Mainstreaming extremism…
Conservative Groups Dismiss Report on Rise of Militias

… right-leaning groups say the evidence of a distinct rise in militia activity is spotty and that the SPLC is unfairly lumping isolated extremists in the same category as those who are protesting the administration’s economic and social policies, under the umbrella term “militia.”

They add that the racism charge is bunk.

“I think it’s utter nonsense to say it’s racial,” said Carter Clews, spokesman at Americans for Limited Government. Clews said Obama’s “doctrinaire socialistic approach to government” has triggered a populist backlash, but “it’s inappropriate to use the word militia.”
…
William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said the latest SPLC report suggests that DHS and the law center are relying largely on the same pool of information to make their claims about the rise in right-wing extremism.

“They are attempting to brand all right-of-center protesters as potential domestic terrorists or extremists,” he said. “They are painting whole swaths of people as hate groups and extremists.”

As for the purported rise in “militia” groups, which SPLC includes as part of the broader anti-government “Patriot” movement, Gheen said: “We’re just not seeing it.”