About Threats And Violence

We've been hearing a lot lately about the threats and curses being received by Democrats who voted in favor of ObamaCare. I believe there is some truth to the claims, but I also suspect that the claims have been exaggerated and politicized by Democrats for political gain.

But let's deal with the issue of ObamaCare opponents threatening and harassing Democrat Congressmen who just passed ObamaCare.

My political beliefs are essentially libertarian, which means I'm not a big fan of one entity (person or government) using force on another entity (person or government). Much of my opposition to things like ObamaCare is rooted in my objection to the use of force by government on its citizens.

But that also means that I deplore force (threats of violence included) used by people against other people. Using force to DEFEND oneself is fine, but I will not initiate violence against another... nor will I sanction that action by others.

Obviously, threatening politicians for their votes is wrong... though I do think that politicians should be held civilly and criminally liable for their actions while in office, but that's an entirely different issue.

That's one side of it. The other side of it is... what did they expect? In reality, I mean. All theory and ideological beliefs aside, what did they really expect?


People are people, and many people will respond to great anger and frustration with words and action. These people are angry and frustrated because the Democrats used narrow majorities to force upon us a law that the majority of us don't want... and that 62% of us want the GOP to keep fighting against. The Democrats should have EXPECTED anger and frustration, with all the attendant ramifications.

Of the tens of millions of people who have protested against ObamaCare, only a small handful are resorting to threats and violence. Assuming that we have 1,000 such people taking action, and by all accounts the number more likely tops out at a tenth of that, that means that no more than 0.0006% of opponents are involved. (Polls show about 50% opposed to ObamaCare, and 50% of population is about 150 million, divided into 1,000 agitators.) In other words, the extreme fringe.

I do not believe that anger and frustration justify these threats and attacks, and I hope the people involved are caught and punished before anybody gets hurt. However, given the degree of social engineering engaged in here, it is unsurprising that we are seeing this kind of response from a small minority of protesters. In that, it is a measure of how far ahead of the American people the Democrats have gotten, and how out of touch they are with what we do and don't want.

One could expect similar events if Congress were to approve an amendment re-legalizing slavery, for example. The more society disagrees with the action, the more explosive will be the negative reactions.

I think the Democrats need to stop trying to score political points with these threats and let law enforcement officers handle the situations as they arise. Conservatives have been threatened for a lot less... just ask Anne Coulter, who recently had a speaking engagement canceled because of threats of violence about what she MIGHT say. By politicizing the threats, Democrats are merely inflaming the situation. All to score political points? That's a terrible reason.

And those of you who may be contemplating violence... Get a grip, will you?