A ‘Progressive’ Bully Strikes Again

By Robert Knight - Washington Times

What do most Republican presidential candidates have in common with dozens of Christian, pro-family and patriotic organizations?

They’re prominently featured in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest report, “The Year in Hate and Extremism.”

The cover has a large picture of an open-mouthed Donald Trump, under whom are a masked terrorist, the Islamist San Bernardino mass murderers, other hate crime suspects, a Nazi Swastika, columnist Ann Coulter, Center for National Security President Frank Gaffney, and, of course, the Confederate battle flag.

Subtle, eh?

Inside, the report cherry picks quotes from Republican presidential candidates about halting illegal immigration and President Obama’s plan to import 10,000 Syrian migrants.
“Even as more establishment Republicans held back from most criticism, Trump and other candidates increasingly injected real hate into the electoral contest,” the report claims.

A montage of photos of Republican candidates - Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee - makes them look crazy or mean. In 2014, the SPLC published an “extremist file” on Mr. Carson before removing it under heavy criticism.

Situated in Montgomery, Alabama, the SPLC long ago gained a reputation for tracking the Klan, Aryan Nations and other hate groups. The U.S. Justice Department and other government agencies rely on the SPLC to identify extremist groups, and the media cite it regularly as an “objective” source.

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