The uncivil left

By Jennifer Rubin

Showing no concern for the new civility push that followed the Arizona massacre, a group of leftist activists from groups including Code Pink, Common Cause and jewel of liberal think tanks, the Center for American Progress, turned into a loud mob complete with Nazi imagery outside a conservative gathering in Rancho Mirage, California.

As the Daily Caller reported, over the weekend a conference sponsored by the Koch brothers featured conservative heavy weights such as House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rush Limbaugh. The leftist groups were joined by a liberal law school dean and ex-green czar Van Jones. They decried the gathering as a nefarious conspiracy:

"Our goal here for the panel Sunday is to talk about the Billionaires Caucus agenda, its human impact and what can be done to restore the voices of ordinary Americans to the our political process," explained Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause. "Our government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, but it has been hijacked by self-interested billionaires. We must take it back. " Despite the hyperbole, the Koch conference doesn't sound so different from many off-the-record political conferences, including those held by the professional left. Shortly after the 2010 elections, for example, liberal groups converged on Washington D.C.'s Oriental Mandarin hotel. The meeting, hosted by Democracy Alliance featured liberal leaders such as Van Jones, hedge fund manager Donald Sussman, and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. Michael Vachon, a George Soros representative, Peter Lewis, CEO of Progressive Insurance; and Fred Baron, the former president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America also attended.

High on the list of the leftists' complaints was the Koch brothers' alleged support for the Citizens United lawsuit, in which the Supreme Court ruled that corporations and labor unions can exercise First Amendment rights by engaging in campaign spending and advocacy. However, the leftists' main objection to third-party fundraising groups, namely that the donors remain "secret," is curious since groups like Center for American Progress don't disclose their donors either.

On Sunday, the protest group swelled to 1,000 and blocked the street for nearly an hour. In a pre-arranged arrest, authorities cuffed and removed 25 protesters. Apparently, the leftists don't consider the Jewish Funds for Justice's missive on improper use of Nazi references to apply to them:



(Photo by Dan Comstock)

Also celebrated was the historical figure Guy Fawkes, whom the left routinely associates with anti-government violence.



(Photo by Dan Comstock)

According to an eye-witness who contacted me by e-mail, protesters shouted "traitors," held signs that said "Koch Kills" and chanted "No justice, no peace" outside the hotel.

A Koch representative whom I contacted had this comment on the day's events: "This is the kind of 'civil debate' the left wants to have after Tucson?" One additional note: Inside the same conference center as the conservatives was a conference of judges from the Ninth Circuit. The recent death of a federal judge in Arizona did not give the mob pause about the propriety of their actions.