Department of Book Reports: The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right

There is probably no better authority writing today about the American Right than David Neiwart, who is the founder of the Orcinus weblog and frequent poster at Crooks and Liars. And Neiwart brings his knowledge and analytical gifts to his important, new book, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right ( PoliPoint Press $16.95). And nothing brings this book more into focus than the events of the past two weeks, with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court and the assassination of Dr. George Tiller.

Neiwart defines Eliminationism as "a politics and a culture that shuns dialogue and the democratic exchange of ideas in favor of the pursuit of outright elimination of the opposing side, either through suppression, exile and ejection, or extermination" and that uses a rhetoric that is focused on an "enemy within" and that advocates the excision and extermination of said enemies by violent or civil means. This brand of endemic nativist American thought is transmitted into the mainstream of political discourse by the usual suspects: your Limbaughs, Coulters, O'Reillys and often presented as "jokes". Limbaugh, for instance, once said, "I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus -living fossils-
so we never forget what these people stood for".

Neiwart goes onto show how these once fringe ideas have permeated the Republican Party in the past two decades, especially those who had previously been involved in the Reform Party and the Patriot movement, with the result that the political center of the the Conservative movement has shifted further to the Right and morphed into what Neiwart calls Para-fascism. Although not outright revolutionary in tone, and paying some lip-service to law and order, para-fascism is in danger of becoming more proto-fascist in the coming years. The final chapter of the book is titled "It Can Happen Here".

Neiwart examines the nature and history of fascism, which is not so much an ideology, than an emotional response to the modern world. In fact one of its more important facets is the mutability of fascist thought. He looks at the history of Eliminationism in American history, from the American Indian from the beginning of European colonization, to post-bellum lynchings of African-Americans in the South, to the anti-Chinese exclusion acts and the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War. It continues today with the Lou Dobbs' of the world, in the anti-immigration crowd, who fear a "Hispanic Reconquista" of the American Southwest and the "English" only movement.

He points out the root of eliminationism is the objectification of "the other" and it's pursuiant demoniziation of one's enemies. We can see that in the manner of which the Right has talked of Sotomayor. And it is certainly visible in the discussions of "baby killer" Dr. George Tiller.

Neiwart's book was published before those events. But he warns, "As America moves forward amid the reality of a President Obama, it may want to brace itself for a spate of domestic terrorism and homegrown violence. Because even before Obama's election, it was clear that some of the more violence-prone sectors of the Far Right were winding themselves up for such an eventuality". He aruges that we cannot ignore the spectre of American Fascism, and we must be willing to confront it and do so with our better natures: by giving them the very recognition that they would deny us, not indulging in demonization and dehumanizing our "others".

This book is the most important book on contemporary politics this year. I implore you to read it.

The Opinuary Column

The Opinion Words matter died in what authorities are currently describing as a possible suicide. The Opinion, which has been around since language was invented, had lived a very responsible and happy life, enjoying the company of its friends and family when not hard at work being used to modulate incendiary speech, or to temper the vitriol in written commentaries designed to incite human beings to acts of violence or mayhem. 'Thoughtful, contemplative and sincere' are all words which have been used to describe the popular Opinion, which had achieved a good deal of fame as a cornerstone of democratic free speech.

FOX News commentator Bill O'Reilly has refused to comment on his involvement in a plan to remove the internal organs of The Opinion and use them in a national donor scheme, claiming he was "...not responsible for anything, anywhere, at any time." He further added, "Shut up!" Asked if he would yell fire in a crowded theater, O'Reilly responded by saying that "...Daily Kos is sinful, liberals eat their own butts, falafel should be thoroughly rinsed before being returned to the nightstand drawer, and killing is okay if it means you stop an abortion doctor from helping women in desperate and tragic need."

In lieu of paying that cowardly, pompous gasbag any more attention the family of the Opinion asks that you read up on the facts about late term abortions. Or you could just repeat vitriolic hate speech over and over and over and just hope no one is listening, lest an act of violence should ensue.

To be a demagogue in these heady times is to be nothing more than a benign entity that no one takes to heart, much less even listens to. Still, the voices that rattle around in the head of a presumably unhinged killer are not the products of a dissociative state unique to the mentally unstable individual, but rather are voices that all of us can hear and comprehend, made available by the mere flick of a television remote control. Such joy and wonder to be found in these magical boxes, where people who love us tell us what to think, and how to think it, and what to despise, and how to despise it.

Peace unto you and yours.

"Whoever controls the media controls the mind."
Jim Morrison

UPDATE: Words may indeed matter to Bill O'Reilly, who hears them selectively but shares them generously.

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The Opinuary Column appears Friday afternoons at Jesus' General.

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The Incredible Winking Republican Jesus

The Blessing of the Rifles

Dr. Tim Harlow
Senior Pastor
Parkview Christian Church

cc: Jill Stanek
Pro-Life Pulse

Dear Pastor Harlow,

I'll admit it I'm ashamed that so many of us in the compelled birth movement have been slow to target another abortion provider so soon after Dr. Tiller's assassination. I guess we're just a little too afraid of being accused of inciting murder. But thank God one of your parishioners is made of stronger stuff. Jill Stanek couldn't even wait until Tiller's family had laid him to rest before announcing the next target, Dr. LeRoy Carhart. It's no wonder she's recognized as a national leader of the compelled birth movement.

And I have to say, she's assembled a fantastic intelligence dossier on him, complete with photos of his clinic and links to a page listing his home and work addresses as well as photos of his wife and daughter. Lord knows, that's the kind of information the shooters will need.

I have to wonder, however, if you're giving her as much help as she deserves. I mean, hey, she's providing a lot of free publicity for your church, I think the least you could do is offer to hold a rifle blessing service in her honor.

I hope you'll consider doing so.

Heterosexually yours,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

p.s. Please keep an eye on your associate pastors. A couple look a little "funny" to me.

A helmet tip to Feministe.

Drill, Baby, Drill: The Erotic Fantasies of Glenn Beck

Gotta Laugh

Looks like my inner Frenchman hacked my Twitter account again.

Antichrist will be some kind of underpants pervert

Ron Hamman
Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla

Dear Pastor Harman,

I reckon that nearly half of my militia unit/congregation has read your piece in The Frontiersman and forwarded it to me by now, and I'm glad they did. I think you make a very compelling case, and although it's hard to argue with your assertion that Daniel 11:37 states that the Antichrist will be the gay, I think you are wrong.

Let's take a look at that scripture, again. It says:

Neither shall he [the Antichrist] regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Ok, I'll grant you it says that he won't desire women, but you should also note that is doesn't go on to say he desires men either. In fact, Daniel 11:37 makes no claims as to what makes the Antichrist's horn of iniquity rise up in all its carnal glory.

For that, we have to take a look at Ezekiel 21:21, which states, "For the king of Babylon [the Antichrist] ... looked in the liver." Yes, he said "looked," as in probed, "in the liver." I think you can see where all this is heading: the Antichrist will be one of those liver-in-his-underpants kind of perverts.

You know what I mean: one of those guys who'll buy a bunch of beef liver, wrap it in cellophane, place it in a bowl of water out in the sun to heat up to about 98 degrees, remove it from the bowl, unwrap it, stuff it down his briefs, put on that german shepherd costume Ofjoshua made for him, and do that stand-and-squat exercise thing until he yiffs.

At least that's what Ezekiel 21:21 says to me.

Yes, it's wicked, evil, and just oh so morally wrong, but, he's the Antichrist. It's the kind of thing we expect from him, and it's so much more Antichristy than simple homosexuality. And hey, I bet he's thinking about Todd Palin while he does it. Hard not to when you're wearing a german shepherd costume.

Heterosexually yours,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

Another Teabagger-American Jailed

Another teabag patriot in the slammer:

Federal prosecutors were prepared to arraign Tuesday an alleged member of the "Patriot Movement" accused of helping to hide a fugitive at his Tenino home.

Todd Gehman Howard, 47, was arrested last week on suspicion of hiding federal fugitive Lewis Vincent Hughes at his home. Hughes is wanted in connection to a bank and mail fraud prosecution filed in North Carolina.

Earlier efforts to arraign Howard at the U.S. District Court in Tacoma were unsuccessful, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman said, because Howard continued to interrupt the magistrate judge handling the proceeding.

According to prosecutors, Howard told Thurston County sheriff's deputies that he was a member of the Patriot Movement, a catchall term for militants opposed to the federal government. They also allege that Howard has ties to the "Sovereign Citizen" movement.

Christians at Tiller Service

Helmet tip to Frodofied.

Tancredo PAC's Exec. Director Goin' All Chuck Norris on the Brown

Marcus Epstein
Executive Director
Team America PAC

Dear Mr. Epstein,

I want to thank you for all the good work you've been doing at Team America PAC to oppose the Sotomayor nomination. Your bosses, Tom Tancredo and Bay Buchanan, were among the first to call her a racist, and are currently among the last to let it go. Now, it's your turn.

It's time Sotomayor was given a taste of your famous Epstein Street Treatment. You know what I mean: that thing where you expose "reverse-racists" by randomly accosting brown people on the sidewalk and giving them a karate chop as you shout the word "nigger" in a high-pitched Bruce-Lee-like shriek--just like you did according to this account from the US Attorney's office.

On July 7, 2007, at approximately 7:15 p.m. at Jefferson and M Street, Northwest, in Washington, D.C., defendant [Marcus Epstein] was walking down the street making offensive remarks when he encountered the complainant, Ms. [REDACTED], who is African-American. The defendant uttered, “Nigger,” as he delivered a karate chop to Ms. [REDACTED]’s head.

You know Sotomayor would fold like a Limbaugh critic in Congress the moment you gave her the treatment. Hopefully, you'll get your chance before you're sentenced on July 8. If not, maybe you could videotape yourself delivering the treatment to some of your cellmates and send it to her. That may be enough.

Heterosexually yours,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

Bill O'Reilly: God's Destroying Angel

Why would anyone expect that someone you call a "murderer" would to be treated any more gently than an intruder in an NRA Life Member's home? Surely, Bill wasn't just engaging in inflammatory rhetoric to raise his ratings.



Elsewhere: This "Cheneymom" thinks Tiller got what he deserved.

Today in Teabagger Terrorism

From Kansas:

Police have arrested a 51-year old Kansas man as a person of interest in connection with the murder of Wichita health provider Dr. George Tiller. Police are not releasing the name of the suspect, but numerous media sources are reporting that a man named Scott Roeder has been arrested in connection with the crime.

According to a Democratic Underground thread, a 1997 Militia Watchdog report put out by the Anti-Defamation League lists the following activity for July 7:

"July 7, Kansas: Scott Roeder is sentenced to sixteen months in state prison for parole violations following a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk. Roeder, a sovereign citizen and tax protester, violated his parole by not filing tax returns or providing his social security number to his employer."

From "Freedom County," WA:

Currently free on bond, Andrew Steven Gray was arrested early last month after a lengthy investigation involving a Snohomish County militia shooting range, according to recently unsealed documents filed in U.S. District Court. Gray, a Snohomish man with a previous felony conviction on drug charges, is alleged to have amassed a 21-gun collection at a Monroe storage unit, as well as operated a 300- to 500-plant marijuana grow at his home.

Prosecutors also contend that Gray, 32, has long-standing ties to the sovereign citizen movement, in which adherents believe state and federal law do not apply to them. Through his attorney, Gray has denied membership in any such group; that claim, though, seems to be at odds with a letter sent to the court on Gray's behalf from a leader in a Snohomish County secessionist movement.

The bureau launched an investigation into Gray after a paid informant told authorities Gray had been shooting at a facility known as the Militia Training Center, according to statements from the lead investigator, a member of the bureau's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Due to his previous felony drug conviction, Gray is barred from handling firearms.

The informant obtained a recorded statement during which Gray was heard admitting to gun possession, according to the agent's statement. With that statement, federal agents obtained a search warrant and on May 4 raided a storage locker and home occupied by Gray.

At the locker, agents allegedly discovered a stash of weapons, armor and ammunition. The cache included four unregistered silencers, as well as a M-16-style machine gun capable of automatic fire. Among the weapons seized were two guns manufactured by a Snohomish gunsmith whose offerings include parts named "Christian warrior" and "NObama.

Village People Cop Declares Heterosexuality

Victor Willis
Former Village People Cop

cc:
Rep. Patrick McHenry
United States Congress

Charlie Crist

Candidate, US Senate

Dear Mr. Willis,

Thank you for finally coming out of the closet and declaring your heterosexuality. I've always discounted the rumors that the Village People were homosexuals. I mean, just look at you; a cop, a cowboy, a construction worker, and Indian chief, a sailor, and a guy who looks like Joseph Farrah and likes to wear leather--you can't get more heterosexual than that.

I'm also very relieved to hear you've cleared-up all the confusion about that YMCA song you wrote. I don't know how anyone could hear that and come away thinking that it was anything but a song about hangin' out with a bunch of straight guys at the gym. I mean, how else could lyrics like this be interpreted:

You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

They have everything that you need to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys

This hetero thing seems to be giving your career a bit of a boost, and I'm wondering if you could use your revitalized celebrity to to help others. Specifically , I'm thinking about helping conservative leaders who've been erroneously outed as being the gay--you know, guys like Larry Craig, Ted Haggard, and Bob Allen who like to celebrate their heterosexuality by slurping on some random guy's todger every now and then. We all know there's nothing wrong with that as long as you pass a few anti-the-gay bills while they're at it.

So anyway, I was thinking you could do a fundraiser for one of these guys, maybe Charlie Crist, at a place like the YMCA but much more political--Rep. Patrick McHenry's Hostel for Young, Strapping, Republican Lads would be the perfect place.

What do you think? Can you get up for it.

Heterosexually yours,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

Yo, this one's for all the young conservatives

Obama's Department of Pre-Crime

_{Image © Austin Cline
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The Obama presidency has been filled with disappointments already, but the biggest and most dramatic may be his reversal on basic questions of morality and law. Most recently, this has involved his proposal to detain people indefinitely on the suspicion that they may pose some sort of "national security" threat but without any trial before an impartial judge or jury. President Bush was already trying to do this, but Barack Obama is taking the entire situation a couple of steps further along by institutionalizing it.

There are, admittedly, people currently in U.S. custody who can't be prosecuted for past crimes because the Bush administration made such a mess of things — detaining them without counsel or trial, torturing them, and so forth. Under a just system of laws, they would have to be released even if they are a likely threat, but Barack Obama doesn't believe in the principle of law enough to do that. Instead, he intends to construct a "system" or "legal regime" in which preventative detention becomes a standard for people who can't be tried but who are suspected of being a threat some time in the future — in effect, a "legal regime" of "precrime" where people are imprisoned for crimes they haven't committed yet.

Obama refuses to call this "preventative detention" even though that's clearly what this is, which suggests that he knows how immoral his proposal is and how it would be received if he labeled it honestly. What's more, his use of the term "legal regime" demonstrates that he knows his proposal lies outside the current system of courts, the current legal system, and even outside the system of military courts. So he knows that he is proposing the creation of an entirely new system which can't be held to any of the legal standards and restrictions which we are currently used to.

There are no upper limits being proposed for how long the United States can detain people without criminal charges, without trial, and without judicial oversight. This proposed system isn't just being limited to a few hardcore terrorists currently in American custody and it isn't even being limited to non-citizens. So, just as under Bush, the possibility is left open for American citizens to be detained by the government and kept imprisoned indefinitely without charges or trial.

It's not legitimate to say that we'll "only have trials if the defendant won't win," which is basically what Obama's proposal amounts to: people who will win because of how they have been treated will just be kept in jail without being put on trial. The principle of the rule of law isn't one you can uphold just a little bit and only when it's convenient — holding to principles "a little bit" ultimately means that you have little in the way of principles. Being a principled person means that you hold to your principles even when they lead to inconvenient or distasteful consequences.

To add insult to injury, Barack Obama made these proposals at the same time he admitted that the Bush administration made such a mess of things and condemned their handling of detainees. It appears that he hoped he could get away with institutionalizing Bush's mess if he condemned it at the same time, as if people would only notice the criticisms which they agreed with but wouldn't notice the ways in which Obama is trying to make that mess even worse. George W. Bush created an American Gulag system but left it an ad hoc system with little structure; Obama wants to systematize it and make it permanent, giving it a facade of legitimacy which it doesn't deserve.

Will Barack Obama get away with this attempt to destroy the rule of law? It's very possible because there are far too many people willing to give him the benefit of the doubt simply because they like him personally — they think that it's OK to trust him with unconstitutional powers that they wouldn't have trusted Bush with. Justice Louis D. Brandeis's wrote about just this sort of problem in his 1928 dissent Olmstead v. United States: "Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."

Would it be distasteful and unpopular if some of people currently detained by the government were acquitted in a trial and had to be let go? Absolutely. Should they be put on trial anyway? Probably — it might be the only way to ensure that all the details of their illegal detention and treatment come out. However unpopular such a legal outcome might be, the blame would lie squarely with all those in the Bush administration who made a successful trial impossible. If a murderer goes free because of police misconduct, the blame falls with the police and not the judge who follows the law or the legal system which protects us all.