Thread: Michele Malkin:Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real

Homeland Security Warns of Growing Domestic Terror Threat
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 2:49 PM
By: Dave Eberhart

A Homeland Security analysis being distributed to law enforcement agencies warns of a new era of domestic terrorism spawned by the election of the nation’s first black president, unemployment, rising poverty, a backlash against illegal immigration, and the return of disgruntled veterans from the nation’s war fronts.

The highly charged document, first reported by talk-radio host and World Net Daily columnist Roger Hedgecock, is entitled “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.â€

TRANSCRIPT FROM LOU DOBBS TONIGHT

DOBBS: The Department of Homeland Security tonight warning of a new terrorist threat facing America. The threat comes from what it calls right-wing extremists in this country. the report says people who are opposed to restricting Second Amendment rights to bear arms or who are concerned about illegal immigration and border security could well fall under the Department of Homeland Security definition of an extremist. Jeanne Meserve has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Political conservatives are fired up.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This is an effort to criminalize political dissent, standard, ordinary, every day political dissent.

MESERVE: This fury a reaction to an assessment from the Department of Homeland Security saying right-wing extremist groups could exploit fears about the economic downturn, gun control and the election of an African-American president to attract new recruits. It says groups dedicated to a single issue such as opposition to abortion or immigration may fall within the definition of extremists.

LIMBAUGH: We are not extremists. They are the extremists.

MESERVE: To make its case, DHS cites a surge in purchases of guns and ammunition and the recent shooting of three Pittsburgh police officers by a man reportedly influenced by racist ideology and fears of gun confiscations. An organization that tracks extremist groups thinks DHS has the picture at least partially right.

MARK POTOK, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: The election of Obama certainly has played for these groups in the last six, seven, eight months. The economy, I think is much more questionable. We really don't know if that is having an effect.

MESERVE: A Homeland Security officials say DHS is not trying to squelch free speech. "There is no link between extremists being talked about in that report and conservative political thinkers, activists and voters." But conservatives aren't buying it.

ROGER HEDGECOCK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: If the Bush administration had done this to left-wing extremists it would be all over the press as an obvious trampling on the First Amendment rights of folks and dissent.

MESERVE: In fact in January there was a warning about left-wing extremists. It was issued by the Obama administration but both reports were begun under President Bush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: This new DHS assessment says right-wing extremists may try to radicalize disgruntled veterans to exploit their military knowledge. Some conservatives find that offensive, but DHS points to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a veteran of the first Iraq war -- Lou.

DOBBS: Jeanne, this is at the very least a broad, general threat assessment if you will. Why are there not names named and specific targets referenced here if there is a legitimate threat to the interests of the United States?

MESERVE: Well, they say there is no specific threat here, but they sent this out to law enforcement all across the country so they would be aware of what DHS perceives as something that's emerging and so they can get an even better assessment of what's going on through the eyes of those local officials. That's why this was issued at this point in time.

DOBBS: This was attempted once again relying in some measure on the Southern Poverty Law Center last month with the so-called Missouri documents, the Missouri state patrol had to withdraw the so-called fusion report. Is that likely to happen here?

MESERVE: I don't know. The Missouri report went considerably further, as you know, it mentioned to be on the lookout for people with certain sorts of political bumper stickers on their car. This report goes nowhere near that and by the way, I don't think they relied on the Southern Law Center...

DOBBS: No, I said...

(CROSSTALK)

DOBBS: Yeah.

MESERVE: Right, right. But certainly they seem to be in sync to a certain degree here. Both the Department and the Southern Poverty Law Center say they are seeing some increase in those right-wing groups.

DOBBS: All right, thank you very much -- Jeanne Meserve from Washington.

Well we'd like to know what you think about all of this. Our poll question tonight is do you think a person concerned about borders and ports that are unsecured, illegal immigration, Second Amendment rights or returning veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is likely or even possibly probable, as the Department of Homeland Security suggests to be a right-wing extremist? Yes or no. Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results here later in the broadcast.

The president tonight is creating a new position to oversee security efforts along our border with Mexico. Former Justice Department official Alan Bersin will be named as the nation's border czar. The Obama administration has promised to help Mexico fight drug cartel violence. Bersin held a similar position at the Justice Department during the Clinton administration and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to make the official announcement tomorrow during a trip to the border.

A number of items tonight on both sides of the amnesty debate, there's new support for the president's amnesty agenda, two major organized labor organizations, the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Federation agreed to support comprehensive immigration reform or amnesty. Those unions now become allied with the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the issue of amnesty.

"The New York Times" applauded the president's amnesty initiative and labor support. Today's lead editorial states quote, "The ingredients to reform are clear, legalization for 12 million." The Pew Hispanic Center today released a new study on illegal aliens in this country. The report saying about 12 million illegal aliens live here now.

The report also says illegal aliens make up more than five percent of the workforce and children of illegal aliens make up seven percent of students enrolled in our elementary and secondary schools. The Immigration Policy Center for its part claims amnesty would be good for the economy. A new report saying legalizing the illegal workforce would improve working conditions and raise tax revenues.

On the other side of the amnesty issue, Maryland today stopping the practice of giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens, licenses already issued to illegal aliens will expire by 2015 and will not be renewed. In Oklahoma, Congresswoman Mary Fallin is blasting the Obama administration's policy on amnesty and immigration law enforcement, writing in today's Oklahoma newspaper that the Obama administration is, quote, "charting precisely the wrong course on immigration enforcement at a time when we can least afford it."

And the Heritage Foundation's Robert Rector finding that if the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens here are granted amnesty, the population in the United States would actually increase by between 20 and 35 million people as illegal immigrants would bring in their family members.



http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ldt.html

Bill Bennett is discussing this DHS report on his "Morning in America Show" now. Lots of people calling in about it.

This is now a Top Story on AOL News

They have a Poll:

What do you make of the federal warning about right-wing exremists?

It's alarming
It's no big deal
I'm not sure

They also have over 600 comments so far.

http://news.aol.com/article/right-wing- ... sts/428197

CBS-TV News carried this as an almost verbatim straight story on their prime time newscast this evening. The SPLC was quoted as a source of authority without question, and Morris Dees himself appeared on camera to "warn" us about the marked rise in the number of "extemist hate groups" nationally. Of course no mention is ever made of how many members each of these "groups" actually has enrolled. I think that without including Numbers USA, FAIR, and the Center for Immigration Studies, he may be talking about less than 100, 000 people nationwide.