I imagine at least some Republicans don’t like being called the party of white nationalists and domestic terrorists.
If that’s the case, they should probably stop acting like they are.
This week the House of Representatives, in the wake of the Buffalo mass shooting in which 10 people were killed in a Black neighborhood, passed the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote.
The vote was 222-203. Only one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joined all Democrats in voting yes. Republicans accounted for all the no votes.
The measure would establish domestic terrorism offices within the Justice and Homeland Security departments and the FBI, the Washington Post reported.
It also calls for leaders of the three agencies to issue a joint report twice a year, with particular focus on the threat posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, including the “infiltration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the uniformed services” by members of those groups.
A previous version of the legislation was approved by unanimous voice vote in the House in September 2020. This time, however, House Republican leaders urged members of their party to vote no. They argued that the legislation is unnecessary.
Unnecessary? Well, let’s see.
Based on data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Post analysis last year showed that domestic terrorism incidents have surged to new highs, predominately because of the rise in white supremacist, anti-Muslim, and anti-government extremism on the far Right.
According to the analysis, Right-wing extremists have been involved in 267 plots or attacks and 91 fatalities since 2015. In comparison, attacks and plots ascribed to far-Left views accounted for 66 incidents leading to 19 deaths during the same period.
More than a quarter of Right-wing incidents and just under half of the deaths in those incidents were caused by people who showed support for white supremacy or claimed to belong to groups espousing that ideology, the analysis showed.
All these incidents are inexcusable, but remember these numbers when Republicans start babbling about Black Lives Matters and Antifa, all while ignoring the white nationalist portion of their base.
The more recent measure had 207 co-sponsored, including three Republicans -- Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Fred Upton of Michigan, and Don Bacon of Nebraska -- all of whom then turned around and voted against it.
Fitzpatrick said he disagreed with changes made by Democrats in response to concerns raised by some Progressive lawmakers. He said that these changes narrowed the definition of domestic terrorism.
“In making these changes, Democratic leadership has pushed the bill away from its original, bipartisan text and instead chose a single-party solution in an effort to appease the far Left,” Fitzpatrick said.
Really? When you think about it, many Democrats – including Progressives – fall into the groups targeted by white nationalists and domestic terrorists. I don’t always agree with the far Left, but I can see their concern about getting the bill to the point that it properly protects many of their constituents.
So, what are these changes Fitzpatrick doesn’t like?
The Post reported that Progressives were concerned that the domestic terrorism offices could target people of color. The bill was modified to include mandatory civil liberties checks on investigations, and to prevent protesting from being an activity that qualifies for surveillance.
Seems reasonable to me.
Fitzpatrick also said he was concerned the bill “would give DOJ too much leeway in picking and choosing what it considers to constitute domestic terrorism.”
My answer would be that’s the DOJ’s job -- to investigate and determine if a crime was committed and what that crime is. Who else should be making that call?
Bacon said he had “grave concerns” that the bill would allow federal funds to go toward “monitoring” American civilians, “including our police, servicemembers, and parents.”
I sure as hell would be concerned about white nationalists or their sympathizers in law enforcement and the military. You bet I want them monitored. We already know they’re there. Whose side will they be on?
But parents? Bacon and other Republicans offered the debunked claim that the Biden administration was looking at investigating parents who protested at school board meetings. That’s a proven lie.
Here are a couple of fact-check articles about the extent of Republican lying on this subject.
The false GOP claim that the Justice Dept. is spying on parents at school board meetings
McCarthy’s false claim that Garland called parents ‘terrorists’
When you desperately and shamelessly resort to proven lies to try bolster your case, then you have no case to begin with.
You can read the Post’s report on the bill here.
The bottom line here is the GOP is simply trying to protect the white nationalist/domestic terrorist portion of its base. To approve such a bill is to acknowledge we have a problem that’s mostly the Right’s making.
When a large part of your message is based on the Big Lie, racism, hate, and fear of the “other,” how can you then turn around and try to stop the violence that you’ve given your people reason and permission to commit?
Republicans need the white nationalist/domestic terrorist vote. They’ve been courting it for a while now with their embrace of things like replacement theory and their other efforts to divide us along racial, cultural, and economic lines.
This violence is the fruit of the their labor. It’s part of their effort to get working-class whites to vote for them and against their own best interests.
Heck, remember that the Republican National Committee has called the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol “legitimate public discourse.” Again, anything for the base.
We’re at a crossroads in our country. We’ve seen the direction the Republican Party has chosen to go. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. The Republican Party is the party of white nationalists and domestic terrorists.
Think about that when you go to vote in November.
***
Thank you for reading my post. You can see more of my writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody.