The religious right is simply besides themselves over the news that the Department of Homeland Security has reported the fact that for years white supremacists have tried to exploit social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

Would the religious right, and the Republican party it runs, prefer that America’s law enforcement community not investigate all terrorist threats facing America. Here is what the religious right is claiming in an email I received today:

When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the outrageous claim – labeling pro-life supporters as ”extremists” in a report on domestic terrorism – we sprang into immediate action. We’re fighting back. To brand pro-lifers as ”rightwing extremists” and ”domestic terrorists” is more than offensive … it’s incorrect as a matter of law and completely wrong as a matter of policy.

That is a lie. And typical of the false witness that religious right leaders bear on a regular basis. Here is what the Homeland Security report actually said:

Paralleling the current national climate, rightwing extremists during the1990s exploited a variety of social issues and political themes to increase group visibility and recruit new members. Prominent among these themes were the militia movement’s opposition to gun control efforts, criticism of free trade agreements (particularly thosewith Mexico), and highlighting perceived government infringement on civil liberties as well as white supremacists’ longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion, inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage. During the 1990s, these issues contributed tothe growth in the number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks, and infrastructure sectors.

The religious right is not made up of good Americans who simply disagree with you and me. They’re not even good Christians. They’re angry, intolerant, hateful bigots. They’re America’s Taliban. They are the offspring of the racists who supported slavery and miscegenation laws. The Internet is their fire hose, but other than that, they are no different than the hate that came before them.

Considering the fact that the religious right is now demanding that civil rights laws preserve a conservative Christian’s right to kill people he doesn’t approve of, it’s no wonder that a simple study from the Department of Homeland Security is giving the extremist who control the Republican party such angst.