Right wing extremism in the US

With some of you, we've discussed Ann Coulter's book tour in Canada and the way the issue of free speech is dealt with in both countries (hate speech vs free speech). She's an outrageous character in American politics; she has strongly right-wing opinions and voices them in a rather humorous, albeit shocking manner. You can visit her website to read some of her essays and opinion pieces. She's done quite a few appearances on major networks and thus there are many videos with her on YouTube (here's one where she promises to support Clinton (haha) against McCain whom she considers too soft and not conservative enough during the 2008 campaign).

I've just heard an interesting interview with an expert on fringe right-wing movements such as the Patriot groups and their militias. To listen to the programme or download it, visit this NPR page.

What's particularly striking is that these groups have recently become more mainstream via the Tea Party movement which many of the activist have joined. Some of their more outlandish ideas have received sustained coverage from Fox News : last year Glenn Beck looked at their claim that FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has created detention camps in which conservatives would be rounded up after a liberal take over of the governement. He examined this conspiracy theory during three shows before debunking it.

Moreover the paranoid rhetoric of these groups is gaining the Republican Party, as some GOP officials are trying to take advantage of the popular discontent provoked by the federal government's policies (especially the stimulus package and the healthcare reform overhaul passed by Congress). To see examples of this, you can watch this video from a left-wing MSNBC show (especially the last two minutes)

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Finally here's a comparison between the civil rights movement's strategies and those of the anti-tax/Tea Party movement :

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