(MA Gov.) Patrick says Obama critics are 'almost at the level of sedition'

[Ed Barrow]

Source: Boston Globe

Governor Deval Patrick, even as he decried partisanship in Washington, said today that Republican opposition to President Obama’s agenda has become so obstinate that it “is almost at the level of sedition.”

The Democratic governor, who is close to the president, made the comments at a forum at Suffolk Law School's Rappaport Center, where he was asked by an audience member about partisan battling in Congress.

Patrick said that even "on my worst day, when I’m most frustrated about folks who seem to rooting for failure," he doesn't face anything like the opposition faced by the president.

"It seems like child’s play compared to what is going on in Washington, where it is almost at the level of sedition, it feels to like me,” Patrick said.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/05/patrick_says_ob.html

[Writer]

1. Except that have long ago America abandoned outlawing "seditious speech." n/t

[depakid]

6. Patrick's speaking more about behavior

[DGG]

7. True, but legal doesn't always mean good or justified

[RandomThoughts]

2. Or it might be that some groups have been in sedition for a long time.

Going against the concepts of representative democracy and many other concepts of social justice, and they are being shown for what they have been doing in secret for many years.

Although I think for all those years many people have been standing for better ways also.

[DesertDiamond]

16. RandomsThoughts, this is so OT, but I just gotta ask...

What's the significance of this photo of Burgess Meredith? Or, this guy who looks like Burgess Meredith?

[craigmatic]

3. I saw somewhere that people were pushing Patrick to run in '16.

Makes sense. Who better to follow Obama than his good friend Patrick? He's got exec expearience.

[bluestateguy]

4. You are either with the president, country, flag, patriotism and Mom and Apple Pie

or you are with the terrorists.

We have TROOPS IN THE FIELD!!

Badmouthing of the Commander in Chief in a time of war is akin to giving direct aid and comfort to the enemy.

(Read my sig line if you don't get it)

[Iliyah]

5. Yea

they want to break away and start their own republic, and honestly I would sorta feel sorry for their followers because the elite gop/tea baggers don't give a sh*t about the underneath foes, they would be on their own, ie, dumb and poor, because thats the best way to keep control of them.

[AlbertCat]

13. Badmouthing of the Commander in Chief

Well, I don't think it's the criticism being commented on. It's the desire for failure....people who truly want to see things get bad just so the Prez looks bad...

[Shining Jack]

17. Lol !

:rofl:

[defendandprotect]

8. Think this is really a telling difference between people who do not see this

spill and the potential for damage to nature -- and who knows what kind of compounding

of consequences might occur -- as something as serious as others of us see it!

It is because so many of us feel the potential is there for a 100 years of damage --

and very immense immediate damage -- that we call for the government to take on complete

control and supervision of this well.

I also find anyone -- left or right -- reducing this to a political attack or worry

about Obama's standing in polls -- absolutely vile!!

[The Magistrate]

9. The Governor Is Correct, Sir

Indeed, a number of people have crossed that line....

[Suji to Seoul]

10. Michael Savage used to claim that Democrats who criticized Heir Chimpenstooge should be arrested

and tried under the "Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798." For him, the apparent concept of the 1801 sunset clause on the law means nothing.

Patrick, watch who you call seditious. It could be thrown back at you. Unless there is a conspiracy to commit overt illegal or violent acts, sedition is not usually prosecuted.

However, I do agree with the good Governor completely. 1/20/2009 was the first day of the strong attempts to de-legitimize Obama.

[icee]

11. Need some specificity here.

[Andronex]

12. This is a joke...

Behind closed doors repugs and democrats get along perfectly but you got to keep the illusion going to fool the little people...

[JeffersonChick]

14. Sounds familiar...

"Apparently our First Amendment rights are only guaranteed if we agree with the tax-and-spend policies of Deval Patrick and Barack Obama,'' Jennifer Nassour, chairwoman of the state GOP, said.

She added, "the governor should focus on the critical issues at hand, like (lowering) property taxes and controlling rampant spending, instead of defending his buddy President Obama."

Hmmm... this sounds awfully familiar... Oh right, now I remember! Back in the day of George W., when we exercised that same First Amendment right, we were called "un-American".

God, how I love the GOP double standards.

[Enthusiast]

19. "God, how I love the GOP double standards."

You seem to forget, Bush was not Black. There is always a double standard for Black.

[hughee99]

29. Exactly!

Back in the day, when we said (roughly) the same thing about *, we were called un-American. We, naturally, disagreed with that characterization of it. Now, when the repukes do it, we (or some of our elected officials, anyway) call it sedition.

Yeah, the GOP is the only one with a double standard here. :sarcasm:.

[Blasphemer]

31. Indeed

As soon as I read the word "sedition", I flinched. A term such as that one cannot be so casually tossed around. I would expect a public servant who knows our country's history to know better.

[aquart]

15. Oh? They invite you to their meetings?

Well, don't just stand there, DISH! I'm sure you have lots of intimate details to relate that none of the rest of us will ever know.

[pokercat999]

23. Exactly, they ALL kneel at the feet of Corporations like BP..nt

[Jubal-Waters]

18. never in my country

[spicegal]

20. The right wingers tend to act this way when they're out of power.

It's just appears to be much worse under Obama, and I suspect that's due to a combination of things-racism, media stoking controversy, a much more sophisticated and far reaching right wing media pumping out propaganda 24/7, wealthy folks contributing ever more dollars to fund GOP campaigns, just to name a few. I don't know what's to be done. If anything, Obama has been overly cautious in not appearing to step too far leftward. There's really been nothing radical or left wing about him.

[SemperEadem]

21. very good observation

I'd have to agree. Events which have fallen out in experience over the course of the last year back up this assertion.

[quaker bill]

22. The problem is

that President Obama has not given them some sex scandal or other even more stupid thing for republicans to spend 100 million dollars "investigating". The absence of a simple matter to be "morally outraged" about, causes the republicans to dream stuff up whole cloth. There is a reason matadors wave a red cape in front of the bull, it keeps their attention fixed on something less harmful. Given that your average republican representative is possessed of roughly the same number of IQ points and level of compassion, some distraction might be useful.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. Found this interesting tidbit in Wiki's article on sedition

In 1940, the Alien Registration Act, or "Smith Act", was passed, which made it a crime to advocate or to teach the desirability of overthrowing the United States Government, or to be a member of any organization which does the same. It was often used against Communist Party organizations. This Act was invoked in three major cases, one of which against the Socialist Worker's Party in Minneapolis in 1941, resulting in 23 convictions, and again in what became known as the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 in which a number of pro-Nazi figures were indicted but released when the prosecution ended in a mistrial. Also, a series of trials of 140 leaders of the Communist Party USA also relied upon the terms of the "Smith Act" - beginning in 1949 - and lasting until 1957. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the convictions of 11 CPUSA leaders in 1951 in Dennis v. United States , that same Court reversed itself in 1957 in the case of Yates v. United States, by ruling that teaching an ideal, no matter how harmful it may seem, does not equal advocating or planning its implementation. Although unused since at least 1961, the "Smith Act" remains a Federal law.

Remember Bachmann encouraging her followers not to participate in the census.

[old mark]

25. Snark all you want - The governor is right. This shit is extreme even for the GOP's usual

shitty politics. They are crossing the line.


mark

[mahatmakanejeeves]

26. Memo to Governor Patrick:

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "lighten up, dude."

You want nasty? This is nasty:

The prairie dog sickened at the sting of the hornet or a diplomatic puppet exhibiting his deceptions



Summary:

James Akin's earliest-known signed cartoon, "The Prairie Dog" is an anti-Jefferson satire, relating to Jefferson's covert negotiations for the purchase of West Florida from Spain in 1804. Jefferson, as a scrawny dog, is stung by a hornet with Napoleon's head into coughing up "Two Millions" in gold coins, (the secret appropriation Jefferson sought from Congress for the purchase). On the right dances a man (possibly a French diplomat) with orders from French minister Talleyrand in his pocket and maps of East Florida and West Florida in his hand. He says, "A gull for the People."

Everytime I hear someone say that the demeanor of political discourse has never been uglier, I pull out this cartoon. Until the tone reaches this level, it's strictly amateur hour.

Jefferson would be making popcorn at this stage of the game.

[MissMillie]

27. I think it's important to point out the ridiculousness of the uber right

However, I think it's also important to be very careful about how you go about doing it.

Using words like "sedition" surrenders the high ground.

The uber right is unreasoned, full of hysteria and down-right mean sometimes.

When we point that out, we need to stay reasoned, calm, and civil.

[autorank]

28. Think about the level of BushCo criticism here

That was not matched by the Democratic Party but it was extremely intense.

The nonsense about birth certificates, religion, and "dictatorship" are pure lunacy. The repetition of these charges against Obama is destructive; but it's also isolated the extremists. They're at about 20% (the true believers).

The public doesn't buy it. But these views are the Republican platform. It will make the Democrats the only choice for many independents in 2010.

Idiocy yes, sedition no.

[Old Troop]

30. 3 years ago I would have said that this was prelude to arresting

and silencing protesters. I guess I still do.

[and-justice-for-all]

32. It is like that because people fear change...

they would rather be continuously shit on then make any dramatic change to correct the corruption that plaques them.

[fascisthunter]

33. Deval Patrick is a favorite target of the right wing