A new assessment from US Homeland Security, warns that right-wing extremists are gaining new recruits in America by exploiting fears related to the economy and the election of the first African American president.
According to the report home foreclosures, unemployment and other consequences of the recession are factors driving a resurgence in "recruitment and radicalization activity" by white supremacist groups, anti-government extremists and militia movements.
There is also a concern that military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat skills could become recruitment targets for extremist groups - especially those veterans who have difficulty fitting back into civilian society.
Other factors mentioned as possible catalysts for radicalization include fears that Obama might bring in new restrictions on guns, boost immigration and expand social programs for minorities.
There is also paranoia on the right about an encroaching "New World Order".
The profile of right-wing extremist types includes characteristics such as a '"hate oriented" outlook, having "anti-government" tendencies - also a "single issue" focus.
Reactions to the DHS report from pundits on the right range from skepticism to outright hostility. Michelle Malkin's dismissive characterization of the report as "a piece of crap" makes you wonder why she is springing to the defense of wingnuts. Robert Schlesinger writing in US News asks "Why are prominent conservatives so quick to lump themselves in with genuine nuts and terrorists? Seriously."
Right-wing extremism in the US can be hyped in an unrealistic manner and more hard data in the report would have been helpful, granted - but it's not as though there's a shortage of evidence to back-up some of the concerns in the DHS report. There is simmering anger on the right and what can be described as a 'climate' of hate. While this might not translate into specific threats it makes the lone wolf and small group scenario more likely.
Not so long ago people at McCain-Palin rallies yelled "kill him" and "terrorist" in reference to Barack Obama. Although most Tea Baggers keep their focus on their tax and spending gripes, the whackjobs have also been in evidence - some of the signage itself makes for interesting reading. A cruise around the internet makes it pretty evident that extremists on-the-right are alive and well... obsessed with guns, conspiracy theories and 'the threat-to-America' allegedly posed by their own president, among other things.
Some skepticism when it comes to a resurgence of right-wing extremism is healthy, but the tendency of some conservatives to be dismissive is just as misguided as blowing the concerns out of proportion.
DHS spokesperson Sara Kuban said the report was one of an ongoing series of threat assessments that seek to provide "a greater understanding of violent radicalization in the U.S."
