They're Getting Uglier and More Dangerous

It started last summer, with busloads of so-called "average Americans," organized and financed by millionaires like David Koch and his group Freedomworks. These people appeared at town hall meetings all over the country to shout down anyone with whom they disagreed about health care. We've seen their racist pictures of President Obama and read their misspelled racist and hate-filled placards.

Since health care reform is now law, these people -- spurred on by hate speech, some members of Congress, and rightwing rabble-rousing AM talk hosts -- have gone much further. These Tea Baggers have recently spit upon members of Congress, screamed the N-word at black members of Congress, screamed the F-word at gay members of Congress, mocked a wheelchair-bound Parkinson's victim at a health care rally, vandalized local Democratic headquarters, thrown bricks through Democratic Congress members' office windows, and made death threats to at least 10 Democratic members of Congress. They and their leaders incite violence in their speech and actions. Sarah Palin produced maps with riflescope crosshairs to mark Democratic districts. Their signs threaten gun violence because they don't want (and probably don't understand) any part of the new health care reform laws. Yesterday, several signs were waved stating "If Brown [the new Massachusetts governor] can't stop it, a Browning [gun] will."

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These people call themselves patriots, but have no respect for the American system or the Democratically-elected officials with whom they disagree. Rightwing apologists claim these are "isolated incidents." One or two crazies would be isolated incidents. Hundreds of these occurrences all over the country for the past year define the far rightwing nutjobs that have taken over the Republican party.