Defending Against Enemies Domestic
IBD Editorials
Posted 03/30/2010 06:52 PM ET
Homeland Security: Forget about foreign jihadists getting nukes or planting bombs in their underwear. The real enemies, some say, are domestic militia groups who play at war and those nasty Tea Party racists.
The raid on a Michigan militia group accused of plotting war against the government will no doubt feed into the arguments of those who claim in the wake of health reform that the vast right-wing conspiracy is not only angry, but armed and dangerous.
According to an Associated Press report, "Authorities said the arrests underscored the dangers of homegrown right-wing extremism of the sort seen in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people."
We do not minimize the threat of domestic terror, whether it's a Tim McVeigh blowing up a federal building or eco-terrorists using violence to deter the use of animals in medical experiments and otherwise protecting the Earth. Apparently there are no left-wing extremists.
We do object when political opponents of the liberal agenda are lumped in with these loonies, painted with a broad brush as dangerous right-wing extremists. Violent and mindless opposition to the government is to be fought and condemned; mere political dissent should not be.
Rush Limbaugh was accused by many on the left of being a motivating force behind McVeigh's decision to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 by fomenting anti-government sentiment on his radio show. Today, Tea Party activists and opponents of health care reform are accused of doing the same thing. No one knows if the Michigan militia oppose health care reform.
During the presidential campaign, we were warned of "small towns" where people "get bitter (and) cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment" to vent their frustrations. If you ask those on the left, the Michigan militia group is a classic example of those bitter townsfolk.
According to a report released in April 2009 by Janet Napolitano's Department of Homeland Security, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," conservatives and the unemployed represent a clear and present danger. "The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for right-wing radicalization and recruitment," the report warned.
On Page 2 of the report is this ominous warning: "Right-wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that ... are mainly anti-government, 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."
So if you are pro-life, support secure borders and tough immigration laws, and believe the 10th Amendment to the Constitution is being shredded as we speak, you are a threat and will be lumped in with the genuine crazies. Especially if you believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. Just ask Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (see column next page) or Frank Rich of the New York Times.
Rich explains opposition to national health care this way: "The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play." Oh.
In a recent fundraising solicitation from the president's political arm, Organizing for America, which used to be Obama for America, director Mitch Stewart warned that "Democratic offices have been vandalized" and "members have had death threats" from opponents of health care reform stirred up by conservative bloggers, congressional Republicans and right-wing talk radio.
Never mind the arrest of a Philadelphia man charged with threatening to kill House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., and his family. A bullet recently hit Cantor's Richmond, Va., campaign office. Said Cantor: "It is reckless to use these incidents as media vehicles for political gain."
Yet many on the left are.
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