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Apr
16
You know, isn’t it amazing how folks seem to have completely forgotten about this little bill, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, which House Minority Leader John Boehner voted for (but which never became law and still is not law), along with more than 400 of his 110th Congress colleagues, even as they gyrate over a new report from the Department of Homeland Security that has flagged some members of our society as rightwing extremists about whom we should be concerned?
I know – crazy. I thought it was pretty crazy in 2007 too.
Boehner demanded that the Department of Homeland Security apologize to veterans because its report found that “returning military veterans who have difficulties assimilating back into their home communities could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or might engage in lone acts of violence.” NPR has a good piece about how Janet Napolitano actually did offer an apology – but why (I agree – why?).
But let’s back up for a second. Why’d I think, in 2007, that the bill was crazy? Here’s what the bill was about:
[California Democratic Rep., Jane] Harman’s bill would convene a 10-member national commission to study “violent radicalization” (defined as “the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change”) and “homegrown terrorism” (defined as “the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States […] to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”).
The bill also directs the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate a “center of excellence,” a university-based research center where academics, policy-makers, members of the private sector and other stakeholders can collaborate to better understand and prevent radicalization and homegrown terrorism. [my emphasis above]
You can read the overview of the bill here.
Notice how that language is ideology-neutral – you could be from the left or the right. And yet aren’t you thinkin’ now – darn it if Boehner and the other Republicans who voted for the legislation didn’t think that only people on the left would ever meet whatever definitions they could cook up. Especially since George Bush requested that DHS do a study and reveal just which elements of our society they thought might be priming for violent radicalization and homegrown terror. The results just released are from that request, as are previously released results that talked about…leftwing fringe.
John - every rose has it’s thorn, and every political ideology has its fringe. You just really did not anticipate this report, did you?
BONUS: This AP story on what’s happened since this morning catalogues the DHS reviews of the past that ID both left and right-wing groups as potential problems. But the best part? Quotes from…Jane Harman – the Rep. from California who sponsored that bill I mention at the top of this post:
The latest report has turned into a “political football,” said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. Harman, who chairs a House subcommittee on intelligence and information sharing, said the report could have been written more artfully, but added that “it was a well-intended effort to describe to law enforcement what things to look for.”
“If the result is to dumb down intelligence products that could prevent the next attack to the homeland, we will all lose,” she said.
Thank you, Congresswoman.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:09 pm April 16th, 2009 in Congress, conservatives, Culture, democracy, George Bush, Government, intolerance, Media, Politics, Research, Results, Social Issues, war
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[...] earth ever happened to one of John Boehner’s favorite pieces of legislation in 2007 – Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, which he pursued with such vigor when George Bush was president. [...]
[...] what on earth ever happened to one of John Boehner’s favorite pieces of legislation in 2007 – Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, which he pursued with such vigor when George Bush was [...]
[...] – watch to the very end (and don’t forget, John Boehner still hasn’t gotten the violent radicalization act anywhere – why not? Could it be because of the number of tea party people who do use or advocate the [...]
[...] Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act of 2007 has been around for nearly five years, 400 members of Congress signed onto it in 2009, and it absolutely anticipated that radicalization, however they were going to define it, was not [...]