A Serious concern my wife has: With the rise of violent talk and hatred with Right wing

[diabeticman]

seems to have with the left or more specifically Republicans seem to have with Democrats is anyone getting nervous about future presidential candidates?

Maybe it is the various news of late:


Person On Tea Party Conference Call Suggests Shooting Susan Collins

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/tea-partier-susan-collins-will-listen-on-immigration?ref=fpb

You have the Ricin letters being sent.

The various threats to Obama before 2012 election as well as during and now after the election.

The NRA more extreme stance seems to be accepted by the "Media".

My wife isn't one of the tin foil hat nuts but with all the various stories around it does give one wonder how this current political and even social climate (with Roe V Wade being attacked. etc) how will the 2014 election shape up and what will the 2016 election be like?

[HiPointDem]

1. the ptb are just 'heightening the contradictions' on the road to the new fascist state.

[villager]

4. Exactly. Turn your brown shirts loose, then you "have" to declare martial law...

...eventually, for "everyone's" "safety"

[Mopar151]

2. The extreme right is getting desperate.

Demographics and public opinion are against them. The Tea Party movement has emboldened the wackos, and has run off the moderates who used to keep them in check.

[KT2000]

3. I'm concerned for everyone

there are people all over this country who are living on the RW adrenalin of hate and they are agitated most of the time. Got a bulldozer? mow down a few houses. Got a gun? threaten and let everyone know you have one (or more).
If the RW lets it all go to the tea party then we are in trouble.

[Warpy]

5. These people are not smart people and they fell for an alternate reality

created for them by Pox News and AM radio demagogues. Since they're confronting reality that clashes with the artificial one they want to live in, the cognitive dissonance has got to be extremely painful to them.

They act out because of that and it is going to get worse before this country sweeps the garbage off the air.

And before anyone howls First Amendment! at me, the amendment isn't absolute and doesn't apply to commercial enterprises, which have their speech limited all the time.

You can't scream Fire! in a crowded theater that is not on fire and you shouldn't be able to lie to a bunch of stupid people who want to believe they're special and the rest of us are worthy of hatred.

[ZRT2209]

6. these people are violent, insane and very, very dangerous. #goodgermans

weak-minded brainwashed goons

[LadyHawkAZ]

7. I agree with your wife

I've been worried about this since the 08 elections, and it's only getting worse. Sorry, I wish I had something comforting to say to her, but I don't. I suspect it will get worse before it gets better.

[dimbear]

8. A country with a violent past likely has a violent future. Humans are slow to learn.

Hope for the best, I guess.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. if you sincerely believed that we are rapidly becoming an absolute totalitarian state - what would

you do? What would you do if you thought we were marching into absolute totalitarianism and you knew there was no way you could win at the ballot box or stop by any legal or nonviolent means this inevitable takeover by enemies of the country? Seriously, if you were genuinely convinced that the new Third Reich had come to America and there was no possible way of stop it through normal channels - what would you do? We have the right-wing infotainment industry led by Fox News and rightwing hate radio and webpages like WorldNutDaily and Front Page to thank for putting this crazy thinking into the heads of somewhere around 35%+ of the American population.

[HiPointDem]

10. Rich people own the media and rich people own the economy. Those are the people encouraging

such beliefs and funding such groups, & making people economically insecure enough to consider such things.

It's not some spontaneous phenomenon; it's cultivated.

[mattclearing]

12. I'd move to Australia.

Not uncoincidentally, I now live in Australia.

I don't necessarily accept your premise, but it was clear things were getting bad enough.

Edit: Turns out uncoincidentally isn't a word. My bad.

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. That would be the Fourth Reich. n/t

[DallasNE]

11. While Our Founding Fathers Did An Outstanding Job

Of putting together a Constitution that covered the bases in place at the time. They also had the foresight to recognize that the original document had some serious shortcomings so they returned to the drawing board and came up with the Bill of Rights to address those known shortcomings.

But those were simple times. Corporate America did not exist -- there were no stock markets, for instance. The "commerce" addressed in the Constitution was nothing like the sweeping commerce that is covered today by the Commerce Clause and that is probably for the better even though nobody would claim that what passes as commerce regulated by the Federal government today represents a strict construction of the Constitution. What that also means is that the free press covered by the 1st Amendment has no resemblance to today's media. The media remained a free press, even after becoming incorporated. But it was only a matter of time before the corporate arm would declare that they become a profit center and that switch over happened in the early 1970's. It took a few years for the free press to wither and die but wither and die it did. And that is a long-winded way of laying much of the blame for current state of widespread hate of government fostered by corporate owned media companies. There is no better evidence of the demise of the free press than today's so-called fact checkers and here is exhibit A:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/297449_WAPOs_Glenn_Kessler_Gives_Thre

Is there any wonder we are seeing a dozen ricin lased letters sent and all by people who's views would have to be considered conservative. And with paranoia being incubated by right wing talk it was always only a matter of time before we would see what we are seeing today. Lack of a functioning free press is one of the most pressing issues this country faces today.

[eShirl]

13. I've been worried about this since the mid 90s.

[kelliekat44]

14. Your wife has..? And you don't have the same problem?

Your wife seems like a very thoughtful person.

[Dash87]

15. They're losing badly. They'll all die off soon and be forgotten.

This type of rhetoric is nothing new. They were rabid when Clinton was in office - they just didn't have the internet then.

[burnodo]

20. I think "losing badly" is the key

The tired old white male dogmas are going the way of the dodo, and white-males are getting more desperate to hold on to their Buchanan-esque view of the world. They were promised a Romney presidency and they're still trying to figure out how Obama stole the election ("Damn ACORN!&quot

I mean come on! Black president? Gays becoming accepted members of the community? Women earning more than men and able to live without them? It is the end-times for most of these numbnuts and their actions will be increasingly more desperate.

[lunatica]

16. Anyone who knows history should be scared

And so should anyone who's paying attention. The haters and screamers are doing their thing with a vengeance. Look at all the misogynist anti whatever laws that have been passed just in the last year.

[LiberalEsto]

17. Don't forget the jerk who wanted to shoot Hillary in the vagina

This violent talk is incredibly ugly

[Puzzledtraveller]

18. Nothing new really

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. That's the point.

[JoePhilly]

22. The RW media shakes the crazy tree, and every once in a while, a nut falls out.