Joe McCarthy is born again -- as Peter King

After FDR disgracefully rounded up Japanese-Americans during World War II and locked them up in relocation camps, Americans promised: we'll never do that again.

After the infamous House Un-American Affairs Committee destroyed lives and careers by questioning the patriotism of anybody who worked in Hollywood, Americans again promised: we'll never do that again.

And after Senator Joseph McCarthy disgustingly branded as a communist agent anybody who just happened to be a liberal or worked in the State Department, Americans promised: we'll never do that again, either.

Yet, here we are. Another witch hunt. Another roundup. Another HUAC. Another burst of McCarthyism. Led this time by Congressman Peter King, chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, who, under the guise of national security, is doing exactly what George W. Bush, to his credit, vowed after September 11 never to do: launch a wholesale attack on all Muslims and accuse them of either being terrorists themselves, or condoning terrorism.

Pete King doesn't look like McCarthy, but he sure sounds like him: Are you now, or have you ever been, a Muslim? The very title of his hearings tells his bias from the beginning: "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community (which presumes such radicalization exists) and That Community's Response" (which presumes it's been anything but cooperative). In fact, long before the hearings began, King had already announced his belief that 80 percent to 85 percent of American mosques are controlled by Islamic radicals; and that American Muslims have refused to cooperate with law enforcement officials in combating terrorism.

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Neither of which is true. In fact, Richard Cohen of The Washington Post writes that a recent Duke University/University of North Carolina study found "a drop in attempted or actual terrorist activity by American Muslims -- 47 perpetrators and suspects in 2009, 20 in 2010." Perhaps more significantly, the report by UNC terrorism expert Charles Kurzman showed that "the largest single source of initial information" about alleged terrorist plots -- 48 out of 120 cases since September 11 -- "involved tips from the Muslim American community." In fact, the only law enforcement official to testify before King's committee was Los Angeles Sheriff Leroy Baca, who praised the cooperation of the Southern California Muslim community.

The truth is that both the hearings and Chairman King himself are a major embarrassment to the 112th Congress. It is profoundly un-American to scapegoat all members of any religion for any reason. And King wouldn't dare do it for any religion but Islam. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia recently suspended 21 priests for accusations of sexual abuse regarding children. Can you imagine the uproar if Peter King had scheduled hearings to investigate whether all Catholics were child molesters? But ever since September 11, unfortunately, Muslims are fair game.

Congressman King is also a strange person to be chairing these hearings, since he is one of Congress's only open supporters of terrorism. In the 1980s, as a major supporter and fundraiser for the IRA, he praised their activities and defended their acts of terror: "If civilians are killed in an attack on a military installation, it is certainly regrettable, but I will not morally blame the IRA for it." In his worldview, apparently, there are good terrorists and bad terrorists -- depending on what part of the world they come from.

But the real issue is not who's leading the hearings, but why they're allowed to be held in the first place. And the man responsible for that is not Peter King, but Speaker John Boehner.

The King hearings are the latest evidence of a House out of control. Michele Bachmann insists on delivering her own State of the Union response -- and gets away with it. Darrell Issa threatens wholesale subpoenas -- and nobody applies the brakes. Birthers continue their insane conspiracy theory. House tea partiers pledge to shut down the government. And what does laissez-faire Boehner do? Nothing. The inmates are running the asylum.

How times have changed. In 2009, when House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers considered holding hearings on whether George Bush and Dick Cheney should be tried as war criminals, Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped in and said: No, you won't.

Time and time again, Pelosi demonstrated what's been totally lacking so far from John Boehner: leadership.

Radicalization in the U.S. Muslim Community Panel March 10, 2011

“The Extent of Radicalization" Among American Muslims

New York Republican Congressman Peter King held the first of a series of hearings today to examine the threat he’s calling the "radicalization of American Muslims." Over 50 Democrats on Wednesday sent a letter to King, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, warning that the hearings will jeopardize the trust between Muslims and law enforcement.

Witnesses at the hearing included Congressman John Dingell who represents Dearborn, the largest Arab American community in America and Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), Congress’ first Muslim American member. Additionally, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, head of the American-Islamic Forum for Democracy, discussed the threat of not only violent but also cultural jihad being waged by Islamists inside the U.S. Also, Melvin Bledsoe and Abdirizak Bihi provided firsthand accounts of young Muslim Americans recruited by Islamic radicals.

Since Chairman King announced the hearing, interfaith, nonprofit, and governmental organizations have issued statements and held a variety of rallies across the nation against King's hearing, saying it will send the wrong message, by singling-out U.S. Muslims.

Democrats plead with Rep. King to cancel hearing on US Muslims

By Jordy Yager - 03/09/11 04:08 PM ET

More than 50 Democrats on Wednesday pleaded with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) to cancel his panel’s hearing on radicalization within the Muslim American community. 

A group of 56 lawmakers said in a letter to King that the hearing will jeopardize trust between Muslims in the U.S. and law enforcement officials, adding that “the stated narrow scope and underlying premises of these hearings unfairly stigmatizes and alienates Muslim Americans.” 

They asked King to broaden the scope of the hearing to include extremists of all ideologies and motivations. The hearing on Thursday is titled, “The extent of radicalization in the American Muslim community and that community's response.”

“Singling out one religious group and blaming the actions of individuals on an entire community is not only unfair, it is unwise — and it will not make our country any safer,” the group of lawmakers wrote in the letter. 

The committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), made the same plea to King last month. But King responded that he “will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States.”

The hearing has sparked a furor in the media and among Islamic and civil-liberty groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), that say Muslims are being unfairly targeted. They have called for King to cast a wider net that encompasses neo-Nazis and environmental extremists.

King told the Hill on Tuesday that he was somewhat surprised by the public outcry over the hearings because the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has held multiple hearings of the same nature over the past several years, with little or no opposition. 

Hearings before the Senate panel have included titles such as: “Violent Islamist Extremism: Al-Shabaab Recruitment in America,” “The Roots of Violent Islamist Extremism and Efforts to Counter It” and “Violent Islamist Extremism: Government Efforts to Defeat It.”

The letter on Wednesday was signed by the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Bob Filner (Calif.); the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank (Mass.); the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr. (Mich.); and the House Education and Labor Committee, George Miller (Calif.).

The only two Muslims in Congress, Reps. Andre Carson (Ind.) and Keith Ellison (Minn.), also signed the letter, as did New York Reps. Gregory Meeks and Jose Serrano. 

Others to sign the letter were Democratic Reps. Jim Moran (Va.), John Dingell (Mich.), Michael Capuano (Mass.), Mike Honda (Calif.), Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) and Raul Grijalva (Ariz.). 

“I am proud to represent a diverse community where Muslim Americans make valuable contributions to our society each day,” said Moran in a statement. “Hearings that call into question the loyalty of a group of American citizens based upon their religious faith does not reflect our nation’s values and is counterproductive in the fight against terrorism. 

"I strongly urge Chairman King to call off these hearings or expand their scope to include all forms of violent extremism." 

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) on Wednesday shied away from condemning or endorsing the hearing, and instead stressed the need to unite the public around the common goal of protecting America's national security. 

"In a nation founded on diversity and strengthened by the contributions of many faiths, including those of Muslim Americans, we must never use religion as a wedge to divide the American people," Pelosi said in a statement.   

"Instead, we must state in a united voice: Violence in the name of any religion is a betrayal of our fundamental values as Americans. And any responsible national security strategy must be rooted in facts, fairness and an unending commitment to the rights and liberties of every American."