The Holocaust Museum Shooting: Maybe Now Conservatives Will Listen to Janet Napolitano

On Wednesday, 88-year old WWII veteran, rabid anti-Semite and racist James von Brunn walked into the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and opened fire, shooting to death a heroic 39-year-old security guard. Nine days earlier Abdulhakim Muhammad, a Muslim convert, fatally shot army recruiter Pvt. William Andrew Long, 23, in Little Rock, AR. The day before that, controversial abortion Dr. George Tiller was shot dead in his Wichita, KS clinic. And ten days prior to that the FBI arrested a four-man homegrown terror cell that planned to blow up two Bronx synagogues while simultaneously shooting down a commercial jet airliner. There's something crazy and violent in the air lately, with much of it rooted in an alarming increase in intense right-white hate.

Back in April, the Department of Homeland Security issued a report citing right-wing extremism and warned that "White supremacist lone wolves pose the most significant domestic terrorist threat because of their low profile and autonomy -- separate from any formalized group -- which hampers warning efforts." The 9-page document erupted into a political shitstorm, and unleashed a torrent of harsh criticism of DHS Chief Janet Napolitano, who was vilified over her suggestion that returning war veterans in particular might be susceptible to these violent radical groups who could turn them into homegrown terrorists. Those piling on the Napolitano-bashing-wagon included leading conservatives such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh. The attack on Napolitano was so vicious, so partisan and so premature but now she and DHS appear quite prescient, don't they? Funny how two months and back-to-back murders by right-wing wackjobs can shine a whole new light on things.

Earlier in the day Wednesday I appeared on FoxNews' Strategy Room, where a lengthy panel discussion took place about the Little Rock army murder. This was hours before ethe D.C. shooting news broke. Some in the group asked "where's the (media) outrage," and were incredulous as to the lack of coverage of Pvt. Long's killing versus that of Dr. Tiller's. There was also great concern expressed that not enough attention was being placed on this type of violent crime by extremists. I reminded the panel of the April DHS report, but more importantly, of the beating Napolitano took over it. I suppose conservatives will be giving Napolitano and the security report another look after Wednesday's shooting death at the Holocaust Museum.

So why the recent spate of deadly right-wing hate crimes? As Salon.com's Joan Walsh cited, it could be in no small part due to the incendiary rhetoric of talking heads like Bill O'Reilly and Limbaugh, who've been accused of fanning the flames of hate with their inciteful on-air rabble-rousing. O'Reilly relentlessly attacked Dr. Tiller for years, over two dozen times in fact, calling him a "Baby Killer" and accusing him of doing "Nazi stuff," while warning of "Judgement Day." Over on the radio, Limbaugh told his audience last week that President Obama is more harmful to America than our terrorist enemies. Said Walsh on MSNBC's Hardball Wednesday night: "When you say that our president is more dangerous than al Qaeda, you've gone off into crazy nutjobland. You are off the charts crazy, and you are whipping people up."

Is it any wonder then that these right-wing lunatic freaks feel a sense of duty, of obligation, to 'right the wrongs' that these instigators in the media hammer into their psychotic heads day after day? Perhaps law enforcement authorities should begin investigating the role conservative commentators like O'Reilly and Limbaugh play in the death of innocent people. Maybe then these despicable hate-mongering loudmouths will shut up once and for all.

Comments

[alenaspoppa]

"...crazy nutjobland..."

I think that's pronounced "FOX News"...

[grooveygrover]

it's the alternate reality they are so proud of

[alenaspoppa]

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
-- Isaac Asimov

[GrafZeppelin127]

I think maybe, on some level or in some fashion, the right-wingers and their media enablers are trying to blackmail the public into putting Republicans back in power. It's obvious that things like government spending, unconstitutional invasions of privacy and deprivations of due process, and unwarranted international military interventions don't bother them when Republicans are in power. This anti-government fervor doesn't seem to exist when their preferred party IS the government, as it was for most of 2001 through 2006.

Why else would Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, et al. keep making such inflammatory and irresponsible statements? Above and beyond anything else, these people exist and are paid to accomplish one goal: GET REPUBLICANS ELECTED. That's the ONLY goal, and their only reason for being. They're prepared to do it by any means necessary.

Give the Republicans back the Congress in 2010, America, and you damn well better put a white male Christian Republican back in the White House in 2012, or else we're coming after you.

[onepotatotwopotato]

"White supremacist lone wolves pose the most significant domestic terrorist threat because of their low profile and autonomy -- separate from any formalized group -- which hampers warning efforts."

This tactic goes by the name of "leaderless resistance" and is quite difficult for the State to counter. Make of it what you will.

[Zack2009]

Wow. Just wow. Yellow journalism has made it's return I see.

Facts really don't matter much to the writer of this, do they?

But then, why would anyone expect facts to matter to someone who actually thinks a legitimate role of law enforcement is silencing people for their political views?

So what you conveniently scapegoat as "white-right" hate, includes a black Muslim, and four other black Muslims who plotted to bomb Bronx Synagogues.

So your big "right-white-hate" conspiracy is made up of FIVE black Muslims, and TWO white guys, one of whom has written manifestos blasting Capitalism, religion and praising socialism.

Since when are black Muslims opposed to the US support of Israel and wars in the M.E. examples of 'right-wing' not 'left wing'? Since when would such people be more likely to listen to and agree with Rush Limbaugh, rather than raving leftists who hold many of the same views they do? And how did five black people suddenly morph into white people just to pad your goofy conspiracy?

The irony is, all your rant has really illustrated is how the left simply labels EVERYTHING as some right-wing conspiracy, and then not only ignores/waxes overs/covers up things that easily could be labeled as the opposite- but actually lumps them into their right-wing conspiracy checklists as padding.

[maddie0001]

You want statistics? http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/index.html

Of the people who committed an actual murder, it seems to be 2/3 white racists and 2/3 anti-Israel (one thing extremists seem to agree on.) Perhaps if the government spent as much time infiltrating white hate groups and they do the black ones the numbers would be different...

http://bostonist.com/2009/01/16/alleged_racist_massholes_arrested_f.php - 3 here
http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/106/article_1984.asp - 2 here

[ADLSupporter]

For more information about the U.S. Holocaust memorial shooting and extensive background on the alleged shooter, check out: (http://contemporaryantisemitism.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-supremacist-targets-holocaust.html)

[Mollie King]

Small correction. Dr. Tiller was gunned down at his church, not in his clinic.

[superfrog]

I think the Department of Homeland Security knows that many of the returning war veterans will be suffering from PTSD " Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ". This could result in many vets becoming suicidal . With all of the hate speech coming from Conservatives they may be influenced to go on killing sprees.

[ThirdSection]

If it takes it being a national security issue in order to provide our returning veterans with the proper care and assistance, then so be it.

[JRsNana]

Never going to happen. We still have a First Amendment, and while they would deny the same freedoms to any of us who might disagree with them, they will wrap themselves in their bloody flag and wave a copy of the First and Second Amendments in our faces and name themselves innocent. Trial over. They are the judge and the jury.

[MelanieMatthias]

http://foxnewsboycott.com/fox-news-sponsors/


Money still makes the world go round.

It actually is painful to listen to things these people say. I wish that 'We the People" were not the only ones to boycott or ignore "the hate spewers" or gop, I wish credible newspapers and news stations would not report anything they say. Maybe we need to start writing them asking them not to cover the whackjobs.
What a wonderful world it would be if we could help each other up instead of tear each other down, but how do you fight injustice without calling these horrible anti-AMerican people out?

[pragmaticdallasite]

Thanks for the link

[greekdish]

What makes the GOP hate spewers?? There are more websites dedicated to hate from the left than right. You all love to hate on Fox News, yet thats all there is. What about all the hate from NBC, CNN, MSNBC, etc?? If anyone should be labeled as ahte spewing, its the left. Maybe the next time a Hummer dealership gets torched, or other eco-terrorists vandalize other people's properties, like fur coats, and it gets in the news, you will see there are plenty of nutjobs on both sides of the aisle. Oh, thats right....the media doesnt cover that news, they dont want to embarass their brethren.

To call GOP and Fox News the only hatemongers is proof that you are a hatemonger yourself.

[Josh Tolle]

If you want to see a conservative who has addressed the same issues brought here just look at Shepard Smith. I agree with all the points made here, but saying "conservatives" are, basically, idiots is a massive generalization. And if they make "incendiary" comments these conservative "nutjobs" still have the right to speak however they want to speak, even if that means bad-mouthing Obama, because I would love to have "law-enforcement" crack down on White Supremacist and Nazi rallies but they have freedom of speech, and what they're doing is a lot worse than what Rush Limbaugh is doing.

[WIpatriot]

Sorry, Andy, Conservatives do not listen to anyone with a different viewpoint.

[greekdish]

LOL. If that isnt the pot calling the kettle black. We all know Liberals love to listen to other points of views, right?? Arent you all, by nature, not listening to Conservative point of views, if you label all conservatives as not listening to different viewpoints?? Its basically Liberal or Conservative....so you are basically saying, if they dont listen to you, they dont listen to anyone??

Thats typical Liberal hypocrisy on your part.

And I love how the author says there is a lot of right-white hate going on....yet his own article mentions the black man Muslim convert who shot up his fellow troops. How is that right-white hate?? And do we also forget the hundreds of black and latino commited crimes in this country, to only worry about the media driven right-winger hatred?? I guess all those bombs blowing up in pakistan and Afghanistan are done by white neo nazis.

And how is Janet Napolitano right here?? This guy was an 88 yr old....not some recent war veteran returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. What a BS article, and typical hatred spewing left wing drivel.

[bronzy]

From your lips to god's ear! when is this madness going to stop, why isn't the authorities more vigilant, why isn't fox being held accountable, who is going to protect us from the result of the 24/7 hate fest that is fox!