The abortion bomber at the '96 olympics missed me by only 24 hours. Can anyone deny that there ARE dangerous right-wing extremists in the US? That doesn't reflect on responsible anti-abortion conservatives any more than the existence of the Simbianese Liberation Army should stain my reputation or that of any other thoughtful Democrat.
Violent groups and individuals like the Klan, neo-Nazis, doctor-shooting abortion extremists, the Oklahoma City bombers, etc. are out there. That's just fact. Our government should, within the strictures of the Bill of Rights, be on the watch out for them -- and left-wing extremists, of whom there are also examples.... That does not mean our government should be monitoring you or me -- unless there is enough evidence to convince a judge to issue a warrant.
A well-known conservative commentator (near and dear to me) has taken great umbrage that our Homeland Security department has published a ten-page report on the potential dangers posed by right-wing extremist groups.
I personally am glad that HS is not overlooking the Oklahoma-City-Right-Wing-Bomber-types and Olympic-Right-Wing-Bomber-types while they concentrate on protecting us from the Middle-Eastern-Right-Wing-bomber-types. If you don't mind, I'd even like to be protected from Left-Wing-Bomber-types and those Wild-Eyed-Moderate-Bomber-types.
But yes, dear conservatives, complain. Those sqeaky wheels help to keep the whole constitutional system oiled. Just don't fuss at the noise the ACLU and I make when a Republican President is at the throttle and decides to spy on Americans without warrants.
We should be eternally vigilant to protect everyone's civil rights.
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