"Rightwing" Conservatives on Government's Watch List

A new report by the Department of Homeland Security warns federal, state and local law enforcement and counterterrorist officials about the potential threat that “right-wing extremists” pose to the domestic security of the United States.  The unclassified report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” was published by the “Extremism and Radicalization Branch” and was provided to help law enforcement “effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States.”

 The Department of Homeland Security warned that “a number of economic and political factors are driving a resurgence in rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalization activity,” including the economic downturn and the election of the first African American President.  However, it admits that the Department “has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence.”

Such “rightwing extremist” and “rightwing terrorists” are broadly defined in the report as “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.”  The Department even goes so far as to state that that rightwing extremists “may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or [illegal] immigration,” and indicates that pro-life activists and opponents of illegal immigration are of comparable concern to the Nation’s security as are white supremacists, skinheads and neo-Nazi’s.  Advocating for the United States Constitution to be read as intended, which did not include a right to choose the murder of millions of the unborn, does not justify a place on a government watch list. 

The report further warns against threats posed by veterans returning from war and persons seeking to uphold their constitutional right to bear arms.  The report notes that “[t]he possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.” 

The American Legion, a patriotic, war-time veteran’s organization, criticized the report as “incomplete, and . . . politically-biased” and asked for a meeting with the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.  Napolitano apologized to veterans today stating that “[t]o the extent veterans read it as an accusation ... an apology is owed” and that the report was “an assessment, not an accusation.”  Napalitano has agreed to meet with American Legion National Commander, David Rehbein, to discuss this matter on Friday.

This report ultimately seeks to condemn conservative values and marginalize the political voice of those who understand our God given freedoms and responsibilities.  It is astounding that the new Obama administration is willing to label American citizens “terrorists” when they have refused to use this same term to describe our enemies abroad.  While the administration claims they are concerned with protecting civil rights, it seems they are concerned only about protecting those rights that promote the liberal values they hold so dear while squelching out the religious liberties this nation was founded upon.