"An anti-war protesting, socialist-leaning, ex-Marine embarrassment"—that's what the hyper-conservative blog Jammie-Wearing Fool called New Mexico Republican Congressional hopeful Adam Kokesh today.
"Mr. Kokesh has an extensive and well-documented history of affiliations with radical leftist groups," claims Gathering of Eagles, the group that unleashed today's rightist outrage with its "Open Letter to the Republican Party Regarding Adam Kokesh." The letter goes on to link Kokesh to Code Pink, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Black Panthers.
"I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to work with people that have strong disagreements with me philosophically," Kokesh tells SFR. "I think it's funny that one of my greatest strengths is being used against me."
More funny-odd than funny-haha, though.Joining the fray are a slew of ultra-conservative, pro-military blogs, including This Ain't Hell, What Bubba Knows—which posts a tally of people "murdered" by Islam and global warming (6,851 and 0, respectively, for 2009)—American Patriots Against Kokesh and United Conservatives of Virginia. The accusations are scathing and the tone not-so-vaguely threatening; Jammie Wearing Fool calls Kokesh "scum" and urges readers to "run, do not walk, away from this living oxygen thief."
Though most of the blogs airing the letter are conservative enough to make Rush Limbaugh look like a tree-hugging hippie, Kokesh says he has reason to believe some of the attacks are from people who support Rep. Ben Ray Luján, the incumbent Kokesh hopes to unseat.)
In addition to what the GOA letter describes as Kokesh's "unremarkable" Marine Corps service, work experience and education, it accuses him of being "involved in numerous anti-military, and by explicit extension, anti-Bush/Republican activities and actions."
Among them: "a high-profile media mocking of Alberto Gonzales's testimony to Congress regarding the dismissal of the U.S. attorney's [sic]; interrupting John McCain's acceptance speech at the 2008 Republican National convention; and; participating in a radical left anti-war march on the Bush home in Kennebunkport, Maine."
The message? If you're against all that lovely Bush-era stuff, like firing US attorneys (not attorney's) for political reasons or waging war under false pretenses, Adam Kokesh may be your man.
Kokesh, for his part, says he's talked to a lawyer about libel charges and "decided to go with a more subtle approach"—cease and desist orders.
"In the Marines we used to like to say, You know you're standing in the right place when they're shooting at you," Kokesh says. "It's good to see they already consider us such a threat."
