Top Homeland Security Democrat objects to DHS report on “right-wing extremism”
posted at 6:38 pm on April 15, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Janet Napolitano stood her ground earlier today on the DHS report on the supposed “right-wing extremism” of federalism and gun rights, but a key Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security has demanded a better explanation. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) pronounced himself “dumbfounded” at the report, and will ask Napolitano how this report ever got out of her office. Audrey Hudson reports:
The top House Democrat overseeing the Department of Homeland Security is demanding that officials there explain how and why they wrote and released a controversial report identifying veterans as potential terrorist threats.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano that he was “dumbfounded” such a report would be issued.
“This report appears to raise significant issues involving the privacy and civil liberties of many Americans — including war veterans,” Mr. Thompson said in the letter sent Tuesday.
“As I am certain you agree, freedom of association and freedom of speech are guaranteed to all Americans — whether a person’s beliefs, whatever their political orientation, are ‘extremist’ or not,” Mr. Thompson said.
Thompson didn’t stop there. He wants an explanation of what “activities” Napolitano has planned with law enforcement officials to monitor legitimate public political activity, as promised at the end of the DHS report. He called himself “particularly struck” by this statement. And well he might; it promises to have government treat political discourse as a subversive activity.
Thompson, it should be noted, is hardly a Blue Dog Democrat. He sued George Bush for supposed Constitutional violations in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (the suit was dismissed). He cast a vote to block the Electoral College representation of Ohio in 2004, attempting to use allegations of voting problems to delegitimize Bush’s victory. He is known as a solid liberal.
Even a solid liberal like Thompson can see an abuse of power by DHS in attacking political discourse that opposes the current administration. Give Thompson his due; we may disagree on policy, but he understands what DHS did here and wants to put a stop to it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »
And so, the plot thickens…
manwithblackhat on April 15, 2009 at 6:41 PM
Wow. I actually like seeing people from the other side who can show some common sense, even if they don’t do it all the time.
Esthier on April 15, 2009 at 6:41 PM
Obama is trying to woo veterans, and this just makes it more difficult. In fact this report gives one the impression that the Obama administration considers a great many Americans to be extremists.
Terrye on April 15, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Agreed. Napolitano’s little political maneuver stinks to high heaven, and has the mark of the Chicago Mob all over it.
Wanderlust on April 15, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Bravo Bennie,
Standing up for what is right…. interesting concept for a Democrat.
Keep the pressure on Napolitano…
originalpechanga on April 15, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Obviously this guy didn’t get the Memo, or fax, or email. I applaud this man for his intellectual honesty. This whole report is not a slap in the fact to veterans, but a kick in the gut. How DARE they call returning veterans extremists.
portlandon on April 15, 2009 at 6:43 PM
SA-LUTE.
Skywise on April 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Time to call for Napolitano’s resignation.
Enoxo on April 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Biden said that Obama would do things that even his loyal base would question.
Disturb the Universe on April 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Bipartisan support for freedom of association and freedom of speech, e.g., tea parties?
Shhh, nobody tell our trolls!
Christien on April 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
We should all be asking these questions. And where the Hell is my GOP Congresscritter? Why isn’t he marching over the Homeland with some questions that demand answers. Thanks again dude.
InTheBellyoftheBeast on April 15, 2009 at 6:44 PM
I second the motion.
Christian Conservative on April 15, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Thank you for, also, including the rest of the folks indicted here beyond the returning war vets.
Can anyone find anything on our elected officials on this? Where are the conservatives in office up in arms over this?
Gingrich was just calling for any pro life or pro second am. official to stand up and denounce this and demand a resignation on this egregious political attack.
Mommypundit on April 15, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Thompson was a civil rights activist in Mississippi in the 1960s back when Mississippi had it’s own spy agency. I’m guessing he has a sense of the trouble things like the DHS report can lead to.
Robert_Paulson on April 15, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Let’s go ahead and get the ball rolling on Obama’s resignation as well. Time for this sham artist to be evicted.
Mommypundit on April 15, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Napolitiano needs to resign.
EMD on April 15, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Sue ‘em all (it’s the liberal way)! Bastards! Hooray for Bennie having a few rational thoughts!
kirkill on April 15, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Don’t credit Nipolitano alone for this stunt. Remember Obama’s bitter clinger speech? This is the same rhetoric. Yes, she should resign, but she was probably following orders.
InTheBellyoftheBeast on April 15, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Wants
her
job
artist on April 15, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Of course the MSM is covering this alongside the stories about the tea parties tonight (of which they report more on the opponets of the tea parties points than they do the events themselves)
Joe Caps on April 15, 2009 at 6:47 PM
He’s not trying very hard. This was an unforced error, and would have been easily avoided if he had just appointed someone with as much common sense as a collie.
Splunge on April 15, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Thank you, Representative Bennie Thompson. Please follow through on this as it relates to veterans. And also look into DHS stigmatizing people opposed to abortion and people opposed to stricter gun regulations as threats to national security.
Loxodonta on April 15, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Hmmm so is this like an Ethics Investigation into DHS due to a “unclassified release” of a report.
upinak on April 15, 2009 at 6:48 PM
wow, I am glad that today’s GOP relies on the few, ah, principled Democrats out there to stand up for them.
joeindc44 on April 15, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Good, I’m glad Napolitano stood her ground, and mainly admitted to it…NOW RESIGN!
byteshredder on April 15, 2009 at 6:50 PM
And yet, we had a viral commentary with many liberal Trolls yesterday, and they didn’t see it. Blinded by their own ideology.
kirkill on April 15, 2009 at 6:50 PM
The R’s are a running joke.
artist on April 15, 2009 at 6:51 PM
One of the signs I had today made reference to the DHS report. I had several people come up to me saying that they wanted to be a Right Wing Extremist, too. We decided to send our names and addresses into Napolitano so that they can watch us. It didn’t take long for the word to get out. Almost everyone at the Tea Party knew about this issue.
I am glad to see that even a partison Democrat can stand up with America. At some point I hope many more will “get it”.
BetseyRoss on April 15, 2009 at 6:51 PM
But wait: Charles Johnson (Little Green Footballs) says the Report is harmless – the objections overblown. He’s conservative (but a bit looney-in-love with Barry, methinks), and now a Black lib says it isn’t so innocuous. Whom are we to believe.
The sky is falling …
ManUFan on April 15, 2009 at 6:52 PM
]gasp[! The 4th quatrain of the third prophecy has been revealed!
Skywise on April 15, 2009 at 6:52 PM
While congressional members of the GOP continue their spitting contests, this happens. Bobo and His Amazing Chimps keep starting brush fires, GOP runs around spitting on them, meanwhile, Rome is burning to the ground.
pcpower1 on April 15, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Just shows how extreme this report is really…when members of your own party are ‘dumbfounded’ by it, it’s pretty obvious it’s not just a right-wing issue.
AUINSC on April 15, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Count on a leftist to do the very thing that he accuses another of doing.
FBI files please report to the oval office.
jukin on April 15, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Can we get him to bring charges against Napolitano?
Maybe, just maybe…that side is already getting sick of the Obama administration’s bulls**t as well.
MadisonConservative on April 15, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Looks like even the Tories are learning to hate King
GeorgeBarry.Limerick on April 15, 2009 at 6:58 PM
What happened to that guy? I took him out of my bookmarks.
Feedie on April 15, 2009 at 6:58 PM
There is only one extremist here. The breadth and depth of his extremism is demonstrable if one only takes the time to review his record.
turfmann on April 15, 2009 at 6:59 PM
We had the Mayor address our teaparty and he referenced the DHS report. He basically said he’d be damned if he’d monitor fellow veterans when he’s got MS-13 trying to get a foothold in his city.
ctmom on April 15, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Kudos to Bennie Thompson. Napolitano must resign.
progressoverpeace on April 15, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Does this mayor need a contribution?
Limerick on April 15, 2009 at 7:02 PM
RESIGN! Socialist Autocrat!
ronsfi on April 15, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Janet Napalitano – now, she is a man made disaster. What are the contingency operations that we need to guard against this disaster ?
nagee76 on April 15, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Bennie Thompson shows that honesty and a respect for our Constitutional rights transcends idelology.
Too bad Osama Obama has never learned that — and never will.
I’m with those above who have called for both the child-president and Napolitano to go. It can’t happen soon enough.
MrScribbler on April 15, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Does Murtha have any comment? How ’bout our buddy, McCain?
The express and implied statements in that report are beyond the pale. But on retrospect, this is par for the course on the road to socialism. The military is the biggest threat to a government gone insane, so one must first neuter it by accusing it’s veterans’ of being treasonists.
The message here is: Go ahead and volunteer to serve your country but be advised, when you’re done, you go on the watch list.
BobMbx on April 15, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Napolitano = Queen of Hearts
Someone get me a copyright form……..
Limerick on April 15, 2009 at 7:15 PM
This does prove there are honest people on the other side. I wish there were more of them.
petunia on April 15, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Interesting. Perhaps he is genuinely dumbfounded about the report…or Axelrod and CO. got a wind of the negative resonance – American Legion asking for an apology for example, so he tries to distance President Pantywaist from the report, contacts top dem in the house, objections are raised, the report is viewed as DHS/Napolitano’s folly and forgotten.
runner on April 15, 2009 at 7:17 PM
Something tells me Congressman Thompson will be brought back in line and he’ll drop it. It would be extremely unfortunate but I don’t see how this administration will let him stand in their way of terrorizing all that oppose it.
darwin on April 15, 2009 at 7:17 PM
Arizona has quite a record of choosing rotten governers on both sides of the isle. Sorry I don’t know why we do this.
petunia on April 15, 2009 at 7:18 PM
This?
Loxodonta on April 15, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Mr. Bennie Thompson….kudos, and may your name may go down in history. You sir just built a case to be a new profile in courage.
But the question now is….having crossed the brown shirt administration and dear leader, how long can his political career last?
notagool on April 15, 2009 at 7:19 PM
Anybody who thinks that Charles Johnson is a champion of free speech is either: misinformed, naive, or deluded beyond belief. He bans because some people post under fake names, for wanting terror leaders dead, for disagreeing about evolution, and European politics. And for pushing creationism, and not being a good enough bike rider (OK, I made that up…but you get the idea). If you’re not like Chuckles the Dancing clown, you’re outta there.
john1schn on April 15, 2009 at 7:19 PM
Only a fascist administration would treat political discourse as a subversive activity.
jdkchem on April 15, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Did you read the article you posted too? Because this is about a “D”. Nothing about “R’s”. Weird.
petunia on April 15, 2009 at 7:20 PM
It appears to me that Napolitano used Sheriff Joe as the model for defining ‘right-wing extremist’. Janet hates Joe; he caused her much grief during her tenure as Governor in Arizona.Everything that was pointed out as ‘extremist’ _is_ Sheriff Joe.
I’m glad that a dhimmicrat has raised the flag about this report. Expect him to be duly punished and re-educated, however.
Timothy S. Carlson on April 15, 2009 at 7:20 PM
FIFY.
newton on April 15, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Well I hope he enjoyed his political career.
TheUnrepentantGeek on April 15, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Spends most of his time fighting conservatives.
Seems to me the enemy is anyone who wants to restrict my freedom: communists, socialists, tax-and-spenders; and anyone who is an enemy of my enemy is … well, not someone you alienate. But that’s what Charles does – big time – these days.
I fear he’s gone to the dark side. A shame. He did the world a big favor when he outed Dan Rather, but he’s fighting friends more often than enemies nowadays.
ManUFan on April 15, 2009 at 7:23 PM
I doubt that he “raised flags” without the WH approval.
runner on April 15, 2009 at 7:23 PM
Not a Republican politician in sight. I used to cringe at the thought of starting a new party because it would most likely leave the Dems in charge for so long until we could get the party up and running… but if they can’t even respond to such an insane, paranoid, direct attack on civil rights as this… they aren’t worth keeping in office even as place holders until better people can be found.
petunia on April 15, 2009 at 7:25 PM
If Rep. Thompson is raising this issue then this will get nice & juicy.
izoneguy on April 15, 2009 at 7:27 PM
I’m betting the Obamateurs are not that well organized or respected.
ManUFan on April 15, 2009 at 7:30 PM
I want my “I’m a Right Wing Extremist” tee shirt.
Dhuka on April 15, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Honest liberals can have valid points, and valid disagreements.
But this report goes way beyond “honest”. What is upsetting is that Janet thinks it was just grand.
Needs to be restated:
right2bright on April 15, 2009 at 7:32 PM
I work for a member of congress and we’re already hearing from constituents on this. Let me make a recommendation – call, write, fax, and send letters to your congressional delegation, especially if you live in blue congressional districts/states. Most republicans don’t need you to tell them to get up in arms about this, if they’re reliably conservative they’re up in arms about it. It’s the non-reliably conservative members and the democrats who need to get the pressure from consituents.
It doesn’t do a lot of good for consituents in conservative districts to deluge members with emails and phone calls when the member already agrees with them. The most good is done when members who disagree are deluged because then they start to get a sense of how their consituents are thinking and may be persuaded to take their side.
So if you want my advice as a hill staffer…get on the horn to your blue and bluish-red members and turn up the heat on them.
t.ferg on April 15, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Breaking on Drudge: Texas Governor Perry says Texas may secede if the Feds keep running amok with our freedom. The article is here.
ManUFan on April 15, 2009 at 7:35 PM
I want one that kinda goes like this…
Colonist Rebel…
Patriot…
Conservative…
Libertarian…
Vast Right Wing Conspricy Member…
Right Wing Extremist…
Now THATS Evolution!
Romeo13 on April 15, 2009 at 7:38 PM
It’s pretty bad when conservatives have to rely on offended Democrats to criticize politically-motivated suppression of conservative thought. Where the hell is our man Arlen Specter, and why isn’t he making the Right’s case on this???
As if.
Cicero43 on April 15, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Just for the record, he did not out Rather. That was Buckhead at FreeRepublic. Charles did an animated gif as I recall that showed the document was identical to one produced in Word.
TheBigOldDog on April 15, 2009 at 7:39 PM
No argument here. But Charles sure likes taking credit for it.
ManUFan on April 15, 2009 at 7:41 PM
Thompson was the Rep who had Dem staffers get vaccinated before going to that NASCAR race, too.
It's Vintage, Duh on April 15, 2009 at 7:42 PM
The report is very clear: returning veterans possessing combat experience with assault weapons, combined with ordinary citizens and both fearful for gun rights, will be identified as threats which rationalizes the need to surveil both groups and pass a new weapons ban to limit the threat.
It begins.
TinMan13 on April 15, 2009 at 7:42 PM
What was the Bush administration’s role in this?
Seriously. I heard on Fox today that the W. folk requested reports on the left and on the right. I would like to know how much of these reports were completed before he left office – if anything, and what was done on the Obama watch.
YYZ on April 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM
They grow American First’ers in Mississippi. Good on Bennie Thompson, the Honorable Representative of the 2nd District of Mississippi.
I going to write him letter.
Dusty on April 15, 2009 at 7:45 PM
Good for Mr. Thompson.
rbj on April 15, 2009 at 7:46 PM
He knows that in four years or when every the tied turns the R will try they same thing to the D when they get the chance and stop the madness before it is entrenched.
tjexcite on April 15, 2009 at 7:47 PM
The sad part is I’m sure there is a Poll that will come out that agrees with her.
tomas on April 15, 2009 at 7:52 PM
I’m old to enough to remember Nixon’s enemy list. This is strangely familiar.
JimK on April 15, 2009 at 7:54 PM
So MS-13 has got to be a “Left Wing Radical Group” correct?
Nappy is worried about Veterans when she has Illegals in Gangs in DC.
If she every had a mind, its left her.
PappaMac on April 15, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Michelle Obama had better stay away from her favorite photo-op pet project (well, second favorite after the new dog now)of military families and the veterans. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be accused of guilt by association.
caygeon on April 15, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Where are all of our trolls on this?
BacaDog on April 15, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Yesterday, I emailed my Senators and Representative (Democrats all) referencing that report, and asked if, as a Republican who served a term in the Army, I would be allowed to leave the country when the time comes since my elected representatives can’t really be trusted to stand up for my rights against the Obama Administration.
malclave on April 15, 2009 at 8:12 PM
This “report” by DHS is nothing but left-wing propaganda. Don’t forget folks, Bill Clinton accused Rush Limbaugh of enciting the Murrah Building bombing in OKC yet neither McVeigh or Nickols had ever heard of Rush Limbaugh.Leftists are too afraid to read Timothy McVeigh’s essay, which clearly says McVeigh thought that the Clinton Administration was too far to the right and shows McVeigh’s support for Saddam. http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/mcveigh/okcaug98.htmLeftists claim that McVeigh even registered to vote and voted from Federal Prison which anyone with a dab of sense knows is impossible.Check out the laughable post on wikipedia; “Despite the former, McVeigh self-identified as a libertarian in a statement that was reported by MSNBC.com and the Washington Post and in 1996, while in Federal Prison, he voted for Libertarian candidate, Harry Brown in the United States presidential election, 1996.”
YOU CANNOT VOTE WHILE IN FEDERAL PRISON!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh
nelsonknows on April 15, 2009 at 8:23 PM
My Senators, Boxer and Feinstein and my Representative, Capps, support this report so who the HELL do I write or email?
nelsonknows on April 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
And people wonder WHY I quite my job at DHS?
nelsonknows on April 15, 2009 at 8:31 PM
And now that everyone’s tax returns are coming in, BHO can sic the IRS on us.
jgapinoy on April 15, 2009 at 8:34 PM
We may not agree on much, but this guy deserves our support on this issue. Thank you Congressman Thompson!
jwp1964 on April 15, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Agreed. Mr. Thompson ventured off the Dem Plantation, that’s a big no-no.
Sign me up too, with one little addition.
infidel4life on April 15, 2009 at 8:48 PM
I think the broken clock just struck one of the two times for today. When they’re right, they’re right, so I’ll express my thanks for his honesty. Now let’s see how long Congressman Thompson holds on before the commissars have a talk with him.
Mr. Grump on April 15, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Thompson is the rep for the district immediately to the north of me – the Mississippi Delta – and is hardly someone who can be counted on to say and do things like this. This is perhaps more significant than most people realize.
greggriffith on April 15, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Hey! An intellectually honest Democrat. Rare indeed. Kudos to the Congressman.
Griz on April 15, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Add me to the list of people who have as well. I don’t even disagree with him on his pet topics (darwinism, european neo-fascists, etc). He’s just become so damn tiresome with it all.
strictnein on April 15, 2009 at 9:22 PM
The usual troll suspects avoided this thread.
Go figure.
Slublog on April 15, 2009 at 9:38 PM
That’s the point – those are the ones who need to be flooded with calls so they understand that this type of thing is deeply offensive to millions of people. Calling Republican offices is good and all but its just preaching to the choir. We have to make a strong stand on this to those members who are not inclined to be on our side so they know how big a deal this is.
t.ferg on April 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM
I am wondering at what point will people who are really liberal begin to fear this Obama administration. This administration has contempt for the constitutional protections we are gauranteed.
I distinguish between liberals and todays progressives.
DVPTexFla on April 15, 2009 at 10:13 PM
This is the best one so far.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on April 15, 2009 at 10:27 PM
He obviously did not get the White House memo that “dissent is no longer patriotic”. So tow the line or expect a visit from the Brownshirts. Memo to Obama: Will there be a ‘Crystal Night’ or bonfire rallies?
GarandFan on April 15, 2009 at 10:27 PM
I agree; kudos to Rep. Thompson.
ddrintn on April 15, 2009 at 10:35 PM
Comment pages: 1 2 Next »