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 to Bitterly Denounce Its Targets Andrew Sullivan Lashes Out at Dissenters as a 'Fifth Column' PFAW Tracks Comments by Right Wing Pundits & Politicians |
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Compiled By GayToday Courtesy of People for the American Way
In general, the Right's response to September 11th has fallen into one of several categories; they attacked their favorite villains and supported their favorite causes. And they joined those they usually oppose in expressing concerns for the protection of Americans' civil liberties. The Usual Suspects The Right used the September 11th attacks as an opportunity to bitterly denounce some of their favorite targets. The Media
President Clinton Those complaints were followed by attacks on another of the Right's favorite targets: former President Clinton. Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND) and a frequent commentator in the right-wing press said: "As our Commander and Chief, Bill Clinton was a disaster, losing the respect of our fighting men for his draft dodging, foreign-soil demonstrating behavior; but more importantly for gutting our military, sending them on dubious missions around the globe, softening our forces by the "don't ask, don't tell" pro-homosexual agenda, and generally allowing morale to fall to an all-time low." Ret. Gen. Jack Singlaub agreed: "Clinton policies also feminized the military. The promotion of feminization and homosexuality not only ruins morale, but to the rest of the world, our enemies look at that and think we are weak." Blame the Left
"President Bush couldn't say the word 'war.' It would have been politically incorrect. It would have offended the Left, the feminists, the minorities, and Amnesty International…. Our leaders would rather see us slaughtered. That's the way of the Left. Let someone else take the hit, while the lofty Left preserves its rhetorical righteousness, and prepares to file suit so the enemy gets a fair elongated trial." Gary Aldrich of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty: "Excuse me if I absent myself from the national political group-hug that's going on. You see, I believe the Liberals are largely responsible for much of what happened Tuesday, and may God forgive them. My job and the job of all Conservatives now is to keep Liberals out of power as long as humanly possible. Our country is not safe when Liberals are in power. How much more evidence do we need?" Rabbi Yehuda Levin concurred with Falwell and Robertson: "This has come on the heels of an outrageous conference that was attended by almost all members of the civilized world in Durbin. There was violence, anti- semitism, and anti-Americanism shown, and we now see this next step. I wonder if there is some kind of a spiritual connection between these things." Limiting American Freedoms Several groups such as the Family Research Council and the Institute for Justice echoed the Bush Administration's call for tolerance toward Arab-Americans and Muslims. Others expressed their anger toward terrorists with calls for reprisals. And some groups attempted to ward off questions about future actions by criticizing those who raised their voice to dissent. Attacks on Islam and Arabs Right-wing columnist Don Feder: "We must understand the nature of the conflict. A creed that uses God to justify its horrors deserves to be treated like any other criminal enterprise. There is no United Methodist Jihad. Suicide bombers don't quote the Talmud. Unbelievers aren't converted to Mormonism by the sword….What is to be done? Wherever Islam seeks to advance by force, it must be resisted. Wherever Christians, Jews or Hindus are threatened - in Africa, Israel, the Balkans, the Kashmir, East Asia - they must be supported. After almost 1,000 years, the Crusades have resumed. But now it's the West that's besieged." Columnist Mona Charen: "…It would be foolish to permit 'sensitivity' or a exaggerated worry about giving offense to inhibit authorities from tracking suspected terrorists. Let's not pretend that "ethnic profiling" is out of the question. It is absolutely necessary… "While we cannot and must not fight a religious war against Islam, we do have to take seriously the ideology of Islamism. Only a population thoroughly indoctrinated with hate could yield suicide bombers with the ferocity of those we have recently suffered."
In fact, Coulter's statement was so outrageous that the right-wing National Review fired her. Attacks on Dissent And a special scorn was reserved for those who dared raise any dissent or question a policy. Columnist Andrew Sullivan: "The middle part of the country - the great red zone that voted for Bush - is clearly ready for war. The decadent Left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead - and may well mount what amounts to a fifth column." National Review Online started a "Kumbaya Watch" to ridicule those who refused to rush headlong into war. The almost daily column, which has criticized both individuals and entire publications, calls its Watch the "latest in anti-American commentary from the Left." The Heritage Foundation sent out an e-mail fundraising appeal that blasted both media outlets and educators who have said "bizarre" and "shocking" things in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Among the targets are: CNN, for requiring that those suspected of the attacks be referred to as "alleged" or "accused," local school officials who have restricted placement of "God Bless America" signs, and a variety of academics who were critical of U.S. foreign policy. The letter equates those who hold contrary views with "those who want to destroy our liberty and freedom." Controlling the Political Debate Efforts to focus on recovering from the September attacks and to prepare the country for war didn't stop several groups who urged their fellow activists to use the opportunity that presented itself. Many groups saw the new-found bipartisanship on Capitol Hill as an opportunity to stop legislation they opposed. At the same time, others saw the unified Congress as an opening to push through a right wing agenda that a majority of Americans would have opposed. The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, a publication widely read by right-wing activists, expressed for many the opportunity that some now see. Calling for quick presidential action on a range of items including defense spending, drilling for oil in Alaska, and quick confirmation of nominees, including judicial nominees, the paper said: "In the wake of last week's terror attacks, most Americans are putting their trust in President Bush and want him to succeed. This gives him an historic opportunity to assert his leadership, not just on security and foreign policy but across the board." For many, last month's horrible events provided a justification for their ongoing efforts to promote their agenda. In fact, many seemed to feel that if we had only listened earlier, the attacks could have been prevented. Missile Defense The Heritage Foundation released a backgrounder offering a defense agenda for the 21st Century. The first item on the agenda: "Accelerating development and deployment of ballistic missile defenses." Christian Josi of the American Conservative Union echoed those feelings saying, "For logical people, the attacks will serve as a wake-up call on the missile defense issue." Anti-Gun Control Commentator Duncan Maxwell Anderson: "No police force or army can protect people who have emasculated themselves of all weapons. Order cannot survive where men in particular have given up the idea that it is right and good that they be equipped to stand up for themselves and protect the innocent." On the other hand, Pat Robertson's CBN News alerted activists to progressive legislation: "Despite calls for unity and bipartisanship by most members of Congress, there is a growing concern in some corners of Capitol Hill that some liberal lobby groups are still pushing their agenda. And conservatives, concerned with maintaining a posture of national unity, seem unwilling to object." CBN quoted an unnamed Congress staffer who says, "But some members and interest groups are taking advantage of the situation and the focus of Congress and most Americans on the tragedy to push legislation that would never pass under normal circumstances." ENDA Efforts to reintroduce the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) giving gays and lesbians protection against employment discrimination were met by an outcry from the Right that seemed to question the patriotism of those who supported the legislation. Bob Knight of Concerned Women for America: "While the nation mourns and prepares for war, homosexual activists and their allies are trying to capitalize by jamming through their agenda. Hate Crimes Efforts to pas federal hate crimes legislation that included gays and lesbians were also denounced: "Senator Kennedy is trying to move an essentially homosexual agenda on the backs of American Muslims," said Michael Schwartz, vice president of government relations for Concerned Women for America. Protecting Civil Liberties But on the issue of civil liberties and American freedoms, many on the Right added their voice to others across the political spectrum to warn about the danger in some of the calls to sacrifice privacy and some of the liberties we enjoy. The American Conservative Union's David Keene cautioned: "We must be careful lest a few Muslim extremists manage to do what neither Hitler nor Stalin could accomplish by convincing us that we must sacrifice our liberty, privacy and freedom of movement for a greater measure of security. If we do this, we will have lost the struggle just as it is beginning because we will have surrendered the essence of America in the probably vain hope that by so doing we can preserve the trappings of the greatest nation in human history." Paul Weyrich's Free Congress Foundation started gathering petitions to send to the President urging that their efforts "reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty." The Institute for Justice's Clint Bolick said: "It would be easier if government could monitor our conversations and activities, or could stop or segregate those whose skin color or religious beliefs resemble the terrorists.' It is tempting to trade freedom for security. But to do so sacrifices both. For the freedoms we have not only make America a moral exemplar but provide us with the wealth and means to effective combat terrorism." |
