Sedition; It’s Not Just For Leftists Anymore

There are things which deserve punishment. There aren’t a whole lot of people who disagree with draconian measures for Genocide and Child Molestation, as an example.

Then there is sedition. Sedition is not a partisan issue; it strikes at the core of patriotism. Sedition lances the heart of rational debate and diminishes even the most valid concerns of the perpetrator’s partisanship.

A couple of days ago, somebody felt that sedition was so brilliant that it should be shared on a Facebook page. Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, suggesting the violent demise of the President of the United States is wrong. It is an awful act of betrayal against the mechanisms of representative democracy.

When a small component of progressivism spoke about usurping the Bush administration through violence, they were wrong. Likewise, a larger movement of reactionaries is equally wrong in their calls for brutal reaction to whatever policies being debated in Congress.

The hard line of the right wing is best admonished with its own words from earlier this decade. “You lost. Get over it.”

Losing stinks, but this time there is no question over the credibility, or size, of the loss. Barack Obama is the President of the United States. The majorities of the House and the Senate are, at least technically, in Democratic hands. This is not a fluke or squeaker. The Republican Party was handed its posterior in the last two election cycles.

Instead of looking inward, and trying to discover why Republicans and Conservatives were soundly rejected, the tactic has been to coarsen the debate without offering solutions. As of now, affiliation with the Republican Party hovers under a quarter of all voters.

Conservatives really did not need the illusion that harm coming to the President would be something that they could approve of. This is an idea that offends the overwhelming majority of Americans.

A violently-inclined, bigoted component of Conservative discourse is now the face of the Republican Party. This group was courted by Nixon, and rejects the moderation of James Jeffords, Lincoln Chafee, and Arlen Spector. They similarly reject the libertarian postures of John McCain, a genuine Goldwater Conservative.

Vocal paleoconservatism is not serving the long-term interests of a viable Republican Party. When invoking secession and assassination, reasonable people of all political affiliations recognize these ideas for what they are: sedition.

The violent overthrow of a duly elected government is not something to be bandied about lightly. After suggesting assassination, such as the Facebook survey; secession, such as Governor Rick Perry (R-TX); or (more ominously) a military coup d’etat, alluded to by Perry, advocated by Rush Limbaugh (see link), one hopes that the President will finally say enough.

Justified disagreement with a President is not an adequate animus to bring charges. However, there is a very real need to clarify what is free speech and that which may be construed as sedition under United States Law.

There are three components under the 1940 Smith Act, the relevant US law regarding sedition. Short form-advocating or planning the overthrow of the United States Government is illegal, as is participating in an organization which does the same.

Translation-a majority of the right-wing opinion apparatus, particularly Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, Fox News, and Premiere Networks have been complicit in empowering groups who wish to overthrow a duly elected President and Congress.

Nothing is very likely to happen unless someone finally gets hurt or killed. Perhaps the opportunity exists for the Secret Service to begin investigating the most visible supporters of inappropriate activity. Rush Limbaugh should have a nice long conversation in front of a judge for sedition. It might be a good opportunity to define where the boundaries lie.

No one who loves the United States Constitution can be enthusiastic about putting ideas on trial in a general sense. Nor can anyone who loves that same Constitution be enthusiastic about those who would attempt to destroy the institutions which it has so eloquently provided for 222 years.

The daily assaults we now witness are not merely upon Barack Obama. They are directed against the presidency itself. President Obama has not committed a crime, but a small plurality feels that it is their right to thwart the will of a majority of American voters through deceit and violence if they deem it necessary.

Arrest Limbaugh. Enjoin him from broadcasting. The American people deserve a clear and distinct definition of what sedition is, because it certainly is not patriotic.

UPDATE:  Think Progress reports that Newsmax has withdrawn an opinion piece where one of their commentators advocates a military coup d'etat against President Obama.  It appears that not everyone reading Newsmax is opposed to the United States.

One still questions how many of those who believe them are.