The Steep Learning Curve
Well, Ms Napolitano just got her first, maybe her second object lesson in national-level politics. After the widespread publication of the DHS report in right-wing extremists which allegedly leaked out over the weekend from her department, she’s come under increasing fire from conservatives and veterans for the the broad-brush manner in which the report paints those who believe in right-wing causes as being potentially dangerous. Now let’s start out this posting with a simple statement that it is Ms. Napolitano’s business to monitor extremist groups and individuals, and further to warn Federal, state and local law enforcement partners about those matters. Nobody’s contesting that. The issue has to do with the manner in which the right-wing extremist report does this in comparison to that covering the left-wing extremists. Take the time to compare the left-wing report from the DHS with the right-wing report from the same agency. They’re very different beasts. The left-wing report focuses on actual credible threats posed by actual groups which are named in the report, while the right-wing report is short on actual threats and long on “could, might, maybe, etc.” Also, in reading the left-wing report, the major emphasis is on cybercrime which might be committed by the groups as opposed to actual physical threats. Which is odd, since severall of the groups mentioned have a history of violent attacks and crimes which have resulted in actual deaths. The right-wing report treats all people who espouse a general point of view as being the same, while the left-wing report is careful to not smear all animal-rights groups with the same brush with which they smear the ALF, for example. Curious.
But on to the main point I wanted to make. The National Commander at The American Legion has sent a letter to Ms. Napolitano absolutely blasting her for her broad-brush smear on the potential of returning Iraqi War veterans to explode in an explosion of violence of which all God-fearing LEO’s should be frightened. Here’s a link to the text of the letter.
Remember that this is the same man who met with Mr. Obama earlier this year when Mr. Obama announced that he was going to have vets paying for their treatment for medical issues they picked up while on active duty. I’m really beginning to like and respect this man. He’s doing his job of representing the veterans of this nation admirably and in the face of growing government hostitility, he’s standing his ground.
David K. Rehbein, I salute you. Ms. Napolitano, you’re no longer just dealing with Arizonans. You need to up your game a bit and I would suggest to you that your communications need to be a bit more polished so that you don’t just come across as a knuckle-dragging liberal thug ready to beat up whomever doesn’t agree with you. Of course that puts you in distinuguished company with so many of your liberal ilk.
