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Remember that there have been strong, longstanding ties between the Democrats and both organized crime and labor unions. As far back as the late 1800s, New York City's Tammany Hall used street gangs to intimidate opposition voters. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Prendergast political machine in Kansas City, which gave Harry Truman his start in politics, worked in league with the Mafia in a quid pro quo relationship. Al Capone was the acknowledged boss of Chicago until the Feds took him down on income tax evasion. Both Huey Long and Earl Long were well connected with Carlos Marcello and the New Orleans Mafia, which came under scrutiny later for alleged involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy. Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather referred to the Vito Corleone protagonist as carrying politicians in his pocket like so many nickles and dimes. Puzo knew the matter well.

Some of the attacks on Republican offices have occurred in union country (Pennsylvania, West Virginia), and there have been at least two assaults on anti-Kerry protesters at rallies by men wearing shirts or gimme caps with union logos. Consider also that many unions have fallen under the thumb of organized crime. Many local police agencies are unionized. There is likely some pressure on police unions to have their members look the other way in case of union violence.

I don't doubt that many LEOs on the beat have no use for Kerry or union thugs, much less gangsters. However, the police chiefs, commissioners, and chief deputies are often politically liberal, spouting the usual PC cliches to please liberal mayors, city managers, and city councils. With such people in charge of police departments and local governments, political violence and intimidation are the equivalent of hate crime. Only Republican assaults on Democrats are "political violence," just as only white assaults on nonwhites are "hate crime."

The science fiction author Robert Heinlein wrote a story that imagined a charismatic religious leader, Nehemiah Scudder, seizing control of the United States through blood at the polls and blood in the streets. The source of the threat Heinlein perceived was wrong, but not the threat per se of elections manipulated by fraud and violence.

didn't know Dems could operate firearms.

While the money folks, the limousine liberals, usually can't, nor the soccer moms, their foot soldiers, the union thugs and minority gang members, can and do.

Here in Gettysburg, PA, they used a pellet gun to fire at the plate glass window of the GOP Headquarters, and later used beer bottles to shatter the same window.