Right-Wing Intimidation Hits Home

Let me share with you a letter I received at home, Tuesday, September 30th. At the time, I knew nothing about the sender or the organization of which he's Chairman. Now, thanks to the Internet, I know a good deal more about him. This letter arrived in a large, thin cardboard envelope, labeled "UPS Expedited Mail." The envelope also proclaimed that this was "Expedited Mail by UPS Mail Innovations" and it was "Time Sensitive Material." I don't remember ever getting "Time Sensitive Material, Expedited by UPS Mail Innovations." Here is the letter accompanied by a legal memorandum from the sender's attorney:

Click on image for pdf.

Here is my OPEN LETTER in response to Howard Rich, Chairman, Americans for Limited Government Foundation:

Dear Howie,

Thanks for your time-sensitive, expedited letter, undated. Let me call you Howie since you have my home address, something only my friends and business associates have, and since there are almost four million internet entries about you, many of which refer to you as Howie. Do you like being called Howie? Probably as much as I like to get threatening letters from people such as you. I'm sure you really don't know anything about me, let alone my political leanings. How is it then that you have my name and address and threaten to "publicize my involvement in leftist organizations in my local community?"

Let me tell you about my local community. I live and work in Hollywood, where if you publicize someone's involvement with the Left, a thunderous yawn will likely arise over the basin. Unlike you, people out here don't care what organizations a person belongs to. You must have gotten my name as a result of sloppy work by a lazy hired hand because in my case, you got the wrong guy. I wonder how many of the other 11,000 or more identical letters you sent went to people you've wrongly identified as "belonging to the radical agenda of the left."

You see, I'm not a member of any political organization - left, right or center. I gave a donation to Barack Obama, but not to any PAC's or any other candidates. I once gave a donation to our local Sheriff, but I have no idea what party he belongs to. I am a member of two prominent social clubs, both of which could be called conservative. You might enjoy them as much as I do. So what am I doing in your database?

As I mentioned, there are almost four million internet entries that reference you and your organization. Some of them refer to you as a "wealthy, New York developer." Like a lot of stuff that gets written about people, one can't always verify the truth, but here are a few random entries: a posting by a Robert W. Dalton claims you're "one of the most despised figures in South Carolina politics." Mr. Dalton's posting goes on to quote the Spartanburg (SC) Democratic Chairman who calls you "A disaster waiting to happen." The Democratic Public Information Officer for the Union County Schools in South Carolina says you're "pouring money into candidates who are willing to sell their souls to get elected."

On the other hand, prominent Republicans like the State GOP Party Chairman, the Spartanburg GOP County Chairman, and Governor Mark Sandford (R) have nothing but good things to say about you. It seems the dispute along party lines is over your desire to create a private school system funded by taxpayers. You seem to be a big spender and you put your money behind your beliefs. Nothing wrong with that, nothing that should cause anyone to send you a threatening letter. But again at random, a website called STOP BALLOT FRAUD says you "subsidize voter fraud." By the way, nice picture of you on that website.

Surely my small donation to the Democratic candidate for President can't be what offends you, so I invite you to lay out publicly exactly what it is you consider to be my radical agenda. I'm sharing this note with the public because it demands wider circulation. What you're expediting is Un-American. False accusations. Threats. Attempts to suppress speech. As Joseph Welch, long ago lamented to Senator Joe McCarthy, "Sir, have you no shame?"

Sincerely,
William Friedkin

P. S. Enclosed is a letter to you from my lawyer, Eric George, sent by regular mail.

Click on image for pdf.

Comments

[Jalel Art]

Love ya' Mr. Friedkin! That was an excellent response from you and your consul.

As for "Howie" - let's see him try and get that foot out of his mouth and a$$!

[windwashed]

Beautiful.

[Maggy Hawk]

How can I get on Howie's list? We are not only known by our friends, but by our enemies!

[gbht12]

HOWIE, HOWIE, you are thinking that we really give a crap about your threats. We have had to endure eight long years of George W. Bush. Come on HOWIE, people are sick of the threats and the insults and the lies.

See ya at the voting booth HOWIE, I get to vote early for my candidate Obama/Bide­n... sweet

[Redbeerd]

Ah yesssss, we dangerous, anti-american lefties. What have liberals ever done for this country besides break away from England, abolish slavery, give women the vote and fight Hitler? I'm sure that even Howard Rich is in favor of at least a majority of these.....­.

[JustAProgressive]

Howie would have staunchly opposed the middle two, and probably argued that opposing Hitler would be too costly. You give him too much credit.

[JustAProgressive]

Most unlikely: I'm sure he'd never support the middle two, and would have found the fourth too expensive. You give him too much credit.

[SurrealPumpkin]

wouldn't count on it.

[csavage]

Very good point...
Every liberal here should remember that while we equate the right with the term "stupid", they equate the left with the term "dangerous­".....
They leave no room for political discourse when they whip their base with that philosophy and bipartisan political discourse is what we need the most at this point

[Whinger]

Good for you William, stand up to the schoolyard bully, like all thugs he is a coward at heart.

[MaryT63]

Thanks for the internet where citizens can exposed to the public these despicable, threatening actions of the right wing operatives. This how the repubs have won elections in the past by using these tactics to scare people.
Thanks, Mr. Friedkin for bringing to light this one.

[Marmee]

It doesn't do to forget that the original Joe McCarthy enjoyed widespread public support for a number of years before his fall from grace.

Like McCain and his surrogates, he sought to exploit a national mood of fear and uncertainty by blurring the line between real enemies and imagined ones. For a time he was depressingly successful in silencing opposition to his vicious tactics by suggesting that his critics were either secret communists or communist sympathizers and therefore alien and unworthy--they were the "unrepentant terrorists" of their day. A few of them actually were Party members, although of course most were not. Either way, McCarthy's thuggish unAmericanism made even his most hot-headed communist critics look like devout patriots by contrast.

Nonetheless, broad swaths of the public bought this garbage, not necessarily because they were bad people, but because they were frightened and ill-educated, and--impor­tantly--be­cause most of the press of the era either supported McCarthy outright or hesitated to denounce him. It wasn't easy for journalists and editors to take issue with this self-described war hero--not with a real Cold War providing a backdrop for McCarthy's phony war against "treason".

In the end, McCarthy's own monstrous overreach brought him down, but not before careers had been destroyed, reputations hopelessly tarnished, and the American culture profoundly scarred. If McCain is triumphant, the cost will be even greater this time around.

[CeeCee]

This is a different age. That was then, and this is now. We have different options. We have the Internet, news is spread within seconds. In McCarthy's time, the populace were nowhere near as engaged as they are now.

[Vurz]

I have written to this groupd and asked them to put me on their list. Unfortunately, they have not replied yet.

[WritusMaximus]

Bingo! Let's flood Howard Rich with requests to be included in that there list, then here we all travel via the class action road to riches.

[Zubeck]

I'm in.

[nellieh]

It's South Carolina politics for crissakes! This guy Rich probably buys the snakes for Sunday services! He hasn't the balls to put himself front and center to run for office because he would be exposed so he rancidly makes sh*t up. More money than sense.

[veganphoto]

A shot over the bow of people who would attempt to undermine this Democracy.

[Flash-389009]

People like Howard Rich used to also put on robes and hoods so that they could burn crosses in front of people's houses. The best way to deal with people like this is to take them on in the light of day so that everyone knows what vile slugs they are. Great job at bringing ths particular slug to everyone's attention!!

Slug: a single footed gastropod that travels on is own film of mucus!

[SEQUOIABISON]

Wow, this could never happen in America?

Oh wait, it just did.

Obama/Biden

[Oldbuck]

I think Mr Rich is going to get his just due by the very economy he and the Cato group have help develop the bad thing is we have to suffer right alone with him and we are paying right along with him the debt that our government . Mr Rich is a so called Libertarian he wants to destroy public education sound like the Republican party does it not. The only way we can take our country back is go vote. Vote for Obama / Biden.

[respectingothers]

Mr Friedkin, thank-you for your strong response to that abhorrent letter. Thank-you for standing up for the constitution of our great country. We need more people doing this sort of thing. Thank-you.

[dphilip]

Mr Friedkin, thank you for exposing the right for using the same tactics against the left that they use to attack the right. It is "abhorrent" that the right is fighting against our tactics.
This election belongs to the democrats. Only racists are not for Obama. Only a racists would try to prevent Acorn from empowering democrats from casting as many votes per individual as needed to "secure" a victory for Obama. Additionally, the MSM has invested an incredible amount of time and resources in an effort to get Obama elected. In this economy, we cannot allow their "return on investment" to be jeopardized. Such events could imperil the future of that fine institution.
Tolerance of opposing views cannot be tolerated!

[Nishnabe]

Dphilip, sloppy attempt at satire and irony. The facts are: Obama will be elected by a landslide. He is intellectually miles above McCain and Palin and that is what we need as the world continues to "globalize­." Senator Obama will bring some dignity back to the office of the Presidency. And, last but not least for me as a "minority" soon to be a majority" he will begin to reflect the true makeup of this country. Tolerance of opposing views is a "liberal" idea. Repugs started digging this hole during the era of Reagan when he-like Bush II and potentially McCain-coasted through the presidency on his persona instead of his intellect. "As you sow, so shall you reap." For too long Repugs have elected style and not substance. Now, with Obama, we can have both.

[WritusMaximus]

"Tolerance of opposing views cannot be tolerated!" You just described Mr. Rich's mindset ever so eloquently.