re: #489 doppelganglander

I’m coming around to thinking that, while the report was initiated over a year ago, it’s being used by the Obama administration for political purposes. I’m bothered by how vague it is. No specific troublesome groups are named. It points the finger at single-issue groups, again without naming names, as if there’s something sinister about being a single-issue group. Being pro-life or anti-illegal immigration are perfectly legitimate, mainstream viewpoints, yet the report treats them like fringe opinions. It explicitly ties anti-illegal immigration sentiment to racism as a way to further marginalize supporters of the rule of law. The fact that it was released just before the Tea Party protests is mighty suspicious to me, too. I’m sure there are some potentially violent right-wing fringe groups, but this report doesn’t enhance my confidence in the ability of the Obama administration to distinguish the crazies from the merely pissed off. I am not going off the deep end or trying to claim persecution at all. I just see the potential for this report to be misused for political purposes.

You and I both know what the MSM will say tomorrow as well. The fact that most of the people attending these “tea parties” will be average everyday people, just making a symbolic point about the government, will mean nothing because the only ones we’ll be likely to see on TV are the nutjobs. The MSM will seek out the worst of the worst and display it as the “typical” tea party attendee. This entire exercise will be used against the right as being “out of touch” and “on the fringe”. A grassroots movement is ok, but it will not be portrayed as what it is….it will be distorted and mutated to fit into the model MSNBC, ABC, CBS, et al has already concluded it to be.