Political confusion
by digby
Tom Metzger may be the best known White Supremacist in the country after David Duke so it’s always interesting to see his interpretation of the world around him:
Metzger runs an organization formerly known as White Aryan Resistance, or WAR, which produces racist propaganda and so-called survivalist manuals. The group has since changed its name to The Insurgent, but its message essentially remains the same.
Metzger is a proponent of “lone wolf” tactics, encouraging his followers to carry on the struggle by themselves or in small cells to avoid exposing the rest of the movement to law enforcement. The Southern Poverty Law Center puts him in the same category as David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader who once held elected office in Louisiana.
Metzger spoke by phone from his home in Warsaw, Ind. He said he supports the Mahon brothers and doesn’t believe they were involved in the Arizona bombing. In part, he said, that’s because he and his followers have moved beyond small battles. They are looking forward to a bigger war.
“We’ve long ago left that street type activity,” he said. “We’re interested in bringing the whole goddamn thing down.”
When asked what he meant by that, Metzger said just two words: “The federal.”
“I feel like an insurgent,” he said later. “I don’t feel connected to the federal government at all.”
Metzger emphasized that he doesn’t see himself as a member of the radical right. The right wing is too filled with informants and “Looney Toons,” he said. And he has no respect for anyone in the Republican Party.
“I’ve moved more to the left,” said Metzger. “I support the Occupy movement.”
When quizzed about issues of taxes and social programs, however, Metzger said he still opposes those things. Even less surprisingly, he also said he’s no fan of the nation’s first black president.
“We see Obama as just another corporate shill,” he said. “He doesn’t care any more about the black people than anybody else.”
It’s unsurprising that racists are using the discontent with the revolving door and federal incompetence to advance states’ rights. It’s always worked out well for them in the past. I just hope people who might be willing to make an alliance with such people on the basis of what they do have in common understand that business can corrupt state and local government’s more easily than the federal. They come cheaper and can be played off against each other. And as for Metzger’s real agenda … well, that’s easier to pull off on a smaller scale as well.
A lot of people are very, very confused right now, but I have a sneaking suspicion this Grand Wizard isn’t one them.
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