Bergdahl not first victim of chickenhawk smears

In the wake of the right-wing media's swiftboating of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sometimes it's easy to forget that the Far Right's treachery against America is not new. A Korean War POW received the Tea Party treatment 61 years ago - decades before there even was a Tea Party.

In 1953, Army Staff Sgt. Jack Flanary, 21, was released from a prisoner of war camp after almost 3 years. His hometown of Benham, Kentucky, planned a huge welcoming celebration and parade.

But the event was derailed by right-wingers just as it was getting underway. Right-wing windbags had falsely claimed that Flanary had collaborated with Red China during his years in captivity. The celebration's organizers heard of this at the start of the event and decided to call it off. The American Legion revoked a $50 savings bond they had promised to Flanary.

Luckily, the townsfolk didn't believe the right-wingers' lies. They immediately collected $500 in place of the rescinded savings bond. People donated various other items. Thousands of area residents celebrated Flanary's homecoming with a huge party that lasted until the following morning.

Fast forward 61 years. As of today, the fascist Tea Party is continuing to step up its smears against Bergdahl. This is a disgrace. In fact, it's such a disgrace that if the Republican Party doesn't face real, long-lasting political repercussions, maybe it proves Team Tyranny is right about one thing only: government really is the problem. Who needs a government run by the Tea Party?