Redlands Tea Party Speaks Out Against Syrian Refugees After #SanBernardino Attack

Great piece, at LAT, "After the San Bernardino shootings, voices rise on both sides of the refugee debate":

Bill Whittle scanned the crowd of more than 200 Redlands Tea Party Patriots and Unite Inland Empire members gathered for the yearly Christmas party. The tables in the Western-themed barbecue restaurant were decorated with stickers hailing the 2nd Amendment and proclaiming: "Don't Tread on Me."

"To say that this is a war on terror is designed to make sure that we don't say that it's a war on Islam," Whittle told the crowd last week.

"Amen!" a woman shouted.

"The president said just a few nights ago [that] America is not at war with Islam," Whittle, a conservative blogger and political commentator, continued. "I think that's probably true. But Islam is at war with America, and they have been for some time now."

The Dec. 2 terror attack in San Bernardino, which left 14 dead and injured 22 others, has intensified the debate over whether the U.S. should accept Syrian refugees and inspired some people — most notably GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump — to oppose allowing any Muslims into the country.

For some in this swath of Southern California, which has strong conservative undertones, the massacre at the Inland Regional Center provided a "told you so" moment."

John Berry, a California state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots and a cabinet member of the Redlands chapter, said the terrorist attack by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik validated what he and others have been saying for years.

"I take no satisfaction in saying, 'I told you so.' None, because this is a horrible, horrible atrocity," Berry said. "But in some ways I'm surprised it hasn't happened before."

More.