Because as we all know, it's treason to oppose President Obama.

Reason:

MoveOn.org, the progressive "netroots" outfit that waslaunched to defend what it felt were spurious impeachment charges against then-president Bill Clinton, is now agitating for spurious sedition charges to be filed against Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.

In a petition with the admirably direct title of "Arrest and Try House GOP Leadership for Sedition," those champions of democracy are clamoring for the following:

I call on the Justice Department of the United States of America to arrest Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and other decision-making House Republican leaders for the crime of seditious conspiracy against the United States of America.

The website claims that there are currently more than 25,000 signatories, which I guess speaks well for the other 300 or so million of us.

Over at The Huffington Post, self-described journalist Andrew Reinbachexpands on the idea:

The behavior of the House GOP in the current showdown -- whether or not they reach some sort of deal -- makes them guilty of sedition. [...]

The definition of sedition says among other things that "If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire... by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States... they shall each be fined or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both."

And in case you hear that "force" means physical violence only, here's the legal definition of extortion (a felony): "The obtaining of property from another induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right." "Official right" means a government official claiming he or she is acting under the law to commit extortion.

The law that probably applies here is 18 USC 1951, the Hobbs Act, which deals with extortion--a felony, as per the sedition statute. While Hobbs deals mainly with injury to individuals, it seems to me to be a small step to observe that every citizen of the United States is an individual, and the United States is being harmed -- although whether prosecutors would find it an exact fit is up to them, and not mere journalists like myself.

No doubt this is a fundraising gimmick. But gee...I guess when it comes to "extreme" and "radical" political organizations, Republicans haven't exactly cornered the market.

But which is it? "Extortion?" Or "sedition?" It must be awful for them to be torn between two ridiculous, far fetched, delusional choices for arresting their political opponents. Perhaps they should look to history and a like-minded soul who also believed that political opposition was treasonous. Josef Stalin didn't bother with such legal niceties. He simply set up drumhead trials and after lightening fast proceedings, took the victim, lined him up against a wall, and shot him.

I'm sure the good liberals at Moveon would never dream of such tyrannical action. They wouldn't settle for anything less than a fair trial and a right smart hanging.