A Neoconservative Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Congress must act now to pass a Neoconservative Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Such legislation should give federal authorities increased capabilities to engage in hate crimes investigations against those motivated by left-wing hatred who intend to cause injury or death to neoconservatives. Such legislation should give the FBI power to gather data on progressive-leftists who excoriate neoconservative activists, writers, and organizations. Additional provisions could include federal grants to local agencies to investigate groups fomenting hate crimes against neoconservatives. Additionally, such legislation should include a concealed-carry provision allowing neoconservatives to carry handguns for self-protection; and the legislation should allow for the interstate transfer of weapons from one state to another in accordance with concealed carry laws. Recent proposed amendments to the Matthew Shepard Act may serve as a model.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Such legislation is now necessitated by evidence from yesterday's tragic Holocaust Memorial shooting that William Kristol's Weekly Standard may have been a target of suspected killer James von Brunn.

As Ben Smith reports, FBI agents visited the office of the Weekly Standard after finding the magazine's address during the investigation. According to Smith, "Von Brunn attacked "JEWS-NEOCONS-BILL O’REILLY," and the suggestion that neoconservatism is a specifically Jewish conspiracy is common on the racist fringe."

Yes, it is common, and the leftist media is inflaming the anti-Semitic, anti-neocon anger. As Robert Stacy McCain reports, neocon-hating is now the norm among many mainstream pundits. And we've long seen members of the radical netroots commentariat advocating violent suppression of neoconservative views. The netroots hordes are now on the verge of taking things to their logical conclusion. At this Daily Kos thread, "Bush Bites" suggests Democrats should "squash" the neocons: "We have the government on our side right now, and it can squash these pear-shaped losers like bugs if they start any trouble."

This is clearly media-generated extremist incitement. As R.S. McCain notes, Joan Walsh's recent commentary is inflammatory (Newsbusters has more); indeed, Walsh's extreme excoriation of neocons can be seen as part of the larger left-wing environment where folks like James von Brunn have started plotting attacks on neoconservatives. See, for example, Walsh's, "Wild Dick Cheney at the Neocon Corral." Then you've got the Huffington Post publishing interviews with Representative Ron Paul, who argues that President Obama is "as much of a neo-con now as Bush was with this issue and other issues." Such loose talk then gets picked up by the 9/11 Truthers, "Neocon Org Targets Ron Paul, Democrats for Opposing Snoop Bill."

As Kathy Shaidle points out today, genuine conservative have long distanced themselves from such extremism:

In addition, von Brunn is now being associated with the LIberty Lobby. William F. Buckley famously purged the mainstream conservative movement of the John Birch Society, and anti-semitic groups like the Liberty Lobby, way back in the early 1960s. For his pains, the Liberty Lobby accused Buckley of being a "mouthpiece" for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. (After 14 years, Buckley won a libel judgement against the group.)

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Stephen T. Johns, the security officer who was killed yesterday in the line of duty at the Hololcaust Museum.

But let us not kid ourselves. The extremist rhetoric on the far-left, along with that on the antiwar, anti-Semitic paleoconservative right, has created threatening circumstances for members of the neoconservative movement (see Paul Bogdanor for background). So please, take the time and log onto USA.gov and let your elected representatives know that the hour is long past for the introduction and passage of a Neoconservative Hate Crimes Prevention Act.