Minnesota Reps Threatened over Health Insurance Reform Bill

Posted by Greg Laden on March 26, 2010
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Apparently, Tea Party Terrorists (TPT) have threatened and/or harassed Democratic Congressional Representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison because of their votes on health insurance reform.

McCollum is said to have recieved “vulgar” mail, and a gasoline soaked fragment of an American flag. One letter included this description of what would happen to the Congresswoman:

“I will hound you. I will intimidate you and your family. I will scream at you. I will re-write your history. I will physically out strong-arm you. I will shame you, your friends, and your family.”

Although the letter was not signed, it was clearly written by one of Michele Bachmann’s followers.

Representative Ellison received a threatening letter and a threatenting voice mail. Details are not available.

Details here

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Comments

  1. #1 Mike
    March 26, 2010

    The letter you quotes is not terrorism. You have no proof that a tea party member sent these things. yet you call it tea party terrorism.

    What rank dishonesty on your part.

  2. #2 Elf Eye
    March 26, 2010

    Check your dictionary, Mike. To coerce someone through fear = terrorism. If someone states that he will ‘hound’, ‘intimidate’, ‘physically out strong-arm’ you, he is trying to terrorize you. As for the statement that the tea partiers are behind such letters: given their documented statements and words, that is a fair conclusion. BTW, I’m from VA, where teapartiers posted the home address of the brother of a congressman (they thought it was the congressman’s address). Shortly thereafter a gas line at the brother’s home was cut (yes, it was cut and not broken; the police have confirmed that). Now what would a reasonable person conclude from the concatenation of these events? And please notice that I did write ‘reasonable’.

  3. #3 Greg Laden
    March 26, 2010

    Mike, shut up. I calls ‘em like I seez em.

    You are a terrorist sympathizer and you should move to Greenland.

  4. #4 Zeno
    March 26, 2010

    Greenland? Why not Antarctica?

  5. #5 Greg Laden
    March 26, 2010

    I’ve got friends in Antarctica, I’d rather noth wish him on them.

  6. #6 Rob Monkey
    March 26, 2010

    Hey hey guys, Mike may be on to something here, I mean after all, the teabaggers haven’t actually shown patterns of violence and intimidation, have they?

    Oh. Shit, yes they have. Carry on.

    P.S. Yes, Mike, I know you probably hate the term “teabaggers,” but if they took Ayn Rand’s balls out of their mouths once in a while they wouldn’t get that name so easily.

  7. #7 Mike Haubrich
    March 26, 2010

    I also noticed that Michele Bachmann blames the Democrats for it, because they had the temerity to pass legislation. Imagine!

  8. #8 plutosdad
    March 26, 2010

    Well a Code Pinker bit the finger off of an old man last year, that goes beyond threats. Should we jail all code pinkers, and be suspicious about everyone who believes in this particular bill?

    The guy who crashed a plane into the IRS made some anti tax statements, he also made anti conservative statements. So where do we pigeonhole him?

    Nutjobs are nutjobs, we only notice when it’s the *other* side, but when it’s *our* side we say “oh those are extremists, not regular people. But THEIR SIDE ARE ALL Like that!”

    Maybe we all need to stop fanning the flames of hate, take a deep breath, and try to act more mature than the average politician?

  9. #9 Stephanie Z
    March 26, 2010

    plutosdad, the “Code Pinker” bit off a finger that was shoved in his face, and the pilot isn’t being held up as an example of the kind of violence we’re talking about here. The existence of complicated situations doesn’t change the fact that what is happening right now is clear, antigovernment terrorism that has been fomented by people who claim to love America and its ideals.

    This is not a few nutjobs here and there. This is a movement. If you want to argue with that, find the people in power on “the other side” who are both disavowing it now and weren’t encouraging it in the weeks before HCR passed.

  10. #10 JohnV
    March 26, 2010

    “Well a Code Pinker bit the finger off of an old man last year, that goes beyond threats. ”

    You know a good way for old idiots to avoid having their fingers bit off? Don’t punch people in the face. It is funny how that little detail gets left off. The last guy around here doing that was “Mike H” who proceeded to threaten to murder anyone who was in favor of health care reform if he saw their teeth.

    “A man from Moveon.org’s area then walked over to the opponents and verbally confronted Rice, allegedly calling him names and acting aggressively, Bonfiglio said.

    Rice later told investigators he felt threatened by the man and punched him in the nose, Bonfiglio said.

    The punch set off a fist fight between the two men, during which the tip of Rice’s left pinky finger was bitten off, Bonfiglio said.” (http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-finger-bitten-rally,0,7135717.story)

  11. #11 Stephanie Z
    March 26, 2010

    And now Bachmann, Madame “Armed and Dangerous”, is claiming the Democrats are making this stuff up. Lovely.

  12. #12 Jmarzolf
    March 26, 2010

    “To coerce someone through fear = terrorism. If someone states that he will ‘hound’, ‘intimidate’, ‘physically out strong-arm’ you, he is trying to terrorize you.”

    Gosh sounds like the IRS to me! I didn’t realize they were terrorists.

  13. #13 Stephanie Z
    March 26, 2010

    And Jmarzolf demonstrates no practical experience with the IRS.