Domestic Terrorism

In April when a Department of Homeland Security memo mentioned the rising threat of rightwing extremist violence non-terrorist (I assume) rightwing bloggers were aflame with rage and stood in solidarity with their more bloodthirsty colleagues on the right. How dare the government be interested in even the seamiest parts of their political spectrum. Firedoglake noticed the strangeness of it at the time. Crooks & Liars reviews rightwinger outrage.

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into 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 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. ~ From the DHS memo

Now that rightwing terrorists have begun killing Americans using the gun rights they defend and in support of the politics they expound those very same bloggers are outraged anyone would associate them with the violence.

Rightwing media voices (Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly) have been and continue inflaming their listeners with siege and war rhetoric. Now there is blood in the water we can anticipate more. More of both rhetoric and bloodshed. There are more Timothy McVeighs out there than Osama bin Ladens.