Groups outside political mainstream united in anger at Missouri's militia report

A gay man caring for his parents while earning money trading commodities. A man devoted to his vision of Southern heritage. An unemployed grandfather who has devoted his life to his family. A hospital housekeeper with a big mortgage on a Victorian home in Jackson.

Meet Southeast Missouri's "radicals," people who fall outside the mainstream of political thought. Libertarians, Constitution Party members and others who feel alienated and who don't agree with each other on many issues are united in their anger at a state report, since withdrawn and denounced by many, that links third-party political activity to violent private militias.

"I feel very strongly that the report likened itself to the Gestapo in Hitler's Germany," said Tom Young, 69, of Jackson, who joined the Constitution Party because he felt the Republican Party wasn't living up to conservative, strict-constructionist views of the U.S. Constitution. "When did we get to the point in our nation that the voice of our dissent is considered terrorism?"

The Missouri Information Analysis Center on Feb. 20 issued a report, brought to public light in late March, indicating law enforcement should be aware that supporters of the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, Republican Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign of 2008, the pro-life movement and those who oppose illegal immigration may be part of the militia movement.

The militia movement draws people who deny the legitimacy of political leaders and who worry about a new world order that will turn U.S. sovereignty over to powers such as the United Nations. Famous adherents include Timothy McVeigh, executed for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

The report drew denunciations from many political circles, including Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. The chief of the Missouri Information Analysis Center, Van Godsey, was reassigned last week by Missouri State Highway Patrol superintendent Col. James Keathley. Godsey has been in charge of the unit since it was created in 2005 under Gov. Matt Blunt. Future reports from the agency will be reviewed by Keathley and the director of the Department of Public Safety.

Young, who works as a housekeeper at Southeast Missouri Hospital, said it was the announcement that his third granddaughter was on the way that spurred him to greater political activity. Married for 52 years, he said he has never considered himself dangerous and laughed at the suggestion.

"I am talking about both parties, the Democrats and Republicans, who have had control for how many decades and look at the mess. I think it is time to clean house up there peacefully, through the ballot box," he said.

On economics, Libertarians and Constitutional Party members tend to be close -- low taxes paying for a federal government that is severely limited compared to its current level of activity. But on personal matters, such as abortion, gay marriage and drugs, most Libertarians support legal access to all three.

Greg Tlapek, executive director of the Missouri Libertarian Party, describes himself as a gay man caring for his parents and doing commodity trading and political activity to earn a living. He's just as angry as Young and others at the state for portraying his actions as potential threats.

"I don't feel dangerous," Tlapek said. "I feel like I am in danger, though. Our liberties are in danger."

Third parties have traditionally been a source of new ideas in American politics. Workers' compensation, Social Security, an eight-hour work day and unemployment insurance were first proposed by third parties.

"They are talking about a lot of bad people in the report," Tlapek said. "Arsonists, murderers, and how we got lumped in with them, I don't get it."

In Marble Hill, Ward 1 Alderman Clint Lacy, who uses the moniker "Missouri Bushwhacker" on his blog, calls himself a believer in Jeffersonian democracy. A proud supporter of Confederate heritage, he said he's upset with the direction of the country but doesn't blame any particular party.

"Obama scares me because he has indicated he wants very strict gun control," Lacy said. "But what everybody forgets is that if there had not been a George Bush, there would not be a Barack Obama."

To counteract the effect of the report, Lacy proposed at this week's board of aldermen meeting that Marble Hill police be instructed to avoid political profiling.

And Ken Foreman, a grandfather from Pocahontas who runs a blog called "A New Contract with America," said he's never felt an urge to resort to conflict with the government. He wants to change the course of the country with ballots, not bullets, he said.

"They say that because they think anybody who has Libertarian views is obviously a threat to the folks who are in power now," Foreman said. "We don't wan to shoot them. We just want to vote them out."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

Jefferson City, MO

Cape Girardeau, MO

Pocahontas, MO

Jackson, MO

Marble Hill, MO

On the Net:

Ken Foreman's blog: www.anewcontractwithamerica.org

Clint Lacy's blog: http://mobushwhacker.bravejournal.com

Missouri Libertarian Party: www.lpmo.org

Missouri Constitution Party: www.constitutionpartymo.org