As I’ve noted a few times since this began, there’s a lot to be said for forbearance and deescalation. But at a certain point you really do have a breakdown of any sense that there’s a state or law and order or protection for ordinary civilians. Today we have news that the Bundy extremists on preparing to the put local officials on “trial”. And now we hear that local residents say they’re being harassed or threatened by other militant extremists – either connected to the Bundy-ites or just other militants they’ve attracted because of the climate of lawlessness they’ve created.
There was a lot that was wise in how the federal government handled the original Bundy clown show. But by not only not using force at the outset but failing to arrest anyone over what happened, there’s little question that they emboldened this latest flare up. Now it’s apparently getting unsafe for uninvolved local civilians. Again, there’s a reason we have a federal government, courts, law enforcement.
