An anti-government militant -- on disability

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2010/03/26/vanderboegh/

Friday, Mar 26, 2010 10:27 EDT
An anti-government militant -- on disability
Activist Mike Vanderboegh urged his fellow extremists to break Democrats' windows. But he gets "Marxist" welfare
By Joe Conason

Mike Vanderboegh is the far-right activist from Alabama who gained sudden notoriety when he posted a message this week urging his fellow extremists to smash the windows of Democratic politicians to protest healthcare reform -- a wingnut Kristallnacht. In a revealing profile in today's Washington Post, Vanderboegh explains that throwing rocks was merely meant to warn of an impending "civil war" against Washington's infringements on poor honest folk like him.

"So, if you wish to send a message that Pelosi and her party cannot fail to hear, break their windows," Vanderboegh wrote on a blog called Sipsey Street Irregulars. "Break them NOW. Break them and run to break again. Break them under cover of night. Break them in broad daylight. Break them and await arrest in willful, principled civil disobedience. Break them with rocks. Break them with slingshots. Break them with baseball bats. But BREAK THEM." snip

There is often a darkly comical aspect to these sinister fringe figures. While Vanderboegh claims to be a militant "libertarian," a tribune of the oppressed white middle class, and a student of Friedrich von Hayek, he appears to be an ordinary welfare case. Claiming to be too ill for gainful employment, he apparently spends most of his time stirring up violence, with a nice federal subsidy.

According to the Post, he lives off his wife, who works at a forklift company -- and also gets a monthly disability check from our "Marxist" federal government.

[panzerfaust]

1. Truly, if he believed what he was saying, he would refuse his handouts.

[Urban Prairie]

2. Any libertarian or conservative worth his or her salt

Would have had subscribed to long-term disability policy offered by a for-profit capitalist insurance company and would not have needed to rely on the government for support. But how many of these hypocrites practice what they preach (personal responsibility)?

[underpants]

3. civil disobedience doesn't include destroying property

but this jackhole is so taken with using the phrase that he didn't consider what it means

[tsuki]

4. Not all that unusual. Most of the teabaggers that I know here are

retired military who don't want "their" taxes to go to "those" people. I saw a car last week with a bumper sticker, "I didn't vote for the chains of socialism". On the left hand corner of the windshield was a base sticker indicating the owner was a retired E-6 who shops at a socialized grocery store (the commissary), socialized Wal-Mart (the BX), gets his medicine free at the socialized pharmacy, has socialized health care for the rest of his life, and a big socialized check every month.

There's a real libertarian for you.

[Old and In the Way]

5. He's an anti-socialist.

In the traditional, criminal sense. He is pro-violence.

[brewens]

6. All kinds of reforms liberals and labor are responsible for have

been so successful and been around so long, they are taken for granted. I know a guy that has MS and is in a wheelchair. He worked hard before it hit him and had a great job. Now he's disabled but is a die hard conservative.
He made good money and benefits when he was working only because of the labor movement. He is living as independently and well as he is now only because of socialist programs. He'd be stuck living off one of his brothers, if he was lucky, without liberals. He wouldn't even be able to get out of his house without help or drive himself. No income of his own. Amazing people like that don't realize that.

[NNN0LHI]

7. Having MS and in a wheelchair I can understand him being bitter

And I would imagine being in that situation leaves a lot of time for watching and listening to the right wing propaganda machine.

I can see it.

Don

[Old Codger]

8. Like other things

The courage of his convictions do not run too deep..