Sadly, by now we’re all used to it. A white Christian male in his mid 40s, fueled by talk radio and a summer spent wandering aimlessly through a morass of tea parties, fills his SUV with explosives and tragedy ensues. What has led him to this point? Is it his inherent, unavoidable, racism? Could it be that this simpleton’s inability to understand the Republican Party’s wise move to the center has left him so blinded with rage that violence seems to be his only recourse? It’s impossible to say—largely because conservative terrorist attacks have –
Hold on, his name was what? From where? He was in contact with whom?
Like the Christmas Day bomber and Fort Hood shooter before him, Times Square bomber Fasail Shahzad has dragged the left wing’s idiotic vision of terrorism back into the spotlight.
The narrative began on Fox News Sunday, as Director of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, tried desperately to avoid calling the failed bombing an act of terror. No one’s quite sure what other purpose could be served by detonating a truck load of explosives in the middle of world’s busiest intersection, but it seemed Napolitano had something in mind. Whatever it was, she was not ready to call would-be bomber a terrorist.
Later in the day, the first video of the suspect appeared. America was warned to be on the lookout for a nefarious white male. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg went a step further, telling Katie Couric that the suspect was likely “Somebody with a political agenda who doesn’t like the health care bill or something. It could be anything.”
He was right. At that time, it could have been anything. Unfortunately, the first assumption made by liberals (and RINO’s like Bloomberg) is that the attack simply must have been carried out by some deranged tea party conservative.
What a difference a day makes. We’ve now learned that Fasail Shahzad, while a naturalized U.S. citizen, is a Pakistan-born Muslim. While the mainstream media is gleefully repeating his claim that he’s not affiliated with any terrorist organization, the scope of the endeavor continues to grow. He was taught bomb-making during a trip to his home country last year, and Pakistani authorities have made multiple arrests in connection with the case.
All of this reality is sure to cause much consternation over at MSNBC, whose anchor, Contessa Brewer, had been hopeful that things would go the other way.
“I get frustrated,” she said of the failed attack, “There was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country.”
“There are a lot of people who want to use terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry.”
Her concern is ironic, given the fact that MSNBC is the industry leader in “writing off” the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of Americans.
Janet Napolitano must be equally upset, since her leaked 2009 DHS memo was very specific that the real threat would come from pro-lifers, radical constitution zealots, and veterans returning from war. Since then, she’s had to deal with three terrorist incidents and, shockingly, not one has fit her profile. What could be going on? Are conservative terrorists recruiting Islamic extremists in an attempt to throw Uncle Sam off their scent?
Wasn’t the Obama administration going to be the turning point in our relationship with the Muslim world? Aren’t the constant apologies, concessions, and contrite bows supposed to fix all of this? America was told that with its new President would come an era of understanding—a new golden age of cooperation with our “friends” in the Middle-East. Yet here we are, a year older, and witnesses to three homeland terror attacks in the past six months alone.
On the heels of an administration that managed seven years without a single incident, team Obama is looking weaker and more impotent by the day. Perhaps it’s time to for the Democrats to wake up and deal with facts. Terrorists are not following their “right-wing extremist” template and, odds are, they’re not going to. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to take their boot off of BP’s throat, and put it back where it belongs.
Robert Laurie writes a daily political commentary blog, The Robalution. Robert holds a degree in English from Wayne State University, and has worked in advertising as a graphic designer and copy writer.