Wednesday, June 08, 2011

GEE, I'D HAVE THOUGHT RICK SANTELLI AND ALL THE SANTELLI-ETTES WOULD BE CHEERING

The hottest story in the blogosphere right now, according to Memeorandum, is this story and its follow-up (UPDATE: or at least it was the hottest story until Andrew Breitbart "accidentally" released an X-rated Anthony Weiner photo):

STOCKTON, CA -- A federal education official Wednesday morning offered little information as to why federal agents raided a Stockton man's home Tuesday morning.

The resident, Kenneth Wright, does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe why what he thought was a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 in the morning....

As Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts, he said the officers barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

"He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there," Wright said....

U.S. Department of Education spokesman Justin Hamilton confirmed for News10 Wednesday morning federal agents with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), not local S.W.A.T., served the search warrant. Hamilton would not say specifically why the raid took place except that it was part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Hamilton said the search was not related to student loans in default as reported in the local media.

OIG is a semi-independent branch of the education department that executes warrants for criminal offenses such as student aid fraud, embezzlement of federal aid and bribery, according to Hamilton.

"They busted down my door for this," Wright said. "It wasn't even me." ...


Most of the blog attention is from horrified right-wingers -- but why? It now seems as if this raid was directed at someone guilty of fraud, not just a student-loan default -- but even if it had been directed at a defaulter, shouldn't right-wingers (at National Review, at RedState, at Michelle Malkin's place) be delighted?

After all, didn't they cheer and high-five and pump their fists at this?



RICK SANTELLI: The government is promoting bad behavior....

You know, the new administration’s big on computers and technology -- How about this, President and new administration? Why don't you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages...?

(Applause, cheering)...

SANTELLI: ... This is America! How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills? Raise their hand.

(Booing)

President Obama, are you listening?

TRADER: How 'bout we all stop paying our mortgage? It's a moral hazard.

KERNEN: It's like mob rule here. I’m getting scared. I'm glad I'm...

CARL QUINTANILLA: Get some bricks and bats...


These right-wingers probably aren't angry that the government seemed to be using violence to deal with loan defaulters -- chances are they're just jealous. They think that's a gig they should have.

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(Santelli transcript from this fan.)

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