Extremist group wants city prosecuted over antiwar stance

Move America Forward is a right-wing hate group that calls war opponents "communists", has encouraged superfluous "do over" efforts to overturn election results they don't like, and is suspected of concocting an idiotic hoax to embarrass a respected British newspaper.

Now the Sacramento-based agitprop mill wants an entire city prosecuted just because of its political views. The city they're targeting is of course Berkeley, California, which has become the favorite wiping cushion of wingnuts far and wide.

Berkeley's antiwar stance is well-documented - but like I've said before, it's their city, so it's their right to have this stance. It's about local autonomy as much as it's about the failed war. But Move America Forward has written a letter to the U.S. attorney who covers the region, asking him to prosecute the city for its views. MAF's press release says the city's politics alone may constitute an illegal act.

Then what about all the cities that have pushed pro-war views even more actively than Berkeley pressed its antiwar position? Should we also prosecute that town in West Virginia that encouraged Congress to pull funding for Berkeley school lunches (even though most of the residents of the West Virginia town oppose the war)? What exactly did Berkeley do that's illegal?

Government officials across America have for over a decade generally advanced an activist conservative agenda via their offices. You don't have to look very hard to find instances of government lawyers advising public agencies how to enact right-wing policies, or special government privileges being granted to conservative groups. I don't just mean selective enforcement of existing policies, but also the active use of government for political causes.

If Move America Forward's outburst causes Berkeley to be prosecuted for its liberal views, there would have to be a looooong line of other cities to be prosecuted for their conservative views.

(Source: http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/03/27/group-wants-feds-to-probe-berkeley-marines-flap)