I have a lot of time for Keith Olbermann. Whether I agree with him or not (and most of the time, like this one, I do agree with him) he is one of, possibly the, most rational commentators I have heard. (I did keep wanting to correct the transcript with what he actually said. But it may have been a pre-released script which he then said slightly differently.)

As for political parties (and individuals) which encourage violence, they can be anywhere on the spectrum. I don't believe that anyone who wants power is immune, some just have policies which some people find more palatable than others because they are in favour of those voters.

I'm not sure which Heinlein quote you had in mind, the one which springs to my mine is the one which goes something like "Dictatorship is based on the idea that one man is wiser than lots of men. Who decides? Democracy is based on the idea that many men are wiser than one man. Come again?" Oh, and "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for dinner."

Not that either we or any country I know have democracy. We have an elected oligarchy (where the difference between those who can be elected is so small as to be not very significant), America has a republic, a number of countries are theocracies...