strike two

more terrorism from the right?

I realize that associating wackos from extreme fringe is sometimes disingenuous. But when the fringe/Faux right spent a week complaining about observational concerns within the people who create their "fringe" for violent action, and then we see violent action from that extreme fringe, i suspect we can say something like "told you so". This isn't a phenomenon limited to right-wingers (many of the anti-globalization forces are for example anarchists), but it is a phenomenon we will be seeing more of over the next few years to have some right-wing nut job shooting abortion providers, Jews, Muslims, blacks, Mexicans, or some other group "causing" perceived injustices. Because the people that for some reason oppose these various groups are most casually aligned with "Southern Conservatism" (of the sort that dominated GOP politics over the past decade), and the source of a domestic terrorist's motivations seems most like "the perceived inability to produce action through legal channels". Something that Southern Conservatives presently cannot do without decent spokespeople, a coherent message, and representation in key federal channels. It's something that bugged me about many Ron Paul's acolytes being drawn strongly from these sorts of people, and which more clearly defined his brand of libertarianism as inconsistent with the underlying ideology of a classical liberal. I have no interest in preserving the ability of some to practice social discrimination (individual discrimination is something we all do more or less in our choice of associations, this is different) or to permit the authorities exercising local or state power abuses over individual liberties while denying this to federal (or international) authority. But these people do. And without the perception that they have a voice (however flawed that voice was), they will choose to act.

Good luck getting people to back rational causes of social conservatives (whatever these might be) when your primary "advocates" are armed lunatics on a mission from God.