It's been a few days since it was first reported that 9/11 commission member -- herself the target of a right-wing smear campaign spearheaded by Attorney General John Ashcroft -- has been subjected to death threats.
And the silence, really, has been astounding.
Tonight comes the news that another man has been arrested for making a death threat against John Kerry, too.
It's important to remember that this isn't just the usual right-wing nastiness to which we've become inured over the past decade. It surpasses anything on record so far.
Death threats, in fact, are acts of real violence. They are serious crimes punishable by prison terms, particularly if they are directed against federal officials.
And in the case of Gorelick, we're talking about an act of terrorism, since the threat against her constituted an attempt to intimidate a federal official in the conduct of her duties.
Honestly, I don't expect the likes of Mickey "Will MWO inspire left-wing violence?" Kaus or Glenn "Right-wing extremists are about to join forces with left-wing extremists" Reynolds to say anything about this. Their crass hypocrisy on the matter of political violence from the right has been apparent for some time now.
But you have to wonder: Where are all the mainstream voices, including those in the media, now that the violence has stepped beyond mere rhetoric? This kind of behavior is exactly the kind of fascistic violence revolving around the coming election I suggested, back in "Rush, Newspeak and Fascism, might manifest itself in the 2004 election. Notably, in both cases, the threats are clear outgrowths of the nasty attacks directed against both of these figures by mainstream Republican officials.
The threats themselves are deeply troubling. The lack of concern about them is alarming.
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