Schumer the Exterminationst

by Will Grigg
Feb. 06, 2014

As a member of Congress nearly 20 years ago, New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer was part of a special panel investigating the Federal massacre of the Branch Davidians outside Waco, Texas. During those hearings, Schumer distinguished himself through his aggressive partisanship, his hostile contempt toward Davidian survivors and critics of federal actions, and his defense of the use of lethal force against people he regarded as extremists.

Schumer left the indelible impression of a person who not only could countenance the official persecution of political opponents, but celebrate their extermination. That impression was reinforced by a recent speech gave to the liberal advocacy group Center for American Progress.

Addressing the familiar Democratic Party complaint that Republicans have been “obstructionists,” Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, endorsed IRS action to target conservative groups opposed to the Obama administration’s agenda. According to Schumer, “There are many things that can be done administratively by the IRS and other government agencies” to stifle the president’s critics.

That policy prescription does fall somewhat short of calling for the ATF, FBI, and Delta Force to lay siege to the homes of the president’s critics. But it differs from such a suggestion only by degree.