by Eric Martin
Yeah, this seems kind of inappropriate for a member of the House of Representatives – even a Republican:
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) urged a smaller-than-expected crowd of Tea Party protesters on Tuesday to launch a Velvet Revolution-style uprising against the federal government, saying the parallels are striking between America’s current government and Eastern European communist rule.
Speaking to the Huffington Post shortly after his speech, King declared that a peaceful uprising, a la the successful overthrowing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on the streets of Prague in 1989 ‘would be fine with me.’
While it's nice that King stated his preference that the revolution be peaceful (revolutions being notoriously easy to control with soothing words at the outset), he is still ADVOCATING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF THE GOVERNMENT. Not voting out a party, but an overthrow of the entire government.
That's, you know, pretty close to treason. Just sayin.
And these aren't the ravings of the extremely popular Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. This is an elected member of Congress. Which means CNN will probably hire him when his tenure in the House ends.
(PS: While there are certain parallels between the current government and Eastern European communist rule – things like torture, indefinite detention without trial, etc. – those are the programs that Steve King wants to fight for tooth and nail. But government regulation of a widly profitable private insurance industry providing insurance for treatment in private hospitals and clinics is not exactly the Leninist model.)
The conservatives seem to hate us for our freedoms.
the disingenuous preach the ludicrous to the credulous – it’s the American way!
It’s something of a tradition to have one or two members of the lunatic fringe in Congress. Helps keep it from being too boring — which it would be if everybody was sensible and dedicated to just governing the country well (however different their takes on what that means in practice might be). Not to mention that the lunatic fringe is part of the nation as well; doesn’t hurt to have their perception represented.
The problem comes when the lunatic fringe representation in Congress increases beyond 1-2 among 400 plus. At that point, they are no longer a minor amusement, but a serious problem for actually governing the country in the real world.
The Republican Party has been playing this “overthrow the U.S. Government card” longer than their international terrorist brethren, al Qaeda.
Anti-American putz, Grover Norquist, has been doing it for decades, and there is no velvet in his threats. He means violence.
The trick is to become “credulous”, to their faces.
Threaten back, at their public meetings.
Why shouldn’t King’s (and Bachmann’s, and Beck’s and the Tea Party’s {“Next time we come armed”…..) threats be treated as the pre-9/11 threats from al Qaeda should have been treated — as an imminent mortal threat.
Next time? Why next time, you lousy cowards?
There is no time like the present, Rep. King.
The tree of liberty thirsts for your blood, now. C’mon, think how lush the tree of liberty will grow after feeding on your and Timothy McVeighs’ rancid life-blood.
Why don’t you and I and the fascist FOX blondes, including the weeping Beck, approach the entrance of any Federal building in America and announce our intentions. Just to see what happens.
I doubt they’ll attack a military installation. Norquist, King, Bachmann, Beck, Erick Erickson and the rest of the lot look to do their worst against unarmed civilians.
The political tools of the entrenched, parasitic interests are exhorting people who live on a razor’s edge of economic despair to rise up… in defense of the parasitic interests, which are directly responsible for the economic hell we live in.
And the people living on the edge of economic despair are saying “Hell, yeah!” to protecting the interests that despise, dispossess, and lie to them.
Really, the sheer unadulterated stupidity alone takes my breath away.
America: The New Easter Island.
It’s pretty close to treason, but it’s all the way at sedition. He should be expelled from Congress (which he’s also advocating overthrowing).
@ RealitasMordet
Yeah. And if the GOP had the majority, and a Dem congresscritter said something along these lines, the hearings would already be convened and the expulsion motion on the floor.
Thullen, as usual, nails it.
I’m perfectly happy for these lunatics to call for the overthrow of the government. It’s when they think this stuff but don’t say it that it gets really dangerous. When you say it, and people start thinking about the practical implications, they start thinking “maybe there’s an easier way… like winning an election”.
And velvet revolutions require a large number of people so unhappy with the status quo that they are willing to risk everything they have to camp out in the streets to beg for change – and crucially, that no countervailing group of people exists to counterprotest them.
Bit of a problem there:
So mostly I applaud his further attempts to marginalize the Republican Party. Keep up the good work!
I’m perfectly happy for these lunatics to call for the overthrow of the government. It’s when they think this stuff but don’t say it that it gets really dangerous.
That’s my take as well.
And velvet revolutions require a large number of people so unhappy with the status quo that they are willing to risk everything they have to camp out in the streets to beg for change
True dat. What they actually brought to the table was this:
though organizers stressed that the number was in the thousands, it looked to be far less.
I would have no problem with Congress sanctioning King for this comments. As far as the real-world consequences of his calls for folks to man the barricades, I’m thinking there ain’t gonna be much.
There’s so much crazy out there, you have to let some of it just roll off your back.