Last week, I wrote an article for a local newspaper about the lack of civility displayed over the years towards Republicans when manning their booth at the Marin County Fair.  Because the paper now requires comments to go through the reader's personal Face Book account, the public responses to this article were relatively tame.  Unleashed, however, and without the protection of the Facebook filter, local members of the "Party of Tolerance and Diversity" revealed their true colors about the article and did so under the cover of darkness and the cowardly guise of anonymity.

Left-wing intolerance and lack of respect for diversity of opinion play out every day in the national arena.  The president routinely takes center stage when, cloaked with fancy rhetoric and peppered with jocular musings, he vilifies success, wealth, education, self-reliance, religion, etc.

His surrogates point fingers at fictitious racism, just as Louise Lucas did this past week, and his pundits slander the innocent with heinous crimes, as George Stephanopoulos and Brian Ross did when they rushed to judgment and tagged the Movie Massacre Murderer a Tea Partier.

These displays of intolerance, invective, and hate have become so commonplace during the Obama years that they are no longer byproducts of the silly season, but rather the stuff of every day.

It's easy to behave this way in front of a camera, with the power of your office behind you, where your target is floating around in a vast and vague viewership, removed from your direct line of fire.  The average conservative Joe doesn't feel calumny's sting quite as much when the attacks are leveled at a presidential candidate, a congresswoman making a legitimate inquiry about the influence the Muslim Brotherhood might have on US foreign policy, or, on any given day, the entirety of the Republican Party.

But not so when these odious left-wing assaults are levied against the boots on the ground as they go about their  everyday lives -- driving, shopping, working, sleeping, parenting.

I have witnessed left-wingers risk life and limb just to flash you the bird because your bumper sticker offends them -- they'll speed up to your car, take their eyes off the road, and angrily flip you off.  I saw a public union thug break a Tea Partier's hand for no reason other than that he was at the same protest but on the other side.  My car was kicked in by members of the California Nurses Association at a peaceful event for Carly Fiorina.  I know people who have had their houses egged for the crime of displaying a yard sign.  Another friend had garbage dumped on her for committing the offense of manning a table for conservative candidates at a farmer's market.  I hear endless stories of cars being keyed because of bumper stickers, and recently, a good friend was followed into a store because of her "Obamacare: It's a Tax, Stupid" bumper sticker.  She was followed, yelled at, and harassed the entire time she was shopping.

Since publishing my article, I had my Romney bumper sticker ripped off my car.  Saturday night, there was a party for Romney (which I did not attend) about 3 miles from my home.  Two yard signs were placed outside.  When accounting for the signs at the end of the evening, the hosts noticed that one was missing and the other had been completely bent out of shape. 

Later that night, my son discovered what we would soon realize was the missing sign -- mangled and thrown onto our front yard.  This means that the "Sign Mangler" saw the signs when he drove by the party, stopped the car, grabbed one and destroyed it (leaving it as a warning to the homeowner), then drove the other one 3 miles to my house, where he threw it in my front yard.  He obviously knew who I am, was acquainted with my politics, and knew where I lived. 

This was all topped off by a letter sent to me by none other than "Bill Maher," although the return address simply stated "Northern California."  The letter is reproduced below in its original form.  One thing you'll know immediately is that Bill Maher never could have written this -- even with its errors, it is way too clean.

Dear Tea Party Queen,

When I heard that you had a fun raiser for Michele Bachman I almost fell out of my chair.  How you could support this woman who is an absolute moron is beyond me.  She doesn't support woman rights, gay rights (even though her husband is gay) and is a total racist.  After her latest comments about Muslims you should be embarrassed that you support this of fear and lies!!

I feel proud to be an American that people showed you how we really feel about your support of Bachman and the Republican puppet Mitt Romney.  He was not even endorsed by your sorry party but was the last man standing!  Bachman, Santorum, Gingrich, the moron from Texas and the pathetic pizza man?  Those are your candidates who represent your values?  Please go take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself...Who am I?  You are a pathetic human being if you support the same values these people stand for.  I just wish I knew Michele Bachman was at your house.  I would have loved to meet such a worthless human being and tell her so.

Cheers and to four more years of a man with character, integrity, heart and intelligence.  OBAMA!

Bill Maher

What does all this mean?

The signs aren't ripped down, letters written, fingers flipped, and bumper stickers torn off because there is any hope of changing our minds.  These acts aren't done by adults in control or individuals who feel confident about their candidate.  They are done out of anger and are meant to do one thing and one thing only: intimidate.  Intimidate us from assembling peaceably and expressing our political views, and intimidate us by trespassing on and destroying our private property.

They might not be burning crosses on our lawns (yet), but some of their targets have been intimidated at the polls (despite AG Holder's unwillingness to prosecute).  With their savior being threatened by the real hope and change of Mitt Romney, they are like cornered animals, and their behavior is erratic at best.  

Ultimately, they hope to intimidate us from voting for our favored candidates or voting altogether.  So now members of the "Party of Tolerance and Diversity" are reduced to nothing more than the "Party of Intolerance, Intimidation and Invective."

What do we do about this?  We don't let it intimidate us.  We buy a dozen bumper stickers and replace them as needed.  We put up sign after sign, even if we have to install a surveillance system.  We stick up for each other.  We get out the vote, we march, we rally, we protest, we assemble, and we continue to do it peacefully and with respect.  And we vote.

But most importantly, we call it what it is and throw away their made-up rules for what is and isn't politically correct. 

When Louise Lucas says that those who aren't voting for Obama are racists, we need to call her out for her racism and intimidation.  When liberals label us intolerant because we prefer civil unions to changing the definition of marriage, strike back and point to their intolerance of religious views.  If they talk about the Republican war on women, remind them that since Obama took office, 800,000 more women are unemployed and the poverty rate among women is the highest it has been in 17 years (from 13.9% in 2009 to 14.5% in 2010).  If they talk about how we don't care about the poor, remind them that median household income has declined under Obama; unemployment has hit the young, the black, and the poorest the hardest; over 46 million people are on food stamps; and unemployment (the best way out of poverty) has been at 8.2% for over 40 months.

When Obama and his minions talk about how the government built the roads, bridges, and schools that account for our success, remind them that a ubiquitous and omniscient government is not responsible for that success -- the People are.  The government is nothing without our work, our enterprise, our industry, our ingenuity, and our tax dollars.  The People made this country what it is -- not the Congress or the presidency -- and we are responsible for this country's largesse and our individual success, no matter if we engineered it, mined it, hammered it, used it, or paid for it.   

So, from now on, don't play the politically correct game.  Throw it right back at them.  It's violent, offensive, repulsive, intrusive, racist, bigoted, intolerant, or divisive.  It sets a bad example for the young, it violates our rights, and it threatens not only a civil society, but a free society as well.

And don't back down or cower because of this thuggish behavior.  This is a time for valor, a time for all of us to take a stand.  Our soldiers do not cringe in the face of danger just because the enemy has a gun.  Neither should we.