April 22nd, 2009
By: Lynne McMillan
Note to liberals: Watch out for tea partying grandmas with framed Reagan pictures, blue-collared manufacturing workers in the unemployment line, and U.S. veterans who just returned from military combat.
They might sneak up behind you with a club if you start eyeing Al Franken's latest book at Barnes and Noble! That is, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Last week Napolitano, Democrat and former Arizona governor, released an intelligent assessment titled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." The report outlines which political beliefs enforcement officers should use to evaluate if someone is a "right-wing extremist," which is evidently synonymous with a national security threat.
How exactly does the DHS profile a supposed right-wing extremist? The report lists a series of traditional (and I would argue rational) conservative views to beware of. Here are a few of my favorites:
Opposes restrictions on firearms - Apparently, you are a radical extremist if you support the Second Amendment.
Favors immigration reform - This is no shock coming from Napolitano, whose home state of Arizona spends a staggering $1.3 billion on illegal immigrants annually. Arizonans can thank their former governor for picking up the billion-plus tab, while the state runs a $500 million deficit.
Fearful of communist regimes - My, how quickly people forget the treachery of the Iron Curtain and the Cold War. Have you been to Cuba lately? If not, do you have any desire to go? I didn't think so.
Opposes a "one-world" government - Is anyone actually in favor ofthis? The last time I checked there were quite a few governments in the world I want nothing to do with.
Opposes the policies of President Barack Obama to expand social programs - Basically, if you're not a socialist, you are now getting classified as a dangerous extremist.
Upset with the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and India - Guilty, as charged. If wanting to keep Americans working in well-paying jobs makes me a right-wing extremist, so be it.
The positions this report warns of do not come close to defining an extremist; instead, they describe someone who genuinely supports the United States.
According to Napolitano's criteria, even the founding fathers would be classified as extremists. Personally, I think America could use some more patriots interested in defending the Constitution, condemning communism and protesting ill-advised government policy.
The Department of Homeland Security, ironically created by former President Bush after Sept. 11, does not even attempt to contain its liberal bias in this appalling report. The report goes so far as to warn, "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." Never mind the fact that they just put their lives on the line to protect America - now the military is the biggest threat to our safety? Give me a break, Madame Secretary.
Interestingly, the report admits that the DHS does not actually have any evidence about violent plans by these so-called right-wing extremists. Maybe that's because the 'extremists' are, first of all, not extreme and, second of all, not dangerous.
Secretary Napolitano is only three months into her appointment to one of the most important cabinet posts in the executive branch.
My biggest fear (after communism) is that she has only begun to show her true colors, which are already proving to be the deepest shades of blue imaginable.
Lynne is a senior in Business.