Apparently, it’s not enough to boo and scream and make rude noises and chant silly slogans to intimidate Congressional members and others from having a civil debate on the merits of health care reform. Nope, that doesn’t cut the mustard for the defenders of our freedoms anymore. Time to water the tree of liberty with the blood of anyone who disagrees with them about the need for reform. Time to go all Ultimate Fighting on those liberal hippy commie bastards. Yeeehaw!
At least, that’s what one nascent teabagger did at a rally outside the Miami Chamber of Commerce where Senator Bill nelson was speaking yesterday. When a 65 year old man cheered for healthcare reform with his friends, fellow democratic activists and union members, another man took grave offense at the audacity he displayed. So, to silence his exercise of his 1st amendment right to peaceable assemble and speak freely this gentlemen took matters into his own hands. Or his fists, as it were:
“Luis Perrero of Coral Gables was standing among about 40 Democratic activists and union workers when a man in a Ford pick-up truck pulled up to the rally at Jungle Island and began arguing with the crowd,” the Herald’s Tolouse Oloronippa blogged Wednesday. “The man, who only gave his first name as Raul, said Perrero called him a Spanish curse word. He punched Perrero in the face. Perrero fell to the ground and lay motionless for a few minutes.”
“I’m amazed the way this has become such a politicized issue,” Perrero told Oloronippa. “It shows that people who are against the public option will resort to anything, including battery on a senior citizen to prevent healthcare reform.”
“It was totally uncalled for,” Wilhelmina Ford, another public healthcare supporter quipped. “The guy may have had words with him but he didn’t have to hit him in the face.”
Yeah! That’ll show those socialist pinkos that conservatives mean business. A few broken noses (or skulls) of senior citizens who think health care is a right and not an investment opportunity ought to do the trick. I’m just surprised they haven’t taken it to this level before.
But seriously, where were the police? This is what known as criminal assault and battery. The Miami Herald blogger who reported about this incident refers to Fire Rescue attending to Mr. Perrero’s injury, but nothing about any law enforcement responding. Is this a sign of things to come? More thuggish behavior by violent right wing opponents to shut down debate on the public option, the one part of the proposed reform that has overwhelming majority support among the American public?
I guess the lies and the gun toting cretins parading around outside Obama’s apprearance wasn’t enough to get the blood of these morans stirring. No, they had to take it to the next level. How soon before we see organized squads of “righteous teabaggers” starting brawls at the upcoming rallies to be held in support of reform while cops look the other way? It does give one pause, I must say, to consider how far down that ugly path we’ve already trod.