by Helen Sabin, Corvallis
This is in reply to the Terry Lackey and Doug Bohn letters in the 20 Sep edition that are no more than weak excuses for the unprofessional, aggressive, and abusive behavior of John Birch Society (JBS) members as they tried to deny access to Republican Legislators and to pass out their propaganda materials from the “Republican” table at the county fair instead from their “own” tent located a short distance away.
First, Doug Bohn – weren’t you one of those Bircher troublemakers the Sheriff ordered to leave the Ravalli County Fair due to your unseemly behavior on two consecutive days?
Terri Lackey – that you were in a different location with other JBS people and didn’t see what occurred in the dust-up, gives you no credibility to dispute my information obtained by actually speaking to the legislators and other eyewitnesses involved to gather facts for my letter. Yours is an error of logical thinking, Terri, of which you have many.
You also chose not to mention that the troublemakers are your friends, JBS followers, and acquaintances who follow the Birch ideology. They are much like State Senator Theresa Manzella who said on public radio that the Birch philosophy is from where she gets her “politics” – finally an honest statement from her but one that disputes your assertion that, “…The Birchers are NOT involved in politics.” If not, then why did they pass out Birch propaganda materials from the Republican table rather than YOUR JBS location?
You also say that you met “many hundreds” of like-minded people at the fair that have come “to help save Montana from the Communist infiltration” that drove them out of their state. How many “hundreds?” 10? 50? 75? But, if communists managed to drive them out of their previous state, how helpful can they be here in MT? The logic in your claim is weak. Or could it be that you’re simply seeking to gain more members that you can gaslight and get to contribute money to your JBS efforts.
Then you state that you are studying the Constitution. Are you using the JBS curriculum that claims incorrectly that Article VI is a better tool than Article V to fight the Biden Government overreach and abuse? The problem with your oft repeated myth of nullification is that the US Supreme Court has ruled that “nullification” is direct defiance of the constitution and is illegal. No Federal Court will recognize it as judges are “BOUND” by Article VI and their oaths to support the Constitution. https://jbs.org/nullify/nullification/ It is likely that you, more than I, need a better understanding of and appreciation for the brilliance of the US Constitution and of the founders who created it.
Finally, Terri, it seems the JBS hasn’t changed in the fifty years since they almost became extinct in the 70’s due to their ridiculous conspiracy theories and calling everyone a “commie.” They even called President Eisenhower a Commie. Same kind of character assassination that the progressive left Democrats and their cohorts today use to attack President Trump and his MAGA supporters.
But they became so ridiculous that Bob Dylan, a famous folk singer in the 60’s, wrote a song about the Birchers ridiculing them and their extremism, “The Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues.”
I appreciate the invitation to learn about the JBS/Brown version of the Constitution, but I would have a hard time not snickering when you repeat Brown’s interpretation of what the Founders “meant to say and write.” He can’t even get straight the difference between a Constitutional Convention and a Convention of States. He calls them both a Con-Con. The only CON I see going on in the valley currently is that of members from The John Birch Society.