Department of Homeland Security Is Watching Us Rightwing Extremists

Debs, show me where in the report it mentions Christians. And then perhaps you could also explain why you choose to proudly associate yourself with that guy in Pittsburg who set a trap for and killed three policement last week.

Remember Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing? Do you think that perhaps it is prudent of the DHS to consider that history could repeat itself?

 I posted this in a discussion in  Socialism, Scrota and Tea Party thread. It's more relevant here:

Conservative bloggers must really identify themselves with the most extreme elements of the right wing. The Department of Homeland Security declassified report on right wing extremism can be found here. I am citing Daily Kos, but it is well worth reading:

It's pretty clear that the report is discussing neo-Nazis and Timothy McVeigh militia types. You'd think no one would have a problem in the government keeping tabs on these most violent extremists in a bid to prevent another Oklahoma City bombing. But we don't live in a rational world. Instead, right-wing bloggers have whipped themselves up into a frenzy of outrage.

Apparently, they're really offended that their buddies in the violent militias and white supremacist neo-Nazi groups are being watched by law enforcement agencies.

"Sure", you say, "but that's just the wingnut bloggers. What else would you expect?" True. But that special brand of crazy -- defending neo-Nazi groups -- has now spread beyond the wingnutosphere. [...]Read on...

 The report is on white supremacists, right wing militias, and those who support violence like Timothy McVeigh. Such extremism is a real threat and it is not surprising that the Department of Homeland Security has seen a reason to describe this threat.  My bet is that somewhere they also have reports on violent extremists of the far left.

The Republicans and much of the conservative blogosphere has become quite extreme, but I still wouldn’t lump them in with the type of extremists the report is aimed at. The report doesn’t talk about conservatives, Republicans, or even conservative bloggers.  For some reason, however, conservative bloggers seem to identify with them. I first saw mention of this in The Liberty Papers. Michelle Malkin has picked it up with the paranoid title  Confirmed: The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real. Pamela Geller writes this “is the fascist blueprint to create a police state and legalize gulags.”

There is certainly a lot of paranoia on the right. For an example, see David Weigel’s gun show report. It is certainly reasonable for people in Homeland Security to be concerned about such people should they support violence. A report describing extremists and warning of the risk of violence is far different from advocating suppression of their speech or of rounding them up in gulags.

I fail to understand why the right, rather than seeing the extreme right which advocates violence as a problem, sees this report as being about them. I certainly don’t feel any similar affinity towards extremists of the far left and would have no concerns about a similar report on left wing extremists.

Steven Taylor has the best title for a response on this issue:  You’re so Vain, You Probably Think this Report is about You (or, so Paranoid…)

Jonathan Chait also wonders about this:

Conservatives? The report is about murderous lunatics. I kind of figured conservatives would try to define potential domestic terrorists as the fringe right. And, indeed, I’d agree that, for all its rhetorical and ideological excesses, conservatism is an ideology that usually stops short of fomenting violence against lawful authorities. But there’s Michelle Malkin calling potential terrorists “conservatives.”

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Just in time:

However, this morning, Fox News’s Catherine Herridge revealed that the report, along with an earlier report on radicalized left-wing groups, was actually “requested by the Bush administration” but not completed until recently:

HERRIDGE: Well this is an element of the story which has largely gone unreported. One looks at right-wing groups, as you mentioned. And a second is on left-wing groups. Significantly, both were requested by the Bush administration but not finished until President Bush left office.

Herridge’s reporting undermines her network’s own “reporting” over the past 24 hours. Since news of the DHS assessment broke yesterday, Fox anchors and guests have been seizing upon the report as evidence that the administration is trying to intimidate tea party goers or “stifle speech”:

To recap, the Obama administration was apparently following the lead of the Bush Homeland Security Department in assessing the very real threat of violent right-wing extremism. Indeed, Bush appointees such as FBI Director Robert Mueller have acknowledged the threat of right-wing extremism multiple times.

Of course, we can always trust Fox News to jump to conclusions before fully weighing the facts.

Surprisingly, Conservative Little Green Footballs has been one of the more prominent blogs which has noted the absurdity of the conservative reaction to this report, along with criticizing several other beliefs being spread in the conservative blogosphere and media. In posting the above release they called the conservative response “hyperventilating.” In a post on the report yesterday they wrote:

First, this DHS assessment was begun more than a year ago, before Barack Obama was even nominated. It has absolutely nothing to do with “tea parties,” and it was not done at the behest of the Obama administration.

Second, I’m seeing it brought up repeatedly that the report contains a reference to veterans, mentioning that some of these groups are seeking to recruit them. This is nothing more than a fact, and the report even says that only a tiny number of veterans would join such groups — but that their talents could bring a great deal of capability to the extremists. Has everyone simply forgotten that Timothy McVeigh was a veteran?

The DHS report is not intended to target anyone but the most extreme elements of the far right, and it’s depressing to see so many bloggers jumping to totally unwarranted conclusions.

AJ Strata has a good take on this: The Threat Of Far Right Extremism - Updated!

The report does not treat discourse as “potentially subversive activity.” It is clearly concerned with those who practice violence, not with discourse.

I just don't believe her.  Sorry.  She dug her self into this hole and she's trying to dig out.  I actually downloaded and read that report, it actually is a political hit job.

I find it amazing that so many of your are choosing to identify with the Pittsburg cop killer and then indulge in a pity party because of it. January 26, the DHS issued a report entitled “Leftwing Extemists Likely to Increase Use of Cyber Attacks Over the Coming Decade”.  Why no hue and cry over that?