[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5045-H5046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, recently at a town hall meeting, Dottie 
from Andrews, Texas, and I won't give her last name, came to me and 
said that she did not attend a TEA party in the area because she was 
afraid that the Department of Homeland Security would have agents there 
taking down names and taking pictures.
  Well, Madam Speaker, I rise today to reassure my constituent Dottie 
from Andrews that while Secretary Napolitano may be guilty of bad 
judgment bordering on negligence, she does not really consider her to 
be a domestic terrorist, nor do I believe the Secretary has unleashed 
the multitude of resources, assets, tools, and weapons of the 
Department of Homeland Security against her or me.
  Dottie, like many individuals across my district and throughout the 
Nation, was at first surprised and then angered to learn that the 
Department of Homeland Security's new definition of a right-wing 
terrorist sounded a lot like her. To quote the recently released 
Homeland Security memo: ``Many right-wing extremists are antagonistic 
toward the new Presidential administration and its perceived stance on 
a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion 
of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms 
ownership and use.''
  In a ham-handed fashion, the memo further defines the Department's 
view of right-wing extremists to include the great many Americans who 
believe that gun owners have constitutional rights protected by the 
second amendment, that our national values are not something to be 
bartered with for international agreements, that the immigration policy 
in our Nation is a failure, and that we are mortgaging the future to 
fund today's spending spree that we can never repay.
  It then goes on to single out returning war veterans as individuals 
who warrant special government attention because they are especially 
susceptible to these extreme views.
  If these are the positions of extremists, Madam Speaker, then I am an 
extremist. I am extreme in my belief that our Constitution protects 
law-abiding citizens from being treated like criminals. I am extreme in 
my belief that our Nation's sovereignty and values are not up for 
negotiation or debate with international thugs and 21st-century 
socialists. I am extreme in my belief that the Federal Government is 
failing the American people every day that we don't control our 
borders. I am extreme in my belief that we are running unsustainable 
deficits and selling future generations of Americans into indentured 
servitude in order to score political points today. And I am extreme in 
my belief that our veterans deserve our humble gratitude and prayers, 
not police scrutiny.
  Secretary Napolitano's crass misunderstanding of the concerns of 
conservative Americans is not only embarrassing, but it detracts from 
her Department's ability to protect America. Her report is riddled with 
anecdotal evidence and pointlessly broad generalizations. It is a 
``well, duh'' listing of long-established facts about racist 
organizations, anti-government militias, and other fringe radicals.
  Any memo that relates the members of these fringe organizations with 
individuals who hold conservative political beliefs will serve only to 
confuse law enforcement personnel and alarm the public. Where there are 
public safety concerns, these should be communicated in a precise and 
meaningful manner; otherwise, the administration should stop 
antagonizing and profiling its innocent citizens.
  In its rush to placate The New York Times editorial board and 
MoveOn.org,

[[Page H5046]]

the Obama administration is continuing to show itself to be tone deaf 
on the issues that matter most to Americans and illiterate in basic 
conservative principles. The administration's actions are rightly a 
cause for concern for me and my constituents. While the Democrats have 
earned the right to pursue their agenda, no American citizen lost their 
right to question that agenda.
  I should not be here on the floor today making reassurances to the 
people in my district, but the language of this administration has 
consistently been dismissive of principled opposition to its policies 
and now it appears as though it is openly hostile to it.
  In the future I urge the administration to pick its words more 
carefully and remember that it governs all of America, not simply those 
who agree with it. I urge Secretary Napolitano to issue an official 
clarification of the administration's position on right-wing extremism 
and to publish a memo that addresses her concerns about the rise of 
hate groups and anti-government militias in a manner that will both be 
of service to law enforcement and refrains from painting half of 
America as extremists.
  While I firmly believe that this memo represents nothing more than a 
colossal screw-up on the part of our President and the Secretary, my 
final reassurance to Dottie is that if I am wrong and the government 
ever decides to come after her for her views, then they're going to 
have to come after me also.

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