Was Joseph Andrew Stack A Terrorist? Was He Left Or Right?

The battle begins as to whether to define the act of flying a plane in to an IRS building as one of terrorism.

But the pattern of the attack – including that Mr. Stack apparently lit his house on fire beforehand – fits less into the mold of a terror conspiracy and more neatly into a profile of the solo-flying rebel with a personal beef, the details of which are fueled by partisan rhetoric and current events.

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“I know [Stack] wasn’t part of al Qaida or a white power group, but how can this not qualify as an act of terrorism given the obvious political motive, however nutty it was?” writes Michael Roston at True/Slant. “I can assure you that people all over the political spectrum will be working posthaste to distance themselves from Stack’s madness.”

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Almost instantly, the left-leaning Daily Kos website had connected the crash to the influence of the conservative “tea party” movement, writing that “teabaggers have struck with their first 9/11 inspired terrorist attack.”

“We’re about to see the media double-standard in starkest terms,” counters the conservative Ace of Spaces website, which points out that the left-wing leanings of Alabama shooting-spree suspect Amy Bishop haven’t been part of the mainstream media narrative. “[We’re] going to hear endlessly about this lunatic crank’s politics. Which aren’t even right-wing – he’s ripping politicians for not doing anything about health care, for example,” the website says.

Still, Stack’s act was driven by blind hatred of the IRS, not concern about health care. He didn’t fly his plane into the offices of an insurance company. And hatred of the IRS is a part of a far-right ideology that despises anything to do with the government, particularly paying taxes.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.