By: Andrew Moran
Is political persecution making a comeback? Liberty Nation’s Mark Angelides recently penned a piece exploring the desperate and radical efforts of the entrenched Swamp creatures who seek to humiliate, blacklist, cleanse, and surveil anyone they deem to be an undesirable citizen – a deplorable, if you will. And yet, according to these individuals stationed in the corridors of power, the nation should be more concerned over the D.C. rioters. Not quite, says one former Democratic representative who has been going scorched earth against a vast and corrupt system she voluntarily left behind.
A Clear And Present Danger
Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 presidential candidate and former Hawaiian Democratic representative, recently posted a Twitter video and thread, lamenting on the true “domestic enemies” who are employing “KGB-style surveillance” against “insurgents” who dissent from leftist orthodoxy.
According to Gabbard, it is the Swamp conglomerate, comprised of the likes of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former CIA director John Brennan, and Big Tech oligarchs, who present a clear and present danger to the United States today. These folks, averred Gabbard, are more “powerful” and “dangerous” than the mob that stormed Capitol Hill.
“The mob who stormed the Capitol on January 6 to try to stop Congress from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities were behaving like domestic enemies of our country. But let’s be clear, the John Brennans, Adam Schiffs and the oligarchs in Big Tech who are trying to undermine our constitutionally protected rights and turn our country into a police state with KGB-style surveillance are also domestic enemies — and much more powerful, and therefore dangerous, than the mob that stormed the Capitol.”
Gabbard furthered her point by sharing a clip of Brennan warning that the intelligence community, under President Joe Biden, is coming after a so-called “unholy alliance” of a pro-Trump “insurgency” that includes “religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, and even Libertarians.”“If you don’t stand up to these people now, then our country will be in great peril,” Gabbard said.The military veteran ended her Twitter video, which captured nearly 60,000 Likes, by urging President Biden and all members of Congress to denounce these people who would eradicate civil liberties.
Maoist Language To Stasi Laws
Is Gabbard pearl-clutching, or is there an active push to quash dissent through brute force? Considering that much of the mainstream media has kept quiet about the former congresswoman’s viral video, there could be a modicum of truth to her statement.
In addition to the left’s Maoist language since the 2020 presidential election – cleansings, purges, and blacklists – Democrats have pursued legislative tools to possibly exact revenge on political opponents.
One of these bills is H.R. 350, also known as the “Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act Of 2021.” The purpose of the bipartisan proposal is “to authorize dedicated domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to analyze and monitor domestic terrorist activity and require the Federal Government to take steps to prevent domestic terrorism.” It is sponsored by Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL), and it is co-sponsored by seven representatives, including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).
Democrats have homed in on domestic terrorism since 2019. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) submitted legislation that creates offices in the Justice Department, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security that would “analyze and monitor domestic terrorist activity.” Rep. Schiff also introduced legislation that would establish a new statute for a federal offense of domestic terrorism, although critics warned about the potential abuse of civil liberties.
Overall, this has Gabbard deeply concerned. She told Fox News that “this would lead to a very dangerous undermining of our civil liberties … and a targeting of almost half the country.”
Even radical leftists within the Democratic Party, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), have been urging leadership to “reject reactionary demands to further erode the rights and liberties of the American people.”
The Ratchet Effect
Crisis opportunism has been the norm within government time immemorial. Eminent economist Robert Higgs, writing in his seminal book, Crisis and Leviathan, described it as “The Ratchet Effect” – Government power grabs during crises accumulate over time and never diminish once these calamities have subsided. The Iraq War, the 2008 economic collapse, the coronavirus pandemic, and ostensibly the Capitol riots: politicians of all stripes have exploited these cataclysms for their benefit, handing over exaggerated power to the next generation of statists. Governments are perpetually searching for dragons to slay – at home and abroad – but when their flames are extinguished, they must come up with a new enemy. Yesterday, it was a terrorist in a cave halfway around the world. Today, it is a middle-aged factory worker in Middle America donning a MAGA cap.
This was originally published on Liberty Nation.
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