U.S. Homeland Security Issues Report on “Rightwing Extremists”
Not again! Via The Liberty Papers, just weeks after the state of Missouri retracted a similar report, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Environment Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” The 10-page document warns of the possible resurgence of right-wing extremist groups or individuals in the U.S. Like the Missouri report, it identifies the history of such extremism in the 1980s and ’90s, compares and contrasts them to today, and identifies certain types of groups as supposedly being the biggest threat. However, it comes to no conclusions or identifies specific known threats, though it identifies some recent events, such as the shooting of three police officers on April 4th.
Unlike the Missouri report, the origin of which was difficult to identify at best, this ones gets far more specific, and is easier to identify when it was commissioned. It specifically notes the election of President Barack Obama as a possible reason (along with the recession) for such a resurgence in rightwing extremism. While it could be argued this was first started in the period between the election and Obama’s inauguration, the vast similarities to the Missouri document seem to suggest otherwise.
The report is likely to cause furor among conservatives (and headaches for the Obama administration) due to some of its contents. Because what government report targeting a specific segment of society wouldn’t be complete without its share of questionable paragraphs?
Page 2 has a footnote outlining the federal government’s definition of right-wing extremism (emphasis mine):
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and
adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups),
and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or
rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a
single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
Focus on the Family et al., libertarians, and federalists take note. The federal government thinks you’re an extremist! While this report didn’t go as far as naming specific political parties and politicians as being favored by rightwing extremists, I believe the definition stated above is just a more subtle way of doing so.
Anyway, there are now two similar reports that have come out in less than a month! It gives the impression, undeserved or not, that the Obama administration is becoming a left-wing incarnation of the Richard Nixon administration, with lists of political enemies and wiretaps at the headquarters of their opponents. Remember all that crap from the left over the past eight years that George W. Bush was a fascist dictator who was going to strip us of our civil liberties and throw us in detention centers, impose martial law, and cancel elections? Well, this is the kind of thing the administration does not need if it wishes to combat similar accusations. Not to mention that liberals don’t need any more reasons to be called intolerant, speech suppressing authoritarians.
But I may be wrong. I therefore challenge anyone to show me a similar report produced by the DHS on leftwing extemists.
Once again I believe the USA is headed down the path of fascism. The interesting ideal behind this is that the basic underlying belief is that fascism must inheriantly be a rightie thing because it tends to spout nationalistic views which have always been associated with war, military and the expansion of the state onto the political stage.
Fast forward to 911. The US government invading Afghanistan because we were attacked by 20 hijackers. Fast forward to 2003 and we invade Iraq because they might be boogie men.
Fast forward to 2004-2008 and Heir Bush is proclaimed the antichrist, will suspend the constitution and will become king.
The Left is livid with the Iraq thing. They embark upon the demoralization of the right wing and more specifically the GOP party in their attempts at taking back control of the government. They succeed. The people rally around their cause.
Fast forward to 2009. Barak Obama is put in office as the president of the USA> He decides to continue his own war on terrorism. Escalates the warfare in Afghanistan. His left supporters who proclaim their abhorrance for war are rallied in support of his actions and cheer on the blowing up of men, women and children which they had previously been livid with only months earlier when Bush was the Commander in Chief.
The left embarks upon a unified effort to tear down and destroy, smear and slander any opposition on the right claiming it is hateful, hurtful and vitrolic ignoring their own years of hateful, hurtful vitrolic rhetoric.
Summation. The march down fascism lane is not being taken by the weak and enemic Right. Its being taken by the Democratic left who is so actively engaged in destroying any political opposition that they have begun attacking private citizens because their is no longer any opposition to them. The GOP congress and representatives are afraid to speak out for fear of massive retaliation from an internet smear machine and an MSM that is in the pocket of Barak Obama.
The MSM and the democratic left have worked together in the form of state run news propoganda in distributing distortions of the truth as they work closely together to destroy the fabric of the 2 party system in America.
These same democratic smear merchants who are bent upon a path of Fascism as they work to illiminate any and all political opposition on their path to a police state do not even realize the path they are headed down as they continue to delude themselves into believing that America would be a better place with only one party in control and NO opposition.
Remember Fascism’s aim is a single party state who puts the needs of the nation above all else.
Homeland security needs to get their facts straight.
“mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority … Focus on the Family et al., libertarians, and federalists take note. The federal government thinks you’re an extremist!”
Yeah, these are perfectly legitimate positions to have, so the report might be a bit insulting towards some people. But this could also be a poorly articulated “position” among some people who just want an excuse to form a gang and endanger/harass/yell at their surroundings. In short, a fully tolerant and violence-rejecting group could have a goal also declared by a hate-group, but the hate-group has merely exploited political contention to fuel its stupidity and rage. The report should have been clear that its categories aren’t definitions/signifiers/criteria of hate-groups. These people don’t need another excuse to feel like martyrs oppressed by the scary left-wingers.
“His left supporters who proclaim their abhorrance for war are rallied in support of his actions and cheer on the blowing up of men, women and children which they had previously been livid with only months earlier when Bush was the Commander in Chief.”
Yeah, because now these men and women are actually sent on a mission that is justified within the parameters of common sense and basic thinking. Afghanistan was one thing, but the left opposed the Iraq war because it killed Iraqi civilians and US troops for no good reason whatsoever.
Look, we all know that the old, oversimplified left-right political model does a poor job of capturing the diversity, multi-demsionality, etc. of political phenomena. But, if this silly DHS bulletin must insist on mislabeling political phenomena based on the extreme leftist definitons, then we have no choice but to set the record straight using that same outmoded model:
Thanks to its long experience utilizing propaganda tools, the “extreme left-wing” (and its useful idiots) has been able to rewrite the history of the last 100+ years to cover over the fact that facism, radical violence, race-oriented warfare, and other related political threats – of the kinds hinted at in the DHS report- almost always have their roots in “leftist” movements. Yes, there are exceptions, but the few isolated examples of “extreme right-wing” radicalism are so far removed from “conservative right” theory and activism as to render any associations meaningless.
If it weren’t such a serious matter, i would find it funny that DHS is associating race-driven radical threats with the so-called “right wing.” News flash, DHS: the remnants of white supremacist groups mostly supported Obama for president, maybe not for “progressive” reasons, but then politics makes for strange bedfellows. In any case, the racist militia-types to which you are refering, have shared many of the same grievances as the “progressive left.” They tend to be anti-Israel, anti-capitalist (in fact, those two go together), anti-globalization/trade, paranoid about homeland security, etc. The left might not want to be associated with these groups, but its agenda is attractive nonetheless to a variety of reactionary fringe elements and violently radical groups of all varities.
In truth, it is misleading to label hard-core rejectionary elements either right or left, but the fact that the DHS report lables the elements as “right” points to what the bigger underlying danger is (now and for the last 100+ years) . . .
Gee, I guess I must have unknowingly drank the Kool Aid. I haven’t read the report so I can’t speak to whether it goes to “too far”. But I recall a certain terrorist attack in OKC in the ’90’s and various groups in Idaho who seemed to say some very concerning things while being very “well armed”. Yes, I would want my government to do its due diligence in looking for potential internal and external threats. Yes, I understand the risks of becoming to easily an “us vs them” viewpoint. Maybe its just that I’m still pondering the history lessons learned after reading “The Looming Tower”.
I’m with c3 on this one, actually. I don’t think it’s wrong for the government to look into this, especially not considering the fact that wacko right-wing extremists committed some terrible (political) crimes in the past.
I’m pretty sure the idea isn’t to prosecute every single person who dares disagree with the current administration. It’s about the Stormfront folks and alike.
Absolutely, the government must to look into potential threats – there’s no question about that.
But I’m also concerned about the intellectual laziness reflected the DHS report, especially insomuch as it helps to further the left’s real agenda to link conservatism, libertarianism, the Tea Party movement, etc. to radical rejectionist elements.
I don’t think that the DHS should help promote leftist propaganda calling fringe rejectionist elements “right wing” as a synonym for “very conservative.” If we’re going to play the left v. right game, which of the following elements tend to be more dangerous to the body politic: libertarians (usually identified as being on the right side of the political spectrum) or anarchists (left)? Michelle Bachman’s loyal supporters (right) or John Conyer’s loyal supporters (left)? Activist college conservatives who idolize Hayek and Ronald Reagan or activist college “progressives” who idolize Billy Ayers and Noam Chomsky?
The DHS report reads like it was written and/or steered by a “progressive” Obama hack. Remember, a few years back those hacks were arguing that the “real threat” to America was not Islamic terrorism but “right-wing” seizure of civil liberties, etc. Well, have they really changed their targets now that they’re in power?
Yes, we should always be vigilant in protecting this country against potential threats – no matter from what ideology those threats emenate – but always beware of leftist PROJECTION as well . . .
I just re-read it all (and read moe lane’s piece) and fell over this tidbit: “those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority,”
That means everybody who espouses a federalist position, as Moe correctly points out.
That’s a problem: basically every traditional conservative and libertarian is now considered “an extremist.” Hell, the founding fathers are “rightwingers” now.
Exactly Michael.
There is a very real danger in this country of an overshift in politics to the far left Much too fast. I see this as a danger. To far To Fast is essentially ignoring unintended consequences of such action. 50 years of pent up frustrations of the left are unchecked right now. A party that was livid over deficit spending now is drinking the “kool aid” themselves. A party that worked fervishly to keep the GOP in check now has NO checks.
This country is full of hate for each other and where once we could stand around water fountains and discuss politics and then go have a beer today we are choosing to discuss politics and forgo the beer.
I see a bad moon arising and now OUR GOVERNMENT is essentially saying that we have to keep an eye on those fellahs.
Folks this is getting bad. I do not believe that Obama himself is a Bad person. I think he genuinely has the interests of the nation at heart albeit those interests are way farther left then I would hope.
What I see as the problem is not Obama but rather a Party and even more then a party, but a movement “Progressives” who have an agenda and who claimed that they will win at all costs.
They have chosen Obama as their puppet and are working in conjunction with both the Internet and the MSM to project this agenda square into the face of every American by smearing, slandering and Jurnolisting any and all opposition to the far left agenda. The Right/GOP are so afraid right now that they essentially are leaderless and whenever anyone attempts to speak up they are smeared with such hatred from a billion web blogs and aided by a complicit MSM.
The right is powerless. Rudderless and the left is running amuck unchecked.
And now the Homeland Security says…we have to watch those righties. Lord help us. The left is marching to their own drum, in chrage of the government and now they are issuing reports that the right is potential terrorists.
Can someone advise when the DHS report on left-wing extremists will be released? I understand we have several receiving billions in federal funds (e.g. ACORN) and am curious about DHS’s take on what risks may be emerging given their new financial prominence.
I’ve now read the report. Maybe there’s more but not for public consumption and I still feel there is a need to do due diligence. Having said that I was NOT impressed. This looks less like an intelligence piece and more like an opinion piece.
Knew you’d get there eventually. Surprised you missed it the first time!
I am in agreement that the government has a right to look into groups that may pose a danger. However, it was very poorly written in some areas and clearly not reviewed well enough before released, or that paragraph would never have made it out the door.
Sounds like an addition to my list of books to read.
They wrote the same report in January about the Left….look it up
Well, it might be a decent thing for the homeland security folks to remember and keep in mind, that although the dems won the election – not by a majority “landslide”, but only a majority of those who voted. There are a lot more that didn’t vote – the silent majority……that are up in arms now about how the government is spending out of control and taking us to places uncharted and unknown, and we all don’t like it much!!!
@c3
Hey C3, how about the Gays that tore the cross out of the old ladies hands because she is for traditional marrage? HAte is hate, just because there have been some issues in the past that does not mean that the Government can classify me. AKA ruby ridge? How about the 1st amendment? The problem is that I, being a CITIZEN who believes that abortion is murder, and I have the right to bear arms and the right TO SPEAK MY MIND are being called a “radical” what about reverend Wright?
I think There are some things I agree with! I am a christian and an “evangelical” and it is perfectly fine for anyone to hate me. According to the satus quo of Obama and reverend Wright. Oh, but…. I am a White Male between 30 and 50 so I guess I am a racist and abigot so I have no rights and it is OK to hate me.
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
This is laughable because I am of a “particular religious group” who gets crapped on everyday. But it is fine to ban prayer in school as long as we have foot washing stations and “times of prayer” for Islam.
I must confess I did not read the entire report. However, having read a few paragraphs I now realize as a pro-lifer I belong to a hate group whereas those who choose to murder unborn babies must be part of the love group. I also think this report is abhorent in that it classifies white supremists as right-wing as to classify all republicans as racists. I think we all know there are racists on both sides of the political spectrum. This report is simply another attack on any discension that the Obama administration faces.
Republicans and Democrats have taken there turns alienating and attacking individuals and their liberties. I for one have had enough. The time for peaceful revolution is approaching!!!
As Jean Rich said above, the same type of report about left wing extremism was released on January 26, 2009.
Both sides are the problem.
If you don’t think so, which do you think radical islamists are on, left or right?
(I’ll give you a hint, they are ultra-conservative.)
Just remember there was no left wing Timothy McVeigh. Besides, they issued a report about left wing extremists a few months ago and none of you seemed very torn up about that. Also, you righties were dancing in the isles when Bush erected his unaccountable National Security state apparatus. There are millions upon millions of Americans who want you to just shut up and lie in the bed you made. Keep that in mind as you whine about how bombing abortion clinic or a federal building is something the Feds are going to try to stop.