The Targeting of Catherine Engelbrecht

This is not a new story, but it is one well worth reflection.  I’ll defer to Jillian Kay Melchior and her well written piece for the details and color, but Catherine Engelbrecht was targeted by the Obama Regime for her tea party activity and for working for clean elections through founding True the Vote.

And please do not dismiss my pointing the finger at the Obama Regime as paranoia.  There is no denying that she was targeted, and one has to be naïve indeed to think the targeting was not systematic and intentional.  She, her Tea Party organization (King Street Patriots), True the Vote, and her family business was targeted, not by one or two rogue bureaucrats, but by the IRS, the ATF, OSHA, and even the FBI.

And, no, she and her organizations were not under investigation for anything criminal.

On behalf of the True the Vote and King Street Patriots, Representative Ted Poe (R., Texas) sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI, OSHA, and the ATF, inquiring whether the organizations were under criminal investigation. A statement on Poe’s website states that “the reply from these agencies was that none of these individuals were under criminal investigation. Well, if they’re not, why are they being treated like criminals? Just because they question government.”

What is perhaps most despicable is that the targeting of her organizations was cheerleaded by key Democrats in Congress.

A few months later, True the Vote became the subject of congressional scrutiny. In September, Senator Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) wrote to Thomas Perez, then the assistant attorney general of the civil rights division at the Department of Justice (who has now been nominated for labor secretary). “As you know, an organization called ‘True the Vote,’ which is an offshoot of the Tea Party, is leading a voter suppression campaign in many states,” Boxer wrote, adding that “this type of intimidation must stop. I don’t believe this is ‘True the Vote.’ I believe it’s ‘Stop the Vote.’”

And in October, Representative Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), the ranking minority member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, attacked True the Vote in a letter. He wrote that “some have suggested that your true goal is not voter integrity, but voter suppression against thousands of legitimate voters who traditionally vote for Democratic candidates.” He added that: “If these efforts are intentional, politically motivated, and widespread across multiple states, they could amount to a criminal conspiracy to deny legitimate voters their constitutional rights.” He also decried True the Vote on MSNBC and CNN.

Catherine now says that she “absolutely” thinks that because she worked against voter fraud, the Left was irked and decided to target her.

Again, I urge thoughtful reading of Melchior’s telling of Catherine Engelbrecht’s experience.  Now I will add my conclusions.

From her and other’s experiences, there no question that the Obama Regime has systematically targeted conservatives.  And it’s not just the IRS, but every arm of the Federal government Obama’s thugs can wield.  It is no coincidence that tea party conservatives who have had little trouble before with the law other than normal bureaucratic hassles were suddenly targeted and harassed by any number of federal agencies after they became more political active.  The targeting of conservative/constitutionalist groups by the IRS is only part of the story.

Instead of protecting constitutional political freedom, the Obama Regime has punished it and sought to suppress it when it opposes the policies of the Dear Leader.

This is a big reason I have stated that I want people in prison.  The thuggish attacks on our political freedoms are more worthy of Venezuela than America and must not be allowed to stand or go unpunished.  Future administrations and bureaucrats must be made to think twice before they repeat such outrages. 

I also think it is important that Obama and his allies be made to pay a heavy political price.  Really, Obama should be impeached.  He is the one most responsible for the systematic predations of his regime.  But I doubt impeachment is wise political course . . . yet.

Further, some federal agencies are so beyond reform that they should be abolished.  The IRS is one.  The ATF is another.  From their outrages under Bill Clinton and Janet Reno, Waco among them, to Fast and Furious, to involvement in Obama Regime targeting, the ATF has again and again acted as Democrat Brownshirts.  Any good purpose that they serve, if any, could easy be taken over by other agencies.

Another lesson from Catherine Engelbrecht’s is a reminder of how much Democrats want to continue to steal elections with impunity.  Ms. Engelbrecht is a conscientious citizen who wants clean elections.  But the power of the Federal government and the wrath of Sen. Barbara Boxer came down when she acted on that.

As for the future of freedom in this country should Democrats retain power, legitimately or not, . . . .  Well, I think the behavior of Obama, his regime, and his allies speaks for itself.