News of government monitoring invariably produces a backlash, some of it quite hysterical, from the left and right. Reports of “keywords” that Homeland Security looks for bred charges from the civil libertarian left that you may be ensnared if you have “tweeted about your recent vacation in ‘Mexico’ or a shopping trip to ‘Target.’”

When the Department of Homeland Security back in 2009 prepared a report on potential threats from right-wing extremist groups, conservatives went ballistic.  Michelle Malkin wrote that the DHS report “demonizes” the Tea Party and was proof that “Obama’s DHS is watching.” The report was removed from government websites in response, and the lead author later said DHS “ended up gutting my unit.” But since then, we’ve learned that deaths from right-wing domestic terrorism on American soil – such as the Charleston massacre – occur nearly twice as much as those from Islamic terrorism.

Conservatives often claim that “political correctness” is hampering our counter-terrorism strategy. They’re right, except for which kind of terrorism that is getting off easy.