Leave aside the smearing of people who believe in federalism, border security, and the protection of the unborn. Perhaps the worst part of the DHS “extremism” report is its sheer incompetence. Several times, for instance, it says that extremists are exploiting the “historical election” of an African-American president. Historical means “relating to the past.” Apparently, the author meant to say that the election was “historic.”
Okay, that’s a nitpick. More serious is the authors’ ignorance of history. The report compares current conditions to the 1990s, a time of “economic recession.” There was a recession in the very early part of the decade, but it troughed in March 1991 and was over even before the 1992 election. The 1990s were prosperous, for which liberals credit Bill Clinton and conservatives credit Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich. Either way, the report bears little relationship to reality.
The report also points to “criticism of free trade agreements (particularly those with Mexico).” Clinton deserves praise for backing NAFTA, which he inherited from his GOP predecessors, but he had to rely on Republicans to pass it. In the 1993 House roll call, Republicans favored it 132-43. Democrats broke against it, 102-156. In the Senate, Republicans went 34-10 in favor, while Democrats went the other way, 27-28.
So is DHS going to focus its investigation of “right-wing extremism” on the Democratic Party?