Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

One of the biggest stories in the Democrat sweep of 2006 was the rise of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is even more conservative than the DLC. There are now 37 Blue Dogs in Congress and, as Joshua Frank reported on CounterPunch, “not one had opposed the invasion of Iraq. All supported the Bush tax cuts as well as the wall along the border of Mexico. None support impeachment. All support Israel unequivocally, and if Bush moves ahead with a military intervention in Iran, they’ll all be on board.” Speaking to the LA Times before the elections, Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) put it all in perspective: “The Democrats are going to retake the House of Representatives by electing conservative and moderate Democrats. We’re going to move our party back to the middle.”

At this point, the middle would look like hallowed ground. As Ralph E. Shaffer and R. William Robinson of the Baltimore Sun report, California Blue Dog Rep. Jane Harman’s Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act passed the House 404-6 late last month and “swift Senate passage appears certain.” This is the advent of a new McCarthyist era in the US and the fact that it is being driven to law by a Democrat should give everyone a little pause before they buy into the Democrat/Republican dualism that gives so many Americans a sense of security that the political system will balance out extremism.

One of the findings of the bill is that, “the Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.”

The language couldn’t be any plainer. Ms. Harman is talking about ideological warfare and historically, that has meant an imminent attack on Constitutional freedoms that Americans hold most dear. It’s almost cliché to cite the House Un-American Activities Committee Hearings that ultimately led to the black listing of Hollywood leftists, not to mention the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. But this is an aspect of American civil culture that goes back to the 1886 execution of anarchists cited with organizing and fomenting the Chicago Haymarket Riot.

Giving it a modern spin, Harman’s bill would empower roving 10-member national commission to hold its own hearings in a quest to define and locate “violent radicalization” and “homegrown terrorism” in our midst. But it gets worse. As Lindsay Beyerstein reports in In These Times.

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.

Can you imagine the Center, being run by none other than David Horowitz? Joking aside, it’s one thing for Republicans to waffle on the definition of torture and waterboarding. But for Dems to be blindsiding the nation with this kind of “oversight” legislation is truly disturbing. This is the first time I have actually felt that kind of fear tingle my spine… the rare kind that one gets in those dreams when they have been chased into a dark corner with no way out.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 9:56 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.