Not so many moons ago, President Obama urged us all to “make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” He Who Heals advocated “a more civil and honest public discourse” in the wake of the January 2011 Tucson massacre. As usual, though, the White House has granted Big Labor bullies a permanent waiver from the lofty edicts it issues to everyone else.
This week, menacing union goons unleashed threats, profanity, and punches in Michigan, which is now poised to become a “right-to-work” state. Obama met the initial outbreak of violence with the same response he’s given to every other outbreak of union violence under his reign: dead silence.
On the floor of the Michigan legislature on Tuesday, Democratic state representative Douglas Geiss thundered: “We’re going to pass something that will undo 100 years of labor relations, and there will be blood. There will be repercussions!” Geiss referred to the Battle of the Overpass, a violent incident in 1937 between the United Auto Workers and corporate-security officers for the Ford Motor Company. Dozens of union activists were beaten.
But Geiss wasn’t crying victim. This was clearly a signal to the brass-knuckled Big Labor bosses, whom Obama egged on during his visit to the state on Monday. Obama inveighed against right-to-work rules with his usual class-warfare dog whistle. The thugs heard it loud and clear.
While the Michigan House voted to approve right-to-work legislation that allows workers to choose whether or not to join and fund unions as a condition of employment, protesters outside the state capitol ambushed a tented information booth sponsored by the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which supports right-to-work laws. Video footage shows angry union mobsters cursing and screaming immediately before the attack.
One union protester hurled an unidentified object at police officers. Another screamed at a citizen journalist filming the chaos: “Freedom of speech this, you effin fascist a**hole!” Several peaceful AFP members and supporters were stomped on and punched while trapped under the tent as the labor operatives chanted: “This is what democracy looks like.” While trying to protect the tent and those inside, young Michigan conservative activist and YouTube entrepreneur Steven Crowder was beaten by at least two union assailants.
Of course, this is just more of the same twisted “civil and honest public discourse” of the administration’s union protection squad:
‐ May 2010: The Service Employees International Union buses in 700 workers from 20 states to storm the Chevy Chase, Md., neighborhood and front yard of Bank of America deputy general counsel Gregory Baer. The protesters terrorize Baer’s youngest son, who is at home alone. The tactic is straight from an SEIU manual on using community groups to “damage an employer’s public image and ties with community leaders and organizations.”
‐ September 2010: AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka praises Nancy Pelosi for taking Obamacare and driving “it down the Republicans’ throats and out their backsides.”
‐ February 2011: A Communications Workers of America union thug is caught on tape striking a young female FreedomWorks activist in Washington, D.C.
‐ February 2011: A Providence, R.I., union supporter says to a cameraman: “I’ll f*** you in the a**, you faggot.”
‐ February 2011: Democratic representative Michael Capuano of Massachusetts revs up Big Labor goons by urging them to “get a little bloody.”
‐ March 2011: Racist SEIU supporters in Denver, Colo., taunt gay black tea-party activist and entrepreneur Leland Robinson, who criticized teachers’ unions at a Capitol rally, by calling him “Son,” telling him to “get behind that fence where you belong,” and jeering, “Do you have any children? That you claim?”
‐ March 2011: In Madison, Wis., an unhinged crowd of AFSCME, UFCW, and SEIU union protesters corner a Wisconsin republican senator and shout, “F*** you!” and “Shame!”
‐ August 2011: In Boston, local IBEW 827 storms the neighborhood of Verizon senior vice president Bill Foshay. Union members scream “We’re here to fight” in front of his private residence on a weekend afternoon.
‐ August 2011: Striking Communications Workers of America declare “open season” on Verizon. Dozens of cases of sabotaged cable lines are reported.
‐ September 2011: ILWU bosses lead a “Days of Rage” protest at Port of Longview, Wash., taking a half-dozen guards hostage, sabotaging railroad cars, dumping grain, smashing windows, cutting brake lines, threatening a local TV station, and blocking trains in violation of a judicial restraining order.
‐ September 2011: Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa screams: “President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these son of bitches out.”
‐ December 2011: Union-endorsed port protests in Oakland, Calif.; Seattle; Los Angeles; San Diego; and Houston cause massive commerce disruptions, lost wages, property destruction, and untold injuries. A year later, ports are shut down on the West Coast during the busy holiday season, and another set of union port strikes — spearheaded by the violence-prone ILWU and ILA — threaten the East and Gulf coasts at the end of the month.
We should “do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations,” Obama lectured just over a year ago from his politeness pulpit. In the age of Obama, it’s Opposite Day 365 days a year.
— Michelle Malkin is the author of Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies. © 2012 Creators.com