Blogosphere Debates if Bedell is Right or Left Extremist

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | March 7, 2010 at 09:47 am

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After John Patrick Bedell was killed this week in a shoot-out with police at the Pentagon, it was revealed that the 36 year old engineering student from California had left behind a ranting anti-government Internet manifesto, and conservative commentators were quick to react defensively, as in the Joe Stack incident in Austin, Texas.

Big Journalism's - the conservative watchdog group - headline ran, “Don’t Believe the MSM: John Patrick Bedell, the Pentagon Shooter, was no Right-Winger,” on Friday evening.

“Media Rush to Blame Right-Wing,” ran another from Townhall.com.

Main stream media had highlighted Internet rants and an audio manifesto in which Bedell had harshly criticized the U.S. government. Many felt certain that Bedell’s complaints about “far-reaching violation of property rights” sounded like a reverberation of CPAC or Libertarian ideology.

Yet that Bedell had registered to vote as a Democrat and believed the W Bush Administration had been behind the 9-11 bombings seem to mark him as coming from the Left, a reasonable argument runs.

The fact is, the extreme right and left both harbor mistrust of Bush and Obama, of centralized power in Washington, of far-flung wars and corporate interest. In the Jeffersonian ideal, right and left fringe unite.

In 2009 the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning law enforcement officials that “the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn — including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit — could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities.".

The department also issued a report on the threat of leftwing extremists, for the same reasons, but this has gone largely unnoticed.

Left and right , when at the extremes, will meet and overlap. A radical right manifesto written in the early 1990s criticizing George Bush Senior had so much in common with the Left, that a professor and editor said the two might both use it as their manifesto.

Michelangelo Signorile's "Queer Manifesto" had all the earmarks of a Libertarian Ron Paul litany.

The Obama Birthers and Tea Party Populist groups have features linking them with 1960s civil rights era radicals, according to David Brooks of the New York Times. Anyone who has read Nietzsche can apply him to Left and Right causes, and this is the case also with Foucault and Baudrillard.

Erickson was among those who asserted that it is the left that should be forced to answer for the attacks by Bedell and Stack, the software developer who last month crashed his plane into the Austin offices of the Internal Revenue Service, leaving behind a suicide note raging against the IRS and the Obama bailout of the auto industry.

“First the guy in Austin and now the Pentagon shooter,” Erickson tweeted Friday. “Why are leftwing nuts trying to kill more than babies, their usual target?”

Conservatives highlighted Stack’s criticisms of Congress for failing to reform the healthcare system, and his channeling of Marxism.

Yet, Stephen Spruiell of the conservative National Review predicted “There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind that we are T-minus fifteen seconds from Mr. Joseph Andrew Stack being renamed ‘The Tea-Bag Terrorist!’ or some such by the media and his crime being laid at the feet of the Right.”

The moniker didn’t catch on, though some media outlets and liberal commentators did make the link between Stack’s rhetoric and that of the populist conservative tea party movement.

There was a similar effort on the right to demonstrate that James von Brunn, the white supremacist charged with killing a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in June, had ideological links to the left and, as such, should not be labeled a “right wing extremist.”

Though his white supremacist views fit under the rubric of right-wing extremism, he also despised Bush and neo-conservatives, while his embrace of both the Truther and Birther conspiracy theories put him far into the fringe that Avlon describes as the “fright wing.”

While Avlon stressed that each strain of extremism has its own characteristics, he said the more endemic problem for the right is that overall, “the fringe has been blurring with the base,” while many Republican politicians and conservative leaders have done little to condemn it.

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Hugh Askew

at 10:43 on March 7th, 2010

The department also issued a report on the threat of leftwing extremists, for the same reasons, but this has gone largely unnoticed.

Wow, if that isn't an understatement!

To be Frank, (or Lou for that matter), i don't think it matters any longer which way they lean. However, the folks in the federal gummit best be getting their eyes open to the reality of a populace that is fed up with an out of touch, and generally out of reach, bureaucracy. Seems to be a whole lot of really angry people out there.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 10:46 on March 7th, 2010

Yes, a whole lot are fed up with centralized power, wars in foreign out posts, and a huge mega-structure which overwhelms civil liberties. And yes, they come from the right and the left.

Karen Hatter

at 11:54 on March 7th, 2010

Links to both Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Reports on Left Wing Extremism, dated January 2009 and Right Wing Extremism, dated April 2009, complied during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 12:48 on March 7th, 2010

Thanks so much for those links, Karen!

Karen Hatter

at 13:35 on March 7th, 2010

You are welcome, Susan.

Rory Cripps

at 12:06 on March 7th, 2010

Ahh . . . sister deserves a gold star for this one.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 12:48 on March 7th, 2010

Ha, thanks Bro!

Karen Hatter

at 13:29 on March 7th, 2010

From DHS Left Wing Extremist report:

Key Findings

(U//FOUO) DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) judges that a number of emerging trends point to leftwing extremists maturing and expanding their cyber attack capabilities over the next decade with the aim of attacking targets in the United States.

(U//FOUO) The potential for economic damage, the individually-initiated and anonymous nature of cyber attacks, and the perception that cyber attacks are nonviolent align well with the ideological beliefs, strategic objectives, and tactics of many leftwing extremists.

(U//FOUO) The increasing reliance of commercial businesses and other enterprises on cyber technologies, including interconnected networks and remote access, creates new and expanding vulnerabilities that technically-savvy leftwing extremists will exploit.

U/FOUO) The proliferation of cyber technologies and expertise as well as the public availability of online hacking tools and “hackers-for-hire” offer leftwing extremists incentives to adopt a cyber attack strategy.

From DHS Right Wing Report:

Key Findings
(U//LES) The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific
information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence,
but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about
several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first
African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and
Recruitment
.
— (U//LES) Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups
during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry
out violent acts. Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic
downturn—including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability
to obtain credit—could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing
extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and
government authorities similar to those in the past.

— (U//LES) Rightwing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first
African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new
members, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden their scope and appeal
through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning.

(U//FOUO) The current economic and political climate has some similarities to the
1990s when rightwing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an
economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to
U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers.

— (U//FOUO) During the 1990s, these issues contributed to the growth in the
number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in
violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks,
and infrastructure sectors.

— (U//FOUO) Growth of these groups subsided in reaction to increased
government scrutiny as a result of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and
disrupted plots, improvements in the economy, and the continued U.S. standing
as the preeminent world power
.
(U//FOUO) The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of
military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities
could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists
capable of carrying out violent attacks.

* (U) Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and
adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups),
and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

— (U//FOUO) Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans
likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups,
as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for
violence against the government. The high volume of purchases and
stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists in anticipation
of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary
concern to law enforcement.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 13:50 on March 7th, 2010

Yes. I can see they point out the first African American President as something to capitalize on. And stockpiling of weapons, now that can only spell trouble at some future juncture......: ( thanks for all of this, Karen.

Karen Hatter

at 14:00 on March 7th, 2010

Susan, you are most welcome.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 14:29 on March 7th, 2010

But.......I do not think Karen could possibly believe Obama is infallible. But if you only knew the power he had, to make all seem hopeful and possible again......A certain loyalty is called for. To me, he embodied the Fourth Turning. I still want to cry when I see his face. I am still waiting for good things. Yes, i understand your frustration. I understand, as I used to nearly scream at feminism's emphasis on gender, gender, gender. Race, is a bit different. Race, as Nietzsche said, is biologically and empirically real, and transcendentally ideal. I respected Jeremiah Wright. I know I will be hated for it, but his temper reminded me of my own rage, and he was born and raised in a very different and yes, RACIST America. You cannot deny it. My uncles in Ohio still , still go on about "niggers" ! My cousin Rick -- born in 1970 - still goes on about Obama being a nigger. I have the most disgusting phone calls from Ohio (we are fighting over a property)---to me, race is very real; racism is still very real. Cousin Rick is a cop down in Atlanta now. He arrests those whom he calls these names. Not all are from San Francisco. My brother in law , head of Homicide and Major Crimes in Hunterdon County, is a blatant racist. They are also Tea Partiers.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 14:40 on March 7th, 2010

I have a headache .........but yairs. I see......

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 15:18 on March 7th, 2010

Roy: I think it is best if we do not bring the racism issue regarding Obama on to this post, as 1. It is hearkening back to some other conversation you had with Karen, which does not apply here and 2. Although I do understand that there can be criticism of Obama which is in no way racist - just as there can be criticism of me which is in no way anti-feminist - it does not follow as the day the night, that Karen's defense of him - and indeed, she does not defend him here - smacks of racism. I would say that if she is listing certain facts which you disagree with, simply list counter facts. An ad hominem attack is taking it to a place where it is best not to go. I would say that Karen may refrain from replying , while not being racist. "Can't we all just get along? " : ( Please? I have a major headache..........

Albert Milliron

at 15:52 on March 7th, 2010

Thanks Susan. I pointed that folks ran to call this guy a right-wing teabagger right off the bat. I just wanted to point out that everything doesn't fit comfortably in a box. I noticed after there was mounting evidence that the guy had left ties... the MSM then said... well he is mentally ill.

Most people who shoot at people are mentally unstable but if one saw his video on youtube about internet marketing, you would think he was put together well. He was intelligent. From my reading this week intelligent people tend to be left leaning LOL.

It really is of little importance now what side of the political spectrum Bedell was on. It was just an opportunity to point out that all gunman are not right-wing nuts.

Interesting enough Glenn Beck has pointed out what you wrote. There are common threads because politics are not so much left and right as 3 dimensional. Left and right makes it easy but politics is much more difficult then that. I find agreement with many issues considered left especially when civil rights comes in to the discussion. Folks would really be surprised if we all sat down and outlined our viewpoints.

Thanks for writing this article, I see it has brought about some intense discussion.

Susan Marie Kovalinsky

at 07:22 on March 8th, 2010

Thank you in turn, Al!!!

nanute

at 05:28 on March 8th, 2010

One could make a weak argument that this individual is a left leaning extremist. As each new revelation is revealed, it looks more like a right leaning/ libertarian bent:

The California man who opened fire last night outside the Pentagon was a property rights extremist who railed against the government’s ability to “confiscate the resources of their citizens to fund schemes that need only be justified by lies and deception,” and wanted to “eliminate the role of the government in education.”

In a recorded manifesto called “Directions To Freedom”, the audio of which he posted online in 2006, John Patrick Bedell, of Hollister, California, praised private property as “the most successful basis for structuring society that humanity has ever known.”

Bedell shot two police officers last night during the rampage, before being mortally wounded himself.

“Communist and socialist governments that abolished or disregarded private property,” said Bedell in the recording, “created poverty, repression and murder on a truly enormous scale.” But, he continued, “Even in the United States, however, there has been a continual erosion of protection of private property justified by the belief that government is an efficient instrument for the positive direction of society.”

Bedell added: “Governments lack the profit and loss incentives that individuals and private organizations must use…”

And he warned: “When governments are able to confiscate the resources of their citizens to fund schemes that need only be justified by lies and deception enormous disasters can result.”

Bedell also denounced the monetary system, a frequent bete noir of anti-government extremists. “When the government can control how private property is used,” he said, “and especially when the government controls the monetary system that is use to exchange private property, the government has the mechanisms and the motivation to control individuals to the smallest detail.”

Bedell even railed against the concept of public education. “Government control of the schools that shape minds is pervasive in today’s world,” he said. “The imperative to defend the freedom of conscience must lead us to eliminate the role of the government in education and leave parents and communities free to raise their children as they see fit.” He denounced public education as “no more legitimate than a government-run church for universal religious training.”