Interference of the Tortious Kind This Way Comes

By J.J. Jackson

Politicians are wicked beasts. Some people believe this is due to their lack of a moral compass. The truth however is that these heinous creatures do indeed have a moral compass. However it operates on a reverse polarity from reality and points as far away from true north as possible. This causes them to predictably do what is exactly the wrong thing in any given situation except by some sheer preponderance of luck brought on by the proper alignment of the planets in the solar system.

When it comes to the wicked things that politicians do, perhaps the wickedest is their concept that laws which they pass for the rest of us to follow should not apply to them. Every week it seems that those who think of themselves as our betters, based only on the fact that they conned enough Americans to elect them to office, flaunt this opinion of their own indemnity to their own laws openly. What would be illegal for us to do as mere peons in their charge is done regularly by them.

One of the most egregious things our politicians do is commit acts against individuals and companies that would be considered tortious interference if we, as mere citizens and not the political elite, were to do it. For those who are not legally minded, the act of tortious interference is when a party, the tortfeasor, moves to convince another party to breach a contract. It also occurs when the tortfeasor intentionally disrupts the wherewithal of a party to meet its obligations under a contract.

Say, for the sake of argument, that you are a rabid, left-wing, foaming at the mouth enviro-weenie. You see that new pipeline Big Oil is constructing. You seethe. You hate that industry because you care more about the wellbeing of the Harry Chested Nut Scratcher, which you believe will be irrevocably harmed by said pipeline, rather than America’s dependency on foreign oil. Your response is to run out and blow up the pipeline, setting back the construction by months and causing the oil company to be unable to deliver the promised supply of crude. You have just committed an act of tortious interference; among other things.

But, if you are a Senator, Congressman or even the President and you act to stop the construction of said pipeline because, well, you just don’t care about the people and you want to use the power of the federal government to throw previously discussed rabid, left-wing, foaming at the mouth enviro-weenie who does not want to go out and actually blow up the pipeline a bone? Well, that is perfectly legal. It is still tortious interference. But because you are a politician there is little, if any, liability on your part.

Or maybe you a hard headed Congressman. You know, who doesn't like the fact that banks are planning to levy new fees on customers. Say, oh, I don't know, just speaking hypothetically here, that you and your fellow liberals previously passed a law restricting the bank's ability to fund their business through existing fees because you thought they were too high? You know, because you are so smart and so well versed in economic theory I guess.

So when the banks change their strategy because after all their shareholders, the average American with an IRA, 401k, 403b, etc., are not going to like smaller dividends on their investments, you rush to the microphones and tell everyone that they should stop doing business with any insidious bank who is thinking about raising fees. Even though you are the reason they are raising those fees? Again, tortuous interference.

There can be no question to anyone using the brains God gave them that this sort of double standard is not only wrong, by tyrannical. Sure, sometimes the courts will step in, restrain the politicians from acting beyond their authority and acting in what would be otherwise illegal ways if a private citizen were to do it. But it seems that more and more those instances of our petitions for redress against our own government are going against us. And shouldn't our politicians do the right thing first instead of the wrong thing and force private citizens to spend their wealth combating such obvious tyranny? Of course they should.

A politician wielding the power of the state must never be allowed to do what would be illegal if someone other than a politician were to do it. If we as Americans allow them to, we will not like what our country will become and we will get the government we deserve.

Oh look! It's already here!

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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts The Right Things. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at Liberty Reborn.