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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Is America Ready To Send Its Political Opponents to Jail?

You can expect hardball in a presidential campaign, especially one in a country as divided as ours seems to be. But the kind of hardballs being pitched is an indication of the people and policies that an incoming administration will be employing.

That is why it’s particularly troubling that the Obama campaign has filed a criminal complaint against the people behind an ad being run that links Obama to avowed terrorist William Ayers.

Per Ben Smith's Blog at Politico:


It's worth noting that this isn't the first time Bauer has called for criminal investigations and prosecutions into the donors to independent groups critical of Obama, including one supporting John Edwards and another supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton. His words did have the effect of scaring their donors and consultants, but haven't yet appeared to result in any prosecution.

So it appears to be a standard strategy of the Obama team to threaten their political enemies with prison for being disrespectful of Obama. This is a tactic that is reminiscent of third world countries like the ones the Obama relatives are involved with in Africa.


The ad tying Ayers to Obama is found at the American Issues Project and appears to be factually true.



What is very troubling is that the Obama campaign has decided not just to denounce the ad and run a counter ad, but that they are attempting to criminalize the ad itself. They want the people who sponsored the ad to go to jail. Many people are troubled by this.

John Hinderaker at Powerline asks:
Obama's suggestion that it is illegal for a 501(c)(4) entity to fund issue ads that are negative toward him appears ludicrous. Here's the real question, though: if Obama is elected President, will he appoint an Attorney General who will carry out politically-motivated prosecutions like the one he is now demanding? I suppose we can't know for sure, but why wouldn't he? If he demands criminal prosecution of free speech that opposes his political interests when he's a candidate, why wouldn't he order it as President?



Many Republicans are unhappy with John McCain for his the blatant suppression of free speech in McCain Feingold. Now the Obama camp is raising the ante by trying to jail people who dare to speak out against the Messiah.

It is a very troubling perspective of what an Obama Justice Department could do to his political opponents.

30 comments:

Raquel Okyay said...

Excellent post!

dienw said...

The question is no longer about getting Bush 3 from McCain or Jimmy Carter 2: it is now are we going to get Mugabe 2 from the LORD, Adonai, Obama.

Anonymous said...

Given the above, I guess Obama really wants to be just like Abraham Lincoln.

Why? Because he'll also have to deal with a civil war if he's actually stupid enough to try these shenanigans.

Anonymous said...

Well, thank God we have a reinvigorated second amendment. We might need it, to protect the first amendment.

Anonymous said...

We will see the start soon. There will be a massive campaign explaining how any word or action that does not support Hussein is actually racism and, since racism is bad, opposition will not be allowed.
Carter's "black boy" clip is not mentioned and will be hard to find in a day or so. It won't be Hussein, himself, who says it, maybe, Lieing Joe Biden, but someone very soon will start the tatoo that opposition to Hussein is racism.

Chuck Pelto said...

TO: The Virginian, et al.
RE: Merely Arrest?

Is America Ready To Send Its Political Opponents to Jail -- The Virginian

Rather tame, compared to what I saw on videos of an encouter between Michelle Malkin and Alex Jones.

People who think about opposition like that want to outright kill the opposition.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[There's a storm coming. -- Terminator]

Think38 said...

Does anyone else see the irony of calling for criminal prosecution for airing advertisements that are critical of the tacit acceptence of a person who advocated -- and practiced -- armed insurrection against the US government?

Anonymous said...

think38 - good point.

I've been seeing this for a long time.

Democrats have been trying to make being republican criminal, and that is not exaggeration.

DADvocate said...

There's no doubt the left is moving in that direction. University speech codes, the real purpose of hate crime laws and VAWA, etc. Creeping leftwing totalitariansism.

Unknown said...

Dude,

If you keep raising these troubling issues, it starts to appear like you're a Racist ... and under an Obama presidency, we're going to outlaw racism, and put racists like you in jail.

I'm just sayin' (hint, hint).

We've already had arrested an ABCNews correspondent taking pictures of our donors ... so if you don't think we can't round you up and imprison you, you need to think again.

Obama went to Germany looking for some good ideas, and it looks like the trip was a success.

Enjoy your prison-rape.

Unknown said...

Seriously, though ... isn't that the implied threat.

That they're going to put you in prison, where Obama's constituency is ready to pounce on you the moment you arrive ... ready to rape you, then slit your throat with a shiv?

Isn't that the message they're trying to send out?

Obama isn't just a friend of Bill Ayers, who, if he doesn't agree with your position will resort to the pipe bomb.

He's an unrepentent friend. And if you try to suggest that Obama is friends with an American Terrorist, then you should be put in jail and raped by black guys and bombed by Weathermen.

I'm pretty sure that's the message that the ABCNews crew is getting today.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

Ever been to Berkeley? It's basically a police state, er, town. You park the wrong way in a parking lot space and you get a ticket. I have. Something about liberals, leftists, and police states. For some reason they go together.

Anonymous said...

His supporters sent 10,000 emails to potential Republican donars threatening to investigate them and expose them for whatever they didn't want people to know about them

When Obama ran for the Senate, his opponent's decades old sealed divorce decree was unsealed by a California court, just in time to ruin the guy's chance, not enough time for the Reps to field another credible candidate.

caseym54 said...

It would seem that AIP.org has a far more devastating ad to run:

"Barack Obama wants to put us in jail for criticizing him. We believe in freedom of speech, and we will continue to speak out. ANd so should you."

LT said...

You can't actually think that people can't see through this. Tell me you can't.

Let's try this from another angle: John McCain's campaign almost daily releases new ads critical of Barack Obama. Via the geniuses at The Virginian (and the commenters who seem unable to think this through; and Glenn Reynolds), this would lead to the Obama campaign trying to get the McCain campaign prosecuted.

But, uh, they're not.

Reason: McCain campaign not breaking law with ads.

Texas billionaire: breaking law with Ayers ad.

You are embarrassingly obvious. Or just an idiot.

halojones-fan said...

I'm looking forward to Obama stating that he's "100% behind these people until he figures out what they're doing".

Anonymous said...

So when is the MSM ("Legacy Media?") going to get off it's duff an start headlining these almost unbelievable violations of the Bill of Rights?

NOW buddies. Do it NOW.

I can not -- absolutely can not -- comprehaend the lack of outrage from the MSM about these actions. We have men and women out there (my son included) willing to die for Obama's right to speak against what they do as national defense and Team Obama wants to prosecute people for criticism or simply investigating?

It was ABC Obama's people put in jail, not some whacko from National Review or American Spectator of Spotlight (does that even exist anymore?)

I thought some people were a bit over the top with their "scarey!" comments in past weeks.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is scarey.

Anonymous said...

Texas billionaire: breaking law with Ayers ad.

Ok, so let's hurry up and arrest him and get this thing on its way to the Supreme Court before President Obama on the Harry Reid senate can appoint another facist liberal douche to the bench.

submandave said...

"Texas billionaire: breaking law with Ayers ad."

And I'll wait, with baited breath, for your equivalent condemnation of George Soros.

JBlog said...

Completely predictable, in my opinion.

They can't attack the message -- principally because it's true -- so they attack the messenger.

Chuck Pelto said...

TO: All
RE: As the Instapundit Would Put It....

They told me that if George Bush were re-elected, they'd be accusing critics with criminal conduct, and they were RIGHT!

Regards,

Chuck(le)
P.S. And arresting reporters for taking pictures, too.

CastoCreations said...

Wow...this just makes me want to donate to the American Issues Project. And I hate donating to political things. Obama scares me more and more.

Anonymous said...

Marxists are dictators - they have to be, so they can steal your money and suppress opposition. There is no practical difference between Marxism and Fascism. Obama is a Marxist. Therefore the Democrat nominee for President of the United States is a fascist dictator-in-waiting.

That'll be a "change" our leftie dumbkopfs will appreciate.

davod said...

Alinsky strikes from the grave.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Soros has already called for a "de-Nazification process" last year.

Anonymous said...

America hopefully is not ready - but Obama's legal thugs most definitely are. They MUST be stopped.

Anonymous said...

"Enjoy your prison rape."

That was funny.

I listened to the two hour interview and am appalled by the lack of intellectual curiosity exhibited by the Obama supporters who called the radio show.

They had no facts, and instead, insulted the host and demeaned the guest. The caller displayed their ignorance and childishness for the world to hear.

So far, I have not heard or read a single verifiable fact that refutes any of Mr. Kurtz's assertions.

It seems the Far Left is making its move in this election, and their operatives in the Media are colluding to ram Obama through to the White House.

It's a shame. Because if the Left thinks the rest of us will allow our Constitution to be ignored and our country turned into a Socialist nightmare, they should disabuse themselves of that notion.

If I have learned anything since September 11th, it's that we the people MUST FIGHT for our liberty against our enemies abroad and within.

Unknown said...

Am I the only sane person here?? The question is not one of free speech, it is one of slander. And I would hope that the readers here know that slander is illegal. Unintended falsehoods based on ignorance are even prosecuted in our courtrooms across America. But these adds are deliberate, malicious and trying to confuse the viewers, or re-enforce the misconceptions in uninformed Americans minds. I hope that the Americans that believe such rubbish cannot get a day pass from the asylum on election day.

Raquel Okyay said...

"Unintended falsehoods based on ignorance"

Can you back that up?

Anonymous said...

may bea, it seems you are the one who is missing the point: Obama has a DOCUMENTED history of associating with radicals.

If you have documented proof to the contrary, please share with us.

My mother told me this quote thirty years ago: ,b."Show me who you walk with and I'll show you who you are.",/b.