The extremes on both sides believe that government is a stick that should be used to beat the masses into submission. Whether it's about taking away free speech (when criticizing the government) or taking away free speech (when saying not nice things about certain kinds of people), it's still taking away free speech.

It's not a matter of who did it first -- it's a matter of POLITICIANS acting politically. The Left and the Right are equally egregious in this, it's all a question of who happens to be in power at the time.

Of course, I am more inconvenienced when the Right is in power, because their actions affect me more directly, but that doesn't make the Left any less guilty of doing the same damned things. The exact same damned things.

Radical Left + Government = Tyranny. Radical Right + Government = Tyranny.

Intelligent Left or Right + Government = some measure of annoyance and, as a trade off, interesting conversation.

Intelligensia Left or Right + Government = gag reflex. Also See Radical Left/Right + Government entry.

There is difference worldview but no real difference in methodology. In other words:

It's all bad.