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Fox has been fanning the flames of fear lately that dangerous criminal immigrants have been let loose by the Obama administration as a response to pending sequester spending cuts. But the propaganda took a new turn for the worse as Fox & Friends presented anti-immigrant extremist Lou Barletta (R-PA) as an unquestioned authority to discuss what is in reality ICE's supervised release of some undocumented immigrants. As he made the McCarthy-esque warning that he had "been told" dangerous criminals were now on the loose, he also accused the Obama administration of preferring to endanger Americans rather than to lay off any federal employees.

It started with Steve Doocy making the unsubstantiated announcement in his introduction, “Hundreds of illegal immigrants charged with big crimes freed from jail.”

After playing a clip of Jay Carney saying the decision to release the detainees was made by “career officials at ICE without any input from the White House,” Gretchen Carlson asked, “So are we to believe the White House now?” For the answer, she brought on Barletta who, she said, “I know is skeptical.” She forgot to tell her viewers that Barletta, was described by Right Wing Watch as a “one-issue firebrand,” a “hero to anti-immigrant and nativist groups,” and one of the Ten Scariest Republicans Heading To Congress in 2010.

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An article in yesterday’s Washington Post, called “Sweeping new gun laws proposed by influential liberal think tank” (Center For American Progress) had the Fox Friends in an absolute tizzy of concern trolling this morning even though, as Chris Wallace later explained, there’s not much President Obama can do without Congress.

The article says CAP has “singular influence” in the Obama administration and is “pushing for a sweeping agenda of strict new restrictions on and federal oversight of gun and ammunition sales” including some “executive actions that would not require the approval of Congress — in what amounts to the progressive community’s wish list.” However, a closer read reveals that the “sweeping agenda” is really a bunch of moderate proposals and that the ones Obama can implement are even more so:

CAP’s proposals — which include requiring universal background checks, banning military-grade assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and modernizing data systems to track gun sales and enforce existing laws — are all but certain to face stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association and its many allies in Congress.

…There’s nothing here that interferes with the rights of people to have a gun to protect themselves,” CAP President Neera Tanden said.

…CAP’s top recommendation is to require criminal background checks for all gun sales, closing loopholes that currently enable an estimated 40 percent of sales to occur without any questions asked. The organization also wants to add convicted stalkers and suspected terrorists to the list of those barred from purchasing firearms.

Apparently, those are fightin’ words to Fox News. In every one of the four hours of Fox & Friends this morning, they complained about CAP's potential influence in the process.

For example, Alisyn Camerota began hour three with the following:

They said no the NRA reportedly, but the administration is getting ready to unveil sweeping new gun proposals and there’s word this morning that they may be taking some of their talking points from a group with a left-wing agenda.

As if Fox would have cared a fig had any White House taken their “talking points” from a group with a right-wing agenda.

A few minutes later, Tucker Carlson said,

So the topic this morning, who is really influencing the White House’s gun control legislation? Well, it could be the NRA, which is one of the largest grassroots organizations in America (co-host Mike Jerrick nodded in agreement), but no, it’s a left-wing think tank funded by George Soros in Washington. The Center for American Progress, according to the Washington Post this morning, has given a list of 13 or so gun control ideas to the White House – which they may act on by executive order.

As the three co-hosts whined the White House will probably listen more to CAP than the NRA, Carlson said that what “bothers people here is the elitism inherent in this conversation, that people with lots of money or positions of power ought to have their own bodyguards and ought to be subject to not the same laws as the rest of us… There is a feeling that average people kind of get the shaft. They’re being told, ‘No, you can’t defend yourself.’”

Yeah, just pay no attention to the boatloads of cash from the gun industry that the “grassroots” NRA uses to outspend the “elites” 25 to 1.

Later, Camerota broached the subject again, this time with Chris Wallace who ran down Joe Biden’s likely proposals on gun violence. Camerota said, “One of the things that they (CAP) are calling for is some executive action. If the president can’t get Congressional consensus, that he just unilaterally make some of these moves. Politically, is that wise or unwise in this climate today?"

Wallace said:

Let me just make it clear, Aly, most of the things that I’ve talked about, he couldn’t do by executive action. He could do some things very much on the margin: better information sharing. The states for instance have a lot of information on mental health and criminal records and that doesn’t get into the national database. He could do some things to try to improve that. Or improve enforcement…

In terms of banning assault weapons or universal background checks, he couldn’t do that by executive action. So, what he can do just by himself, is only on the margins.

The New York Times reported similar possibilities earlier last week – which Fox & Friends somehow missed in an earlier round of inflammatory “wondering” about what President Obama might do a few days ago. But just as I didn’t expect those facts to replace paranoid speculation on Fox, there’s no reason to expect that Wallace’s will either.

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The fear-mongering surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has officially gone Godwin, people. Because mandating that everyone purchase private health insurance is *exactly* like the German secret police who would round up people deemed unsympathetic to the Nazi government and torture and/or kill them, amirite?

After expressing this breathtaking bit of beyond reprehensible bit of garbage, reporter Paul Heintz of 7Days checked to make sure that the tea party-backed politician had even a semblance of historical knowledge:

“Do you have a sense of what the Gestapo did during World War II?” Heintz asked.

“Yeah,” LePage said. “They killed a lot of people.”

“And the IRS is headed in that direction?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re headed in the direction of killing a lot of people?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m very serious,” LePage said, later adding: “I’m saying the federal government is taking away the freedom of Americans to make choices.”

Okay, I didn't think this needed to be made explicit, Governor, but clearly some people have problems with analogies. The IRS is not going to kill anyone (although I think you ought to expect a very ugly audit in the near future), nor are they taking any freedoms away. You can choose not to purchase health insurance. But the cost to do so is the same "freeloader" penalty that you Republicans cheered when it was introduced by the Heritage Foundation twenty years ago.

To insinuate that there is any kind of apt comparison to be made is an insult not only to critical thinking Americans and IRS agents just trying to do their job, but to the memory of real victims of the actual Gestapo.

LePage's brain apparently caught up with his mouth a little later, and he attempted to walk back his words:

Seeking to douse a fire he started by comparing the IRS to the Gestapo, Maine Gov. Paul LePage issued a formal apology on Friday for his "insensitivity to the word" after a face-to-face meeting with representatives of several Jewish groups that had complained.

LePage hoped his apology in his weekly radio address would bring an end to the weeklong furor that started when he described the Internal Revenue Service as the "new Gestapo" while criticizing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

LePage said it was "never my intent to insult or to be hurtful to anyone, but rather express what can happen by overreaching government."

"The acts of the Holocaust were nothing short of horrific. Millions of innocent people were murdered, and I apologize for my insensitivity to the word and the offense some took to my comparison of the IRS and the Gestapo," the governor said.

Ugh. Why is it so difficult to find Democrats not eager to bow to the craven fear-mongering of Republican rivals? TPM:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has now spoken out on the Muslim community center in New York -- saying that while the organizers are free to construct the project, it should be moved somewhere else.

"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built some place else," said a statement from Reid spokesman Jim Manley. "If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 911, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation."

Fer cryin' out loud. Reid is running scared because of rival Sharron Angle's taunts that Reid is Obama's waterboy by the lizard brains who want to equate all Muslims with terrorism and 9/11.

"As the Majority Leader, Harry Reid is usually President Obama's mouthpiece in the U.S. Senate, and yet he remains silent on this issue. Reid has a responsibility to stand up and say no to the mosque at Ground Zero or once again side with President Obama---this time against the families of 9/11 victims. America is waiting."

And of course, he caves. Saying that they have a First Amendment right to build it isn't that revolutionary a stance to take. One would hope that the Majority Leader of the Senate has at least a cursory understanding of the Constitution (which is, by the way, more than we can say for Angle). But to say that they should move it is to play into the irrational hatred and bigotry of the lowest common denominator and something for which Reid should be wholly ashamed. Greg Sargent:

Despite Reid's reaffirmation of this right, his response is still weak and indefensible. And it leaves the President hanging after he took a big risk to do the right thing. Obama did not explicitly endorse the decision to build the center. But Obama did say that if the group does proceed with that decision, we must respect that decision, in accordance with American values.

Reid is not willing to say that. Rather, he's saying, in effect, that even if he supports the group's right to build the center, he's not willing to respect the decision to do so. That's unacceptable, and leaves Obama isolated at a very sensitive moment.

What's more, it's unclear why coming out against the plan in the manner Reid did is even good politics for Democrats at this point. Reid basically threw the whole Dem caucus under the bus: With the Senate leader at odds with the president, the media will press every Senate Dem to declare which side they're on.

Dumb, Harry. On every level. Even Republican advisers like Mark McKinnon think that pursuing this is a loser for Republicans. Why do you need to be a loser too?

Want to tell Harry that he needs to smarten up? Contact him here.

UPDATE: Haaretz is claiming that the Cordoba House has decided to move, something Cordoba House representatives are denying.

I hope you caught Max Blumenthal on the IFC channel last week. He did a great piece on the Tea Party movement which he follows up close and personal.

My thirty minute documentary on the Tea Party and right-wing fear-mongering airs tonight at 8PM ET on the Independent Film Channel.

The Denver Post admires the series and praises the research Max has done on his 30 minutes episode called "Fear."

He knows some of the topics we covered all too well and wrote an amazing blurb about our new book:

“If you want to understand the forces behind the extreme demonization of President Obama and the assault on progressive America, look no further than Over the Cliff. With witty analysis and thorough investigative reporting, Amato and Neiwert provide a definitive chronicle of the far-right’s rapid movement from paranoia to outright violence. —Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party

That was very kind of Max. Yes, I'll be posting about the book since it's my first one. I'm tremendously excited about it and I was very fortunate to be working with David on this project.

Don't forget, you can grab a copy here.

OTC is the #13 ranked book in Politics on Amazon right now and you know how competitive I am. You can also buy it from all the major online retailers and Over the Cliff is now available as an ePUB and mobi-Kindlen on PoliPoint.com.

And we have all the end notes listed on our Over The Cliff website which is a great resource guide in of itself. Check out the notes on Chapter 3: Reaping the Whirlwind, as an example.

WarGames, 1983

It's such a simple notion: the only way to win a global thermonuclear war is to choose not to play. Even the wingnut-revered St. Ronnie of Reagan believed that. And after eight years of fear-mongering over mushroom clouds by various players, let us celebrate having the sanity of grown ups in charge again, realizing that the only way to win is not to play. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be pulling triple duty on the bobblehead shows to discuss their recent negotiations with the Russians to reduce nuclear arms. Also, because Roger Ailes clearly believes you can't have too much crazy in a single show, McCain BFF "Holy Joe" Liebermann and Palin coattail-rider Michele Bachmann will be on Fox News Sunday. In fact, it appears that aside from Gates and Clinton, all eyes are on Republicans this week, with the discussion centering around the Republican Governors' Association on State of the Union and drama queens Jeff Sessions and Jon Kyl, on Meet the Press and This Week, respectively. Sadly, it doesn't appear that the bobblehead show producers will ever learn any lesson.

ABC's "This Week" - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Clinton; Gates.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Clinton; Gates; Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Dan Rather, Katty Kay, Helene Cooper, David Ignatius. Topics: Fight For The Court: How Left Will Obama Go & Will Republicans Filibuster? New World Order: Will Obama Be A Transformational Figure Abroad As Well?

CNN's "State of the Union" - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, chairman, Republican Governors Association.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Is the leader of Afghanistan on drugs? Peter Galbraith, one of America's most distinguished diplomats over the years, draws some striking conclusions on America's mission in Afghanistan. Plus, the Editor of Time Magazine, a Pulitzer prize-winning historian, Reuters' global editor-at-large, and the newest and youngest columnist for the New York Times debate the future of Western conservatism -- are tea parties only the beginning?

"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

The hateful acts that occurred at the tea party rally in Washington this weekend were not isolated incidents -- they are part of a growing pattern of violent rhetoric, racially charged imagery, and paranoid conspiracy theories emerging from the Republican party's grassroots supporters.

Republicans officials have contributed to this atmosphere with fear-mongering and coded racism, and they have actively courted this element of their party. It's time that Republican leadership is forced to address what it's helped to create.

Please join us in confronting Republican leaders and demanding that they take responsibility for tamping down the bigotry and hate among their supporters, and that they disavow the fear-mongering that leads to it. And please ask your friends and family to do the same -- unless we take a strong stand against this kind of hate, it will continue. We need as many people as possible -- of every race -- demanding that it stop.

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Damn straight. While Jim DeMint is lauding the disgusting, bigoted teabaggers getting their hate on:

Republican Senator Jim DeMint tweeted that he was "grateful for the thousands of patriots who are storming the Capitol today protesting government healthcare and defending freedom." The tweet came at around the same time the racist and homophobic comments above were reported.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH17) went on the House floor and soundly denounced the teabaggers and their full bigoted, homophobic, hate-filled display on Saturday.

Now I think it's time for all those congresspeople feeding into this frenzy to step in and denounce hate. Bachmann? Tancredo? Demint? Boehner? Pence? Foxx? King? Come forward now, and denounce the scary result of your fear-mongering.

World Net Daily's latest cover (h/t FreakOutNation)

To paraphrase my buddy Steve Benen, it's illuminating to hear what Republicans say when they don't think anyone's listening:

Ben Smith had this major scoop yesterday:

The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on "fear" of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how "ego-driven" wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and "tchochkes."[..]

The party's fundraising presentation suggests the Republican National Committee thinks its own supporters are idiots. All the party has to do is exploit contributors' "fears," and expect the checks to come rolling in.

And to stoke those fears, the RNC's message to these dupes includes telling them that contributions to Republicans will help "save the country from trending toward socialism!" One slide in the presentation refers to U.S. leaders as "the Evil Empire," with a picture of the president as the Joker from Batman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Cruella DeVille, and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid as Scooby Doo.

How did such a document reach the media? It wasn't leaked: "The 72-page document was provided to POLITICO by a Democrat, who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the $2,500-a-head retreat, the Gasparilla Inn & Club."

Oops.

Oops, indeed. Maybe the RNC leadership is about as smart as the donors they sneer at.

While I don't relish the ugliness that is sure to come--and the inevitable lies and distortions--I see this as the last desperate grasps of a party that sees a whole lot more hurt in front of them come Election Day than the media will ever acknowledge.

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John Brennan, who isn't beloved by the left has actually been speaking up for the administration quite forcefully against the Republican bedwetter attacks on the way Obama is handling our national security. For conservatives, that's a little too much for them to handle.

mcjoan writes about the always pathetic Kit Bond, who is now calling for Brennan to be fired because they aren't used to being called terrorist enablers.

Republicans are back to their usual election year trick of fear-mongering, attacking--of all people--John Brennan, the former Bush director of the National Counterterrorism Center and current counter-terror chief. Kit Bond has called for him to step down, primary because Brennan has been taken the lead in fighting against Republicans attempts to protray Obama as weak on national security. The White House is on the offense...read on

Chris Wallace then dutifully did his part as a GOP shill to help embrace conservative criticisms of the president by feigning outrage over what Brennan had to say to his pals yesterday on Fox's Happening Now with Jane Skinner:

Wallace: Well, I don’t know if there’s a precedent or not, but it really is more a matter of the kinds of things Brennan has said. He went on one of the Sunday talk shows – not Fox News Sunday – last week, and really went after the Republicans. And then he had an article in USA Today on Tuesday, in which – and I don’t have it in front of me – he basically said, and this is pretty close to a quote, that the politically motivated criticism of opponents served the purposes of Al Qaeda.

That gets awfully, ah – and the Republicans certainly were offended, and I think there’s a question as to whether or not that really crosses a line, the idea – I mean, you can agree or disagree on the way that Abdulmutallab was handled, or the decision to try the co-conspirators, the alleged co-conspirators in 9/11 in downtown New York, but for the top counterterrorism advisor for the president in the White House to be saying that criticism of those policies serves the purposes of Al Qaeda, ah, it kind of crosses a line.

And you know, we’ve seen this crossed before. We saw the Bush administration do it after 9/11. But to somehow equate political criticism, or policy criticism, with lack of patriotism really doesn’t do much to help the debate.

Wallace does admit that Republicans used this tactic immediately after 9/11, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, it's totally unacceptable for him.

George Bush and Darth Cheney attacked our patriotism because they wanted to invade a country that didn't attack us and lied in the process of selling the Iraq war to the American people. Then they made sure that anyone who disagreed with them was labeled either a traitor, anti-American or simply soft on terrorism.

It's kind of funny watching their heads spin in shock like Linda Blair after being played by Brennan, who played by their own rules to do so.

And as usual, Fox News gets involved in an all-out smear campaign against Brennan.