out the swooning couches fast enough.
gnomedad
@burnspbesq:
OTOH, their Twelve Rules of Christmas seem quite sane and if generally understood would lay to rest much of the “War on Christmas” crap, although these are “compiled” rather than “endorsed” by them, so I’m not sure whether they’re officially happy with them.
BruceFromOhio
@JenJen:
It hasn’t. I tried it yesterday. It still has that new-car smell kind of impact. Another barb for the arsenal, handy for when the political gets personal.
CZHA
Tasty, tasty! The problem arises from the rights of private property owners… the very people supposedly supported by conservative allies of Rutherford Institooters.
Some obvious solutions:
(1) diminish private property rights, or
(2) increase the supply of public property to meet demands, or
(3) tightly regulate the locations of various businesses and organizations, whether for-profit or not-for-profit.
I can’t see either Rutherford Institooters or allies supporting any of these options. Institooters might well be upset that the last would likely obviate the special protections for religions under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
sloan
@JenJen: I’m sure it was already mentioned here but teabagger is the new n*gger. No, really.
So when a bagger sees another bagger, they can say “Sup, bagga?” and it’s cool.
But if you say “Hey teabaggers – you’re doing it wrong!” then you’re a reverse-racist. Or something like that.
Dr. Squid
They certainly weren’t when they joined in the Paula Jones Panty Sniff.
Cpl. Cam
Hell, I’d take them up on it, as long as they were willing to foot the bill for any rent increase and move my furniture.
YankeeApologist
Slightly off topic, this may be me, but I can’t remember the last time I saw someone who WASN’T a “Centrist” Democrat or a “Centrist” Republican.
If everyone’s so Centrist, how come we can’t get on the same healthcare or banking reform page?
Honus
My office is about a block and a half from Perriello’s office. There is also a one-block public park (Lee Park, with a life size statue of Robert E. Lee on horseback), a Courthouse with a park around it (and a similar statue of Stonewall Jackson, and two civil war cannons) and a five block open public pedestrian shopping mall, with an ampitheatre and “a free speech” wall and area for assembly at one end near the city hall. All of this is within a block or two of Perriello’s office. The teabaggers don’t lack for convenient places to stage protests near Perriello’s office, they lack the ability to harass and disrupt his staff.
And this foolishness is typical of Whitehead and the Rutherford institute. Whitehead founded what is essentially a wingnut welfare organization and endowed a job for himself by hounding Clinton over the Paula Jones thing. While he occasionally gets something right (like torture) nearly all of his “1st amendment” cause celebres are pure wingnut stuff, like the time a couple of years ago he sued the school system because they sent a kid a home for wearing an NRA t-shirt with a rifle and telescopic site (students aren’t allowed to wear shirts with images of weapons) or filing a suit on behalf of someone who wants to put a crucifix on the courthouse lawn. In over 17 years I never recall him criticizing or making demands of Virgil Goode, George Allen, Jim Gilmore, or any other republicans.
nevsky42
BTW, this was the guy that they were planning to burn in effigy a few weeks back.
I went to one of his health care panels in the summer and the thing that amazed me was he treated all the questions with a kindness and respect the people who posed them didn’t really deserve.