The AP story announcing the shift in Administration policy is incorrect. The Obama Administration has, in fact, redoubled its efforts to rid the world of extremist jihadists and terrorists — as long as they are connected with the Tea Party movement.
Even as it continues to do its Orwellian best to redefine our enemies from U.S. Hating Religious Fundamentalists to “disgruntled foreign nationals,” (as if they were a particularly impatient man on line at the Post Office), it has, using the full force of the government and mass media, begun scouring the country for genuinely disenfranchised Americans it can re-brand as dangerous — excuse me, “potentially” dangerous domestic terrorists.
Only in America in 2010 could groups defending the constitution be transformed by the press corps in villains who by their very beliefs may possibly, someday, inspire a demented individual to commit an act of violence be presented as a greater threat than groups and even countries who have actually made part of their charters the destruction of America and her allies.
This is not new. With the left, the demonization of Americans and beatification of our enemies goes back as far as the country does. It allowed intellectuals to diminish the threat of Nazism, Communism. And now Jihadism. The sad truth is that in spite of the web and talk radio, a great many people who live in America still get their view of the world from the MSM. With only one side of the story they can be quickly convinced that their neighbors are not out in their garages painting “no new taxes” and “Obama lied, the economy died” placards, but in fact are crafting pipe bombs.
Recent discovery (or rediscovery) of militia groups than have been kicking around since the 1980s is the case in point. When the actual Islamic terrorist network with plans to attack Fort Dix were discovered, the MSM and administration wrote off their plans and weapons purchases by saying they were just “amateurs” who were never really going to pull it off — while right wingers who are captured by the FBI were “really, really, just about to blow up you local mall, we swear.”
What is the end result? Every time we allow the administration and the MSM to categorize Major Hasan, the Fort Hood murderer, as a “lone crackpot” despite his clear connection to the Islamic jihadists’ network, we lose our edge in recognizing more potential threats. People who may see suspicious activities may be afraid, because of this new and pernicious form of political correctness, of being perceived as intolerant if they report them (as in the case of the many superior officers and therapists who were afraid to report Hasan’s clear threats to the safety of American soldiers here and abroad.)
The Obama Administration has led us and our neighbors onto the train tracks, turned our back to the approaching train of Islamic terrorism. They hold up shiny promises of free energy and test-less diagnosis, all the while telling us that the whistle we hear growing louder behind us is some tea that’s boiling.
We have to turn around, open our eyes and get off the track.
Then get to the polls this November.