US Facing Surge in Rightwing Extremists
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ist-groups
US facing surge in rightwing extremists and militias
• Civil rights report shows 250% rise in 'patriot' groups
• Economy and media conspiracy theories fuel growth
* Chris McGreal - guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 March 2010
'The US is facing a surge in anti-government extremist groups and armed militias, driven by deepening hostility on the right to Barack Obama, anger over the economy, and the increasing propagation of conspiracy theories by parts of the mass media such as Fox News.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, the US's most prominent civil rights group focused on hate organisations, said in a report that extremist "patriot" groups "came roaring back to life" last year as their number jumped nearly 250% to more than 500 with deepening ties to conservative mainstream politics.
The SPLC report, called Rage on the Right, said the rise in extremist groups was "a cause for grave concern" given their propensity to use violence during their heyday in the 90s, most notably with the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. It added that the issues driving support for such groups were increasingly populist and that "signs of growing radicalisation are everywhere".
"Patriot groups have been fuelled by anger over the changing demographics of the country, the soaring public debt, the troubled economy and an array of initiatives by President Obama that have been branded "socialist" or even "fascist" by his political opponents," the report said.
"Already there are signs of … violence emanating from the radical right. Since the installation of Barack Obama, rightwing extremists have murdered six law enforcement officers. Racist skinheads and others have been arrested in alleged plots to assassinate the nation's first black president. One man from Brockton, Massachusetts – who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites – is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. Most recently, a rash of individuals with anti-government, survivalist or racist views have been arrested in a series of bomb cases."
The report says the patriot movement has "made significant inroads into the conservative political scene" in part driven by a growing view of the US administration "as part of a plot to impose 'one-world government' on liberty-loving Americans".
"The Tea Parties and similar groups that have sprung up in recent months cannot fairly be considered extremist groups, but they are shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism," the report says.
The SPLC notes that the rise comes as part of a deepening disillusionment with government in which just one quarter of Americans think government can be trusted. It said that a recent poll found that the anti-tax Tea Party movement is viewed in more positive terms than the Democratic or Republican parties.
"The signs of growing radicalisation are everywhere. Armed men have come to Obama speeches bearing signs suggesting that the 'tree of liberty' needs to be 'watered' with 'the blood of tyrants'. The Conservative Political Action Conference held this February was co-sponsored by groups like the John Birch Society, which believes President Eisenhower was a communist agent, and Oath Keepers, a patriot outfit formed last year that suggests, in thinly veiled language, that the government has secret plans to declare martial law and intern patriotic Americans in concentration camps," the SPLC said.
The report says that, unlike during the 1990s, the patriot movement's core ideas are more widely propagated and accepted by prominent politicians and some in the mass media, such as the Fox News presenter Glenn Beck.
"As the movement has exploded, so has the reach of its ideas, aided and abetted by commentators and politicians in the ostensible mainstream," said the report. "Beck, for instance, reinvigorated a key patriot conspiracy theory – the charge that the federal emergency management agency is secretly running concentration camps – before finally 'debunking' it."
How far such language is now part of the mainstream political discourse was confirmed by Politico today, which reported that it had obtained a Republican national committee document detailing plans to raise election funds with "an aggressive campaign capitalising on 'fear' of President Barack Obama" and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism".
In the presentation, the administration is portrayed as "the Evil Empire", and Obama as the Joker in Batman.
Patriot groups and militias are planning a march on Washington next month ostensibly in defence of the right to carry guns.
Armed and angry
The SPLC has identified 512 groups, including "patriots" and militias, which it accuses of pushing extreme anti-government doctrines or promoting political conspiracy theories. It says that many are not directly involved in violence but help feed extremism.
States with several groups include: Texas (52 groups including American Patriots for Freedom Foundation, Central Texas Militia, Texas Well Regulated Militia); Michigan (47 including Northern Michigan Backyard Protection Militia); California (22 including State of California Unorganized Militia, Northern California State Militia, American Armenian Militia, Freedom Force International); Indiana (21 including Indiana Sedentary Militia, Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia, 3rd Brigade); New York (17 including Empire State Militia); Oregon (14 including Oregon Militia Corps) and Kentucky (13 including Kentucky State Militia – Ohio Valley Command).
US facing surge in rightwing extremists and militias
• Civil rights report shows 250% rise in 'patriot' groups
• Economy and media conspiracy theories fuel growth
* Chris McGreal - guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 March 2010
'The US is facing a surge in anti-government extremist groups and armed militias, driven by deepening hostility on the right to Barack Obama, anger over the economy, and the increasing propagation of conspiracy theories by parts of the mass media such as Fox News.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, the US's most prominent civil rights group focused on hate organisations, said in a report that extremist "patriot" groups "came roaring back to life" last year as their number jumped nearly 250% to more than 500 with deepening ties to conservative mainstream politics.
The SPLC report, called Rage on the Right, said the rise in extremist groups was "a cause for grave concern" given their propensity to use violence during their heyday in the 90s, most notably with the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. It added that the issues driving support for such groups were increasingly populist and that "signs of growing radicalisation are everywhere".
"Patriot groups have been fuelled by anger over the changing demographics of the country, the soaring public debt, the troubled economy and an array of initiatives by President Obama that have been branded "socialist" or even "fascist" by his political opponents," the report said.
"Already there are signs of … violence emanating from the radical right. Since the installation of Barack Obama, rightwing extremists have murdered six law enforcement officers. Racist skinheads and others have been arrested in alleged plots to assassinate the nation's first black president. One man from Brockton, Massachusetts – who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites – is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. Most recently, a rash of individuals with anti-government, survivalist or racist views have been arrested in a series of bomb cases."
The report says the patriot movement has "made significant inroads into the conservative political scene" in part driven by a growing view of the US administration "as part of a plot to impose 'one-world government' on liberty-loving Americans".
"The Tea Parties and similar groups that have sprung up in recent months cannot fairly be considered extremist groups, but they are shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism," the report says.
The SPLC notes that the rise comes as part of a deepening disillusionment with government in which just one quarter of Americans think government can be trusted. It said that a recent poll found that the anti-tax Tea Party movement is viewed in more positive terms than the Democratic or Republican parties.
"The signs of growing radicalisation are everywhere. Armed men have come to Obama speeches bearing signs suggesting that the 'tree of liberty' needs to be 'watered' with 'the blood of tyrants'. The Conservative Political Action Conference held this February was co-sponsored by groups like the John Birch Society, which believes President Eisenhower was a communist agent, and Oath Keepers, a patriot outfit formed last year that suggests, in thinly veiled language, that the government has secret plans to declare martial law and intern patriotic Americans in concentration camps," the SPLC said.
The report says that, unlike during the 1990s, the patriot movement's core ideas are more widely propagated and accepted by prominent politicians and some in the mass media, such as the Fox News presenter Glenn Beck.
"As the movement has exploded, so has the reach of its ideas, aided and abetted by commentators and politicians in the ostensible mainstream," said the report. "Beck, for instance, reinvigorated a key patriot conspiracy theory – the charge that the federal emergency management agency is secretly running concentration camps – before finally 'debunking' it."
How far such language is now part of the mainstream political discourse was confirmed by Politico today, which reported that it had obtained a Republican national committee document detailing plans to raise election funds with "an aggressive campaign capitalising on 'fear' of President Barack Obama" and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism".
In the presentation, the administration is portrayed as "the Evil Empire", and Obama as the Joker in Batman.
Patriot groups and militias are planning a march on Washington next month ostensibly in defence of the right to carry guns.
Armed and angry
The SPLC has identified 512 groups, including "patriots" and militias, which it accuses of pushing extreme anti-government doctrines or promoting political conspiracy theories. It says that many are not directly involved in violence but help feed extremism.
States with several groups include: Texas (52 groups including American Patriots for Freedom Foundation, Central Texas Militia, Texas Well Regulated Militia); Michigan (47 including Northern Michigan Backyard Protection Militia); California (22 including State of California Unorganized Militia, Northern California State Militia, American Armenian Militia, Freedom Force International); Indiana (21 including Indiana Sedentary Militia, Indiana Citizens Volunteer Militia, 3rd Brigade); New York (17 including Empire State Militia); Oregon (14 including Oregon Militia Corps) and Kentucky (13 including Kentucky State Militia – Ohio Valley Command).
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Comments
Where the fuck were these people when W was in office???
Oh wait, they are still too small brained and believe there actually is a difference between Dem and Rep!
hahahahaha
http://mises.org/story/2652
Not to mention we have the right to form militas and march if we seek to.
No your to small brained to think that there isn't and this is another reason why you shouldn't post while your buzzed. Or you don't know shit about politics
either way the people still get fucked in the arse(and i dont mean in a good way)
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
He won't seee a second term. Some of you just don't get it .
I said IF but don't cream yourself the very same thing was said my liberals and the Dems before 2004. However, Bush was re-elected so never say never....what will you do IF he's re-elected....oh I get it they'll be a *World Wide Suicide*
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Yeeeehaaaaawwwwww!!! The pitchfork brigade is upon us!!
Nice article. But you're preaching to the converted. I already know that Mao was a pudgy-faced old cunt who caused the deaths of millions.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
nobody is pushing anyone around. last time i checked, the party in power is the majority and the majority was put there by the people and in our system the majority rules. your side has a chance to be involved in the process but they are now nothing more than the "Grand Obstructionist Party"...if they do not engage the dems they will accomplish nothing. if you don't like it, then your side needs to win the majority...
you always say "what is going on in congress and in the white house". can you be more specific please??? i get the feeling when people say that it is because there is a woman as speaker of the house and a black man as president. i hear what you say and that is what i think because people like you never cite specifics, and when you do it is from some batshit crazy blogger. i am not counting on a response because i asked you the other day in the health care thread for a response after you accused me of "ruining this country". again, how i am ruining this country? if you are going to make outrageous claims at least back them up please.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
. I'll give you the latest. If Obama and the Dems can't get the votes for their healthcare bill they plan on using a process called reconciliation. That's un-constitutional
CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights
Posted: February 26th, 2010 09:00 AM ET
From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser
Fifty-six percent of Americans say the government poses an immediate threat to individual rights and freedoms.
Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.
Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree.
The survey indicates a partisan divide on the question: only 37 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Independents and nearly 7 in 10 Republicans say the federal government poses a threat to the rights of Americans.
According to CNN poll numbers released Sunday, Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken - though the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted February 12-15, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall survey.
I find it really funny that you call someone small brained in the same sentence that you use terrible grammatical errors.
- No, you are too small brained.......
or- No, you're too small brained...........
I can't believe I actually have to point this out to you. I mean my grammar is far from perfect but this is grade four shit here.
I see you have been sucking the tit that belongs to fox news all day. Reconciliation is unconstitutional????? So why is it all of a sudden a problem to the rightwing???? They have been using it plenty for years.
You regurgitating the hipocracy that fox spews all day long here is pathetic.
Janet, is that you?
1. The proof is in the pudding every time the US government signs on to another U.N. treaty dealing with international law.
2. Seems about right, we are getting more people concerned and aware of their ability to vote? We are actually getting people to care? How dare they. The nerve they have thinking the GOP and DNC were going to change themselves. Maybe we can "hope"?
3. Ah a quote from an original US patriot, President Thomas Jefferson, a great American. One of my favorite.
4. I'm a survivalist. Do you think it is unwise to be prepared for a serious problem given the World's political and environmental climate? That's it I must be a right wing nut-job extremist.
5. And it is their right to march. You don't have a problem with the First Amendment, do you? We see where Tiananmen square got the Chinese. Would you rather have that option?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright, alright
You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We don't love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright, alright, al...
You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know know it's gonna be alright
Alright, alright
Alright, alright
Alright, alright
Alright, alright
Alright, alright
Godfather.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/was ... ation.html
Democrats Use GOP to Build Case for Reconciliation
By Paul Bedard
Posted March 1, 2010
Forget all that talk last week that President Obama and the Democrats had no plans to use the legislative tactic of "reconciliation" to force through healthcare reform with a simple one-vote majority in the Senate. Not only do the Democrats plan to use it, but the party is swiftly trying to educate the public on why it's not such a rare procedure.
In an interesting online bid, the Democratic National Committee has spliced together quotes from Republicans and sympathetic pundits who admit that the GOP has been a big fan of the tactic when it has helped the party. Said the DNC today: "As they desperately scramble to paint passing legislation with a simple majority as radical, Republicans want you to forget that they have used reconciliation to pass major pieces of legislation, including the $1.8 trillion Bush tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, with a simple majority in the past and more often than Democrats. And you don't need to take our word for it."
For proof, the DNC released a Web ad called "A Couple of Points on Reconciliation." Here is a link and the transcript they sent Whispers:
DNC VIDEO: "A COUPLE POINTS ON RECONCILIATION"
PUBLIC YOUTUBE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKgON_kSgGw
MEDIA-ONLY DOWNLOAD LINK: http://my.democrats.org/page/-/video/DN ... iation.mov
SCRIPT:
SEN. TOM COBURN: "I'd make a couple of points on reconciliation." [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
CNN: "It's been used 22 times, often on non budget issues by every President since Jimmy Carter." [2/28/2010]
DANA MILIBANK: "Well I think it's been pointed out repeatedly that it's not any particularly radical step." [Reliable Sources, 2/28/2010]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN: "Republicans have used it more when they've been in the majority—16 times. Compare that to the number of times used under Democratic majority, just six times." [3/1/2010]
CHRIS WALLACE: "So the argument 'well, it should be used for, you know, small budgetary matters ...' The fact is it's been used 22 times and two-thirds of the time, by Republicans not Democrats." [Fox News Sunday, 2/28/2010]
CNN: "Recent examples include Medicare overhaul for physician payments, back in 1989." [2/28/2010]
COBURN: "Welfare reform happened with reconciliation." [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
ACOSTA: "Reconciliation has been used for the children's health initiative, the CHIP program and COBRA, that's that program that allows you to take your health insurance with you if you lose your job." [3/1/2010]
COBURN: "The Bush tax cuts happened with reconciliation." [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
GORDON PETERSON: "You can't get 60 votes because the party on the other side of the aisle refuses to do anything constructive in this area. Is that Democrat Harry Reid in 2010? No, that's Judd Gregg in twenty—2005." [Inside Washington, 2/28/2010]
DAVID GREGORY: "You have voted for bills through reconciliation nine times since 1989." [Meet the Press, 2/28/2010]
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: "Yes, I have voted for them." [Meet the Press, 2/28/2010]
M
SNBC: "Reconciliation, that simple majority." [MSNBC, 3/1/2010]
FOX AND FRIENDS: "Now reconciliation is changing to simple majority, doesn't that sound much easier to swallow?" [Fox and Friends, 3/1/2010]
CHYRON: Rec-on-cil-i-a-tion a majority vote
got anything to say about how terrible reconciliation is now? it has been used for some landmark legislation...
next do you want to talk about the gop use of the filibuster? the republicans in this senate are on pace to use that tactic 3oo% more times than any senate in the history of the country...and people wonder why i call them Grand Obstructionist Party...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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...but those are facts...why would people listen to those? It sickens me when people get up in shit over things like reconciliation being used to pass healthcare. It's used for entitlement programs and budget issues...hmm healtcare is an entitlement program and it also makes up 1/6 of our economy..sounds right to me. Tea party folks and the GOP keep saying the country doesn't want it...yet a large portion..what's the word...oh yeah MAJORITY do. WAR? yeah that sounds good. healthcare reform? Nah, my taxes might go up...wait, you mean this president has actually given a break to 95% of americans...nah it's probably part of his socialist agenda to kill massacre us all and make his home country the true superpower....TURN OFF FOX NEWS PEOPLE.
Leaked documents reveal GOP plan to use scare tactics to raise money
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1217
National GOP leaders are doing damage control today after a Politico scoop lifted the curtain on the party's plan to tap voters' "fear" in the coming campaign season. The PR problem started when an absent-minded attendee at the Republican National Committee (RNC) confab on February 18 in Boca Grande, Florida, left a 72-page document from its 2010 strategizing session in a hotel room. Today, Politico reporter Ben Smith's expose is making headlines.
The memo tracks the fundraising presentation that RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart delivered to the RNC's $2,500-a-head annual retreat. The best path to victory in 2010, the document advises, is for Republican candidates to depict themselves as the best hope for resisting the "trending toward socialism" taking shape in a Democrat-dominated Washington.
And the document doesn't shy from making its points graphically. MSNBC showed the images this morning on "Morning Joe":
The presentation portrays the Obama administration as "The Evil Empire," including the now-infamous image of President Obama made over in the makeup Heath Ledger used in his performance as the Joker in the 2008 Batman movie "The Dark Knight." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears as Cruella De Vil from "101 Dalmatians," and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the witless cartoon dog Scooby-Doo. The memo candidly confirms that the aim of such caricature is to amp up "fear" among the GOP's conservative base. The memo also makes fun of major RNC donors, categorizing some as "ego-driven" and easily pacified with "tchochkes" (a Slavic word for toys).
The embrace of harsh rhetoric and the swipes at the large donor set seem to signal the GOP establishment's growing comfort with employing tactics associated with the activist Tea Party movement—and with plying Tea Party sympathizers for cash. Of course, it isn't unusual for parties out of power to court controversy and play with fire to rile up donors and grass-roots activists. The RNC has caught heat for fundraising tactics in the past, most recently when it was caught sending out fake census forms to raise money. And Democrats have shown a demagogic streak in the past, depicting George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as Bond-like supervillains and playing up alleged GOP plans to kill Social Security to rally voters behind a popular entitlement program.
When asked by Yahoo! News if the leaked presentation reflects a coordinated effort to appeal more to the Tea Party movement, RNC spokesman Doug Heye replied that the group's chairman, Michael Steele, "was recently invited by Tea Party activists to a meeting, which he was happy to do. Following the meeting, it was clear those in the meeting shared a common goal: stopping the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda." As for plans to further that alliance with the inflammatory material in the memo, Heye reiterated what he'd told Politico earlier: "The language and the imagery will not be used in any capacity in the future."
There's no question that the Obama-as-Joker image—long a familiar icon at Tea Party rallies—is a toxic association for the GOP establishment. Oddly enough, though, that image's origins can be traced to the activist left. As revealed by the Los Angeles Times last year, the image was created by a supporter of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a University of Illinois student named Firas Alkhateeb, who told the Times that he uploaded the photo onto his Flickr page, and a conservative activist promptly snatched it up.
Such are the odd convergences of movement politics. However, the RNC may have more trouble distancing itself from the equation of Democratic policy with socialism, however, since Michael Steele is credited with originating that meme in the health care debate.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
If reconciliation is unconstitutional, you might want to take that up with the Republicans, who have used it almost 3x as often as the Democrats (16 for Reps, 6 for Dems). Bush's tax cuts? Passed with reconciliation.
Where was the conservative "THAT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!" outcry then?
problem is which asshole is right ?...everybody thinks their the right asshole....I know Lets have a spelling bee ! unconstitutional sounds like a appropriate word to start with.
Godfather.
You are right, I can't. You guys just make it too damn easy. And I noticed none of you commented on the fact that the GOP has used reconciliation far more than the Dems??? Which others and I pointed out throughout this thread.
Listen, as long as you teabaggers keep acting like hipocrates I'm going to keep pointing it out. If you are going to call someone stupid while using awful grammar, well that's just too easy.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."