It started with Bill Sparkman, the part-time Census worker who went missing and then was found dead, setting off an avalanche of mainstream media and left-blogosphere accusations that he was the victim of anti-government “right-wing” hate. It turned out that Sparkman killed himself, but there were few if any apologies coming.

The Sparkman accusations were based on nothing more than a desire to demonize the newly formed and rapidly growing Tea Party movement as terrorists and un-American. It was as if they were hoping for an act of Tea Party violence.

Yet there was a theory behind the madness, the Eliminationist Narrative created by Dave Neiwart of Crooks and Liars about an “eliminationist” radical right seeking to dehumanize and eliminate political opposition. It was a play on the over-used narrative of Richard Hofstadter’s “paranoid style” in American politics.

The Eliminationist Narrative was aided and abetted by an abuse of the term “right-wing” to include groups who are the opposite of conservatism and the Tea Party movement.

In the case of Sparkman, the accusations were just Another Failed Eliminationist Narrative. And the Eliminationist Narrative would fail time and time again:

We can now add the Boston Marathon Bombing to the pile. The wild speculation that there was a Tea Party or “right-wing” connection proved false.

It turns out two Muslim Chechens apparently inspired by jihadist videos and ideology turned on the country which welcomed them with open arms.

Just another Failed Eliminationist Narrative, for which there will be no apologies.

CNN Wolf Blitzer blames anti-tax group or tea party for Boston Marathon explosion:

CNN National Security Analyst Warns Of ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ Behind Boston Bombings:

ABC Speculates: Was Boston ‘Homegrown Terror?’ Features Mark Potok on ‘Extreme Right’

Chris Matthews: ‘Normally’ Domestic Terrorists ‘Tend to Be on the Right’:

CNN: Pressure Cooker Bomb ‘Right-Wing’ Signature:

An article published on CNN’s website makes an unproven claim that pressure cooker bombs like the ones used at the Boston Marathon terror attack are a “signature” of “right-wing extremists.” The article says (emphasis added) : A senior U.S. counterterrorism investigator told CNN that pressure cooker bombs have also been a signature of extreme right-wing individuals in the United States who he said tend to revel in building homemade bombs. This specific claim that “pressure cooker bombs have also been a signature of extreme right-wing individuals in the United States” appears to be completely unsubstantiated. Not a single example is given even in the CNN story itself of anyone other than al-Quadea using a pressure cooker bomb.

MSNBC Brings On Harvard Professor To Suspect ‘Far-Right’ May Be Responsible For Boston Attack

NPR Journalist: Boston Terrorist Attack Likely Right-Wingers Celebrating Columbine or Hitler’s Birthday:

why’s RW media so obsessed w/ (so far falsely) portraying Boston bomber as ‘foreign’. RW trying to hide its deep fears abt bomber’s true ID? — Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) April 18, 2013



