It seems these people feel isolated and need to be brought back into the fold somehow. I'm waiting for a strong moderate republican leader to put his or her foot down and say enough of the rightwing wackiness. It's interesting that conservatives, such as Newt, are identifying with the report.
Read the report, which assesses the threat, here.
Those of us who spend a lot of time on the Internet see all the hate there is out there for Obama, irrational hate, the kind of hate that no rescue, no accomplishments, no birth certificate will ever overturn. Just look at any of Sarah Palin's rallies and you'll see what's breeding out there. I believe some of it is deep rooted racism that these folks aren't even aware of. Instead they use the guise of issues such as guns and immigration to appear legitimate.
Look at the stockpiling of guns and ammunition simply because people irrationally believe Obama is going to take away their guns. They have this notion that they may have to defend themselves one day, against what I'm not sure, but it's paranoid behavior.
It is being fueled by the likes of rightwing talk radio and extremist groups. When people get together and suggest that their survival is at stake because the president is brainwashing America, that's potentially dangerous.
Talk radio hosts may be oblivious to the kind of hatred they're seeding, or maybe not. I tend to think that they're only thinking of the ratings and their paycheck. I don't think they think about what their words might mean to someone who is unstable.
CNN reports that the Obama administration issued a warning about left wing extremists too and that both reports were initiated under Bush.
Read more at ThinkProgress.
Some of what the report says:
The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specificUpdate: It's not about political groups like conservatives, it's about hate groups trying to get more members:
information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence,
but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about
several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first
African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and
recruitment.
— (U//LES) Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups
during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry
out violent acts. Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic
downturn—including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability
to obtain credit—could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing
extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and
government authorities similar to those in the past.
— (U//LES) Rightwing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first
African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new
members, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden their scope and appeal
through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning.
