Like all good terrorists know, operating out in the open is a terrible idea. It’s hard to recruit more cannon fodder if you have a well-earned reputation as a violent lunatic.
The so-called “Oath Keepers” have finally figured out that announcing that they’re getting ready to overthrow the government is counter-productive, so they’re taking their freak show underground.
The
Oath Keepers are tired of being marginalized as “militia members” — so the
pro-gun militia group is planning to carry their anti-government message into
local government institutions to conscript unsuspecting neighbors into their
yearned-for revolution.
The group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, outlined the plan Aug. 29 at the group’s “Appalachian summit” in Gilbert, West Virginia, but the speech was recently posted online by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.
The three-day event
attracted members of the Oath Keepers and Three Percent militia groups, as well as Tea
Party and other conservative or right-wing activists.
EDITOR'S NOTE: State Rep. Blake Filippi has represented the Oath Keepers and has spoken at their rallies often. State Rep. Justin Price has publicly expressed his support for the "Three Percenter" movement that believes it will only take three percent of the populace to mount a violent overthrow of the government. I'm not making this up. - W. Collette
Nothing to see here, move along. And they’re quite
serious about their revolution, too. No one puts this much thought and effort
into just role-playing as weekend warriors. As Raw Story explains:
Rhodes urged them to join volunteer fire departments, search and rescue teams, ambulance crews, police auxiliary and reserve officer groups — which he said had essentially replaced militias in community life.He said these volunteers are “perceived as a good guy” by their neighbors, who might not be receptive to invitations to join a militia, and go “shopping for talent” to identify potential members of neighborhood watch groups that are armed vigilante groups.“(Militia) has been turned into the M-word,” Rhodes complained. “It’s a dirty word now — just like the N-word.”
These
are the growing pains of a nascent terrorist organization. They’re becoming
more sophisticated in their recruitment methods and refining their message to
appeal to the kind of people that will happily build bombs or shoot up
“liberal” targets down the road.
If
you think I’m being hyperbolic and hysterical, let me explain something to you
and please listen very carefully: The current American right wing is dying as a
political force. The entire movement is based on racism and religious
extremism.
America is rapidly becoming less religious and less white. That
means either the Republican Party will wither on the vine, or it will reject
the politics of hate and open their doors to all of the people the current base
absolutely despises.
Either
way, the angry white “Christian” demographic that feels entitled to total
control of the country because their angry white god says so will be rendered
socially, economically and politically impotent. There is literally no chance
they will accept this new reality peacefully.
The “Oath Keepers” are not really
afraid that President Obama is suddenly going to order the army to “take over”
America, they’re rightfully afraid of losing their stranglehold on the country.
Even with all the gerrymandering, voter suppression and propaganda poisoning
our elections, those people will win in the end and that will be
the end of all the institutional racism that keeps minorities from competing on
an even playing field.
The
only option left will be terrorism. Oh sure, they’ll call themselves “The New
American Revolution” and pretend they’re fighting “tyranny,” but they’ll have
no problem blowing up schools and federal buildings like cowards and
assassinating people who speak out against them. We are a handful of lost
elections away from a violent upheaval in America.
The extreme right wing is
preparing to terrorize the country when they lose the ability to win on the
national level. Don’t take my word for it, listen to the birthing cries of
organized domestic terrorism:
Yes,
right now, conservatives are kicking ass on the state and local levels but how
long do you think that will last when the Supreme Court and judicial branch in
general is filled with center-left justices that strike down gerrymandered
districts and anti-gay laws? Remember, it’s only “judicial tyranny” when the
courts refuse to support Christian theocracy.
Take
these people seriously, because they’re getting ready for a war they can’t
possibly win and that will make them even more violent and deranged.
Author Justin Rosario is a stay at home father and liberal
blogger that enjoys exposing conservative lies, hate and greed. Follow him on
twitter @FilthyLbrlScum