“Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution
through an interim administration that would do the serious business of
governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars.”
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Those are the words of conservative columnist John Perry of NEWSMAX, who has openly fantasized about the U.S. Military storming the White House, overthrowing President Obama, seizing control of government, and thereby “supposedly” saving the day and all humanity. Pretty strong, huh? But realizing the ramifications of such rhetoric, NEWSMAX has since removed the column saying “Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.” Hmmm….OK!
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Yesterday, NY Times Columnist Thomas Friedman addressed this and similar rhetoric directed at the President, in his
Op-Ed Column, suggesting what
OKWASSUP! and others have been discussing for some time now — that this sort of talk is extremely dangerous, is fanning the flames of hatred and disrespect, and could (God forbid) cause someone to take matters into their own hands and attempt the unthinkable. Mr. Friedman wrote:
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I hate to write about this, but I have actually been to this play before and it is really disturbing.
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I was in Israel interviewing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin just before he was assassinated in 1995. We had a beer in his office. He needed one. I remember the ugly mood in Israel then — a mood in which extreme right-wing settlers and politicians were doing all they could to delegitimize Rabin, who was committed to trading land for peace as part of the Oslo accords. They questioned his authority. They accused him of treason. They created pictures depicting him as a Nazi SS officer, and they shouted death threats at rallies. His political opponents winked at it all.
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Something very dangerous is happening. Criticism from the far right has begun tipping over into delegitimization and creating the same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the Rabin assassination. What kind of madness is it that someone would create a poll on Facebook asking respondents, “Should Obama be killed?” The choices were: “No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.” The Secret Service is now investigating.
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Despite the fantasy of Mr. Perry and the concern of Mr. Friedman, conservatives took to the airwaves on Wednesday to immediately discount all of this as a whole lot of nothing. But for very different reasons, I can only hope BOTH Mr. Perry and Mr. Friedman are wrong!
