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Rachel Maddow let Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan have it for showing up in the middle of all of the turmoil going on right now in the Middle East and Africa and just after the death of our ambassador in Libya, at the Values Voter Summit 2012. As she noted, if anyone wanted to know why Hillary Clinton was being attacked along with her aid Huma Abedin, look no further than the wingnuts appearing at this event.

Here's more with a rundown of that from Right Wing Watch: Who's Who at the Values Voter Summit 2012:

This weekend Republican and conservative leaders, including GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, are set to address the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Last year, nearly every single Republican candidate for President addressed the conference, where speakers denounced gay rights, secular government, legal abortion and the Mormon faith.

This year, Ryan will be speaking at a conference that is playing host to some of the most extreme activists in the Religious Right who have made careers demonizing gays and lesbians, attacking the freedoms of Muslim-Americans and promoting wild conspiracies about President Obama. [...]

Jerry Boykin

Family Research Council vice president and retired Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin sparked a controversy when, as a high-ranking official in the Bush Defense Department, he framed the War on Terror as a holy war against Islam. He has since built a career as a Religious Right speaker, specializing in anti-Muslim rhetoric and anti-Obama conspiracy theories. He:

• asserted that “Islam is evil”;
• rejects religious freedom for American Muslims, claiming that Islam “is not just a religion, it is a totalitarian way of life.”
• wants to ban mosques;
• warned Obama is using the health care reform law as a cover to establish a private army of Brownshirts loyal just to him;
• accused the Obama administration of showing “support for the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into our government”;
• claimed the bailout of AIG led to the establishment of Sharia law;
• said that American Jews were misled into supporting Democrats by wrongly thinking Adolf Hitler was right-wing extremist;

Along with his role at the FRC, Boykin is also a leading member of the dominionist group The Oak Initiative. In a speech at the group’s conference last April, he declared that George Soros and the Council on Foreign Relations conspired to collapse the U.S. economy in order to help Obama get elected. [...]

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It appears Fox doesn't want to let their viewers know why Hillary Clinton was met with protests in Egypt if this interview with Neil Cavuto and Fox regular, KT McFarland is any indication. Cavuto was discussing the fact that Hillary Clinton's motorcade was met with demonstrators a little over a week ago and they managed to get in a little fearmongering over the Muslim Brotherhood's future role in Egypt's government. What they somehow managed to fail to mention is Michele Bachmann and her cohorts' role in causing the protests. Imagine that?

For a reminder of what set things off, here's more from Think Progress: Bachmann’s Islamophobic Conspiracy Theory Fuels Egyptians’ Anti-Clinton Protest:

Egyptian protesters threw shoes and tomatoes at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s motorcade in Alexandria this week. The New York Times reported that their demonstration “delighted conservative bloggers in the United States” but “what has attracted less attention” is why they were protesting: a conspiracy theory cooked up by Islamophobes in the U.S. that the Obama administration is working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood:

Pressed by American reporters to explain where they got the idea that their new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, had been foisted on them through a U.S. plot, rather than the will of the majority, several Egyptians cited information gathered from American blogs or news sites.

An Egyptian-American Christian who met Mrs. Clinton on Sunday cited a recent assertion by Representative Michele Bachmann, a Republican, “that the Obama Administration is pursuing a closeted pro-Muslim agenda,” in a conversation with Time magazine’s correspondent, Abigail Hauslohner.

Rumors that the Obama administration has provided the Muslim Brotherhood with billions of dollars in aid remain an article of faith with many Egyptians who are convinced that Mr. Morsi’s victory was a sham, despite repeated efforts by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to correct the record on Twitter.

That’s right — Bachmann’s ludicrous allegation that the Muslim Brotherhood has “penetrated” the United States government convinced anti-Islamist Egyptians that the U.S. is backing their domestic Islamist opponents. The source for Bachmann’s ravings is Frank Gaffney, a conspiracy theorist who claims that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the government and that shari’a law is coming to the U.S.

It seems Cavuto and McFarland are more concerned with protecting Michele Bachmann and her fellow wingnuts who are all regular guests on Fox than letting the viewers know they were the cause of Clinton's "really awful" treatment in Egypt. I'm sure not wanting anything to get in the way of their fearmongering about the Muslim Brotherhood has something to do with it as well.

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(Jon Stewart mocks wingnut Michele Bachmann for her Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy theories.)

As we noted this week, wingnut and McCarthy wannabe Michele Bachmann went so far as to attack her fellow House member, Keith Ellison, claiming he has a "long record" of association with the Muslim Brotherhood. This following her and fellow Republicans witch hunt against Huma Abedin, aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner. It seems Bachmann has finally crossed the line where the House Intelligence Chair has turned on her.

Chairman Of House Intelligence Committee Drops Support For Bachmann’s Islamophobic Witchunt:

Before facing heat this week for her paranoid quest to root out Muslim Brotherhood influence on the U.S. government, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) got support from the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers. But today, Rogers distanced himself from Bachmann’s allegations about Muslim-Americans.

In an interview with the USA Today, Rogers responded to a wave of criticism about Bachmann’s allegations about Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Rogers said:

That kind of assertion certainly doesn’t comport with the Intelligence Committee, and I can say that on the record. I have no information in my committee that would indicate that Huma is anything other than an American patriot.

This was not an activity that was sanctioned as any intelligence committee matter.

Rogers was singing a different tune earlier this month when he appeared on a radio show hosted by Islamophobe Frank Gaffney, a sometime Bachmann advisor and source of her attacks.

What kills me is that it took this long for anyone in her own party to finally call out this crazy flame thrower for the rhetoric that comes out of her mouth. After she went on Chris Matthews' show back in 2008 and said that she wanted members of Congress investigated for being "anti-American" we didn't hear a peep out of any of them. And she was rewarded with a spot on the House Intelligence Committee instead of being asked to take a trip to the doctor's office and being put on medication.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) on Thursday responded to criticism over her attacks on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, by claiming that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) also had a "long record" of association with radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, the St. Cloud Times reported that Bachmann and four other Republicans sent a letter to inspectors general in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice departments calling on them to investigate “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration” of the Obama administration by Abedin, an aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Their accusations were based on a report by Frank Gaffney’s neoconservative Center for Security Policy.

On Wednesday, Ellison, who is Muslim, told the Star Tribune that this "is one of those moments when you can't stay silent," adding that the attacks were "McCarthyism at its worst."

Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner, Arizona Sen. John McCain, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins also condemned the anti-Muslim accusations.

Speaking to conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Thursday, Bachmann declined to respond to her Republican critics, but attempted to smear Ellison by associating him with Islamic radicals.

"So when you wrote this letter, then Keith Ellison comes out," Beck told Bachmann. "Keith Ellison is -- he has a record of being the Mafia hitman."

"Well, [Ellison] has a long record of being associated with CAIR and with the Muslim Brotherhood," Bachmann agreed. "[S]o he came out and essentially wanted to shut down the inspectors general from even looking into any of the questions that we were asking. So he wanted to shut it down. In response I wrote another letter back to Keith Ellison, a 16-page letter which I would encourage all of your listeners to go and read this letter. It’s what I call a bulletproof letter."

"And so then now what’s happened is the attack machine has been turned on myself and the other members of congress who have been asking the questions, that somehow we’re the Muslim haters, we’re the witch-hunters, we’re the new Joe McCarthyites because we’re asking these questions," she insisted.

Later on Thursday, Ellison told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Bachmann's charges were "ridiculous."

"That's not true," the Minnesota congressman explained. "I don't have any Muslim Brotherhood connections that she's talking about."

"I'm absolutely not trying to shut down their investigation. What I'm trying to do is raise a concern about unfounded allegations of disloyalty, specifically with regard to Huma Abedin and a few other people who she mentioned."

Ellison continued: "It's about marginalizing and alienating a group of Americans who she does not view as all-American enough."

(h/t: MinnPost)

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House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Thursday refused to consider removing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) from the House Intelligence Committee even though he said it was "pretty dangerous" for her to accuse Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, of infiltrating the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, the St. Cloud Times reported the Bachmann and four other Republicans sent a letter to inspectors general in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice departments calling on them to investigate “potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration” of the Obama administration by Abedin, an aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Their accusations were based on a report by Frank Gaffney’s neoconservative Center for Security Policy.

During a press conference on Thursday, a reporter asked Boehner if it was appropriate for a member of the House Intelligence Committee to make these types of unfounded accusations.

"I haven’t seen the letter, but — I don’t know Huma, but from everything I do know of her, she has a sterling character," Boehner pointed out. "And I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous."

"Would you consider taking her off the Intelligence Committee? Congresswoman Bachmann?" the reporter pressed.

"I don’t know that that’s related at all," the Speaker replied.

On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also blasted Bachmann and the four other Republican lawmakers for their “specious and degrading attacks” on Abedin.

“The allegations about Huma Abedin and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant,” the Arizona senator said. “These attacks have no logic, no basis and no merit. And they need to stop. They need to stop now.”

“When anyone — not least, a member of Congress — launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation and we all grow poorer because of it,” he added.

The Minnesota congresswoman found herself fleeing from CNN cameras later that day as Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash tried to get her respond to McCain's comments.

“The good news is I can walk pretty fast in heels,” Bash told CNN host Anderson Cooper. “The bad news is Michele Bachmann can walk just as fast. And she proved to be pretty adept at not only avoiding my questions, but talking enough that I could barely get any questions out.”

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(h/t: Think Progress)

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Arizona Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to call out a fellow Republican lawmaker for "specious and degrading attacks" which allege that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff had infiltrated the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, the St. Cloud Times reported the Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and four other Republicans had called on inspectors general in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice Departments to investigate "potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration" of the Obama administration by Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary Clinton and wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).

"It has been alleged that Huma Abedin, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States," McCain explained on Wednesday, noting that the accusations were based on an "unsubstantiated" report by Frank Gaffney's neoconservative Center for Security Policy.

"The allegations about Huma Abedin and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant," the Arizona senator continued. "These attacks have no logic, no basis and no merit. And they need to stop. They need to stop now."

"When anyone -- not least, a member of Congress -- launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation and we all grow poorer because of it," he added.

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Keith Olbermann talked to ThinkProgress' Faiz Shakir who helped author a new report from the Center for American Progress -- REPORT: $42 Million From Seven Foundations Helped Fuel The Rise Of Islamophobia In America:

Following a six-month long investigative research project, the Center for American Progress released a 130-page report today which reveals that more than $42 million from seven foundations over the past decade have helped fan the flames of anti-Muslim hate in America. The authors — Wajahat Ali, Eli Clifton, Matt Duss, Lee Fang, Scott Keyes, and myself — worked to expose the Islamophobia network in depth, name the major players, connect the dots, and trace the genesis of anti-Muslim propaganda.

The report, titled “Fear Inc.: The Roots Of the Islamophobia Network In America,” lifts the veil behind the hate, follows the money, and identifies the names of foundations who have given money, how much they have given, and who they have given to [...]

The money has flowed into the hands of five key “experts” and “scholars” who comprise the central nervous system of anti-Muslim propaganda:

FRANK GAFFNEY, Center for Security Policy – “A mosque that is used to promote a seditious program, which is what Sharia is…that is not a protected religious practice, that is in fact sedition.” [Source]

DAVID YERUSHALMI, Society of Americans for National Existence: “Muslim civilization is at war with Judeo-Christian civilization…the Muslim peoples, those committed to Islam as we know it today, are our enemies.” [Source]

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The Young Turks Cenk Uygur and Media Matters Will Bunch discussed some of the recent attacks of President Obama and how the crisis in Egypt has been handled from the likes of Newt Gingrich, Frank Gaffney and Donald Rumsfeld. Apparently it was also "Pile On Glenn Beck Day" over at MSNBC, to which I say, better late than never to be pointing out this crazy man's rants.

As Media Matters noted, we had Will Bunch in this segment -- Media Matters' Bunch: Someone Giving Beck's Caliphate Speech On Street Corner "Probably Would Be Involuntarily Committed".

I posted Tweety's criticism of him and his fearmongering this week -- Glenn Beck Digs Himself Deeper in the Hole With His Conspiracy Theories.

Rachel Maddow also took a shot at Beck and Hannity while praising their staff members who were out there in the midst of the turmoil in Egypt this week -- Maddow: Egyptian Revolts Bring Out ‘The Best’ Of Fox News, Worst Of Beck And Hannity.

And Lawrence O'Donnell talked to Media Matters' David Brock about Beck's fearmongering on The Last Word -- Media Matters' Brock: "Troubled People ... Could Do Troubling Things" In Response To Beck's Fearmongering.

Cenk also called out Gingrich and his history revisionism on Ronald Reagan and his willingness to negotiate with terrorists. Good for Cenk for doing what we rarely see anyone in our corporate media do, which is take apart some of the conventional Villager wisdom when it comes to Reagan. Reagan would have been called a commie, liberal terrorist lover by some of the standards of today's bats**t crazy Republican Party and it's a fact that can't be repeated often enough to suit me. It's really pathetic how far to the right our political dialog has turned with the success of these wingnuts making the far right that's not completely insane appear to be the middle of anything.

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Hardball's Chris Matthews has finally started paying attention to the fact that Glenn Beck's show is nothing but fear mongering and incoherent rants and touting nonsensical conspiracy theories. Media Matter's Eric Boehlert and The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson discuss some of Beck's latest wingnuttery with the uprisings in the Middle East.

They also spent a little time discussing neocon Frank Gaffney who's been spreading panic about the Muslim Brotherhood taking over our government that John wrote about yesterday. Maybe Matthews will finally quit having him on as a guest on Hardball after this.

Best line in the segment by Eugene Robinson after Matthews asks him if Beck has any sense of history:

ROBINSON: This is the stuff normally you would prescribe medication.

Ain't that the truth?

Full transcript via Lexis Nexis.

MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. As the crisis continues in Egypt and may continue on for quite a while, if you listen to Dr. Brzezinski, the right wing, led by Glenn Beck, continues to traffic in conspiracy theories. Why not? They have more to do with scaring this country than getting the truth out of what`s happening over there.

So what are they up to this time? Well, Eric Boehlert is a senior fellow with Media Matters, and Eugene Robinson`s a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for "The Washington Post."

Gentlemen, thank you both for being with us. And I sometimes -- I`m not surprised by right or left-wing argument in this country. Sometimes the rhetoric is rather wholesome. Now, catch Glenn Beckon Tuesday night, this diatribe about the Caliphate. He starts talking about ancient Babylon. See if you can follow this. I did. Let`s listen.

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Anderson Cooper brought on fearmonger Frank Gaffney -- who, as Right Wing Watch reported, has been attacking the other guest during the segment, Suhail Kahn, as someone who has ties to "radical Islamists". I'm not sure why he thinks Gaffney needs any more face time in the media, since he surely gets enough over at Fox. But to his credit, Cooper did call Gaffney out for how weak his claims are and allowed him to be confronted by Kahn.

Cooper mentioned Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Peter King's appearance on Gaffney's radio show. Our friends at Think Progress have more on that, and the witch hunt we get to look forward to now that King has taken the gavel there.

Rep. Peter King Says Muslims Aren’t ‘American’ When It Comes To War:

Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the new chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has promised to launch a series of investigations of Muslim Americans beginning in February. “I’ve made it clear that I’ll focus the committee on counterterrorism and hold hearings on a wide range of issues, including radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism,” he told Newsday. King has repeatedly said that he only wants to single out “Islamic terrorism” in his hearings on domestic security, and has even claimed that there are “too many mosques in this country.”

Joining anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney on Gaffney’s radio program last week, King doubled down on his promise to launch a witch-hunt against Muslims. He repeated a falsehood that he stated earlier — that American Muslims never cooperate to combat terrorism. But in addition to this claim, King made the extraordinary smear that American Muslims aren’t “American” when it comes to war. “[W]hen a war begins,” King said, every ethnic and religious group unites as “Americans.” “But in this case,” King continued, referring to Muslims, “this is not the situation. … Whether it’s cultural tradition, whatever, the fact is the Muslim community does not cooperate anywhere near to the extent that it should”.

More there from Think Progress, so go read the rest. Here's a portion of Right Wing Watch's reporting on Gaffney, much of which Cooper mentioned in his opening.

Right Wing Boycott Movement Links CPAC to the Muslim Brotherhood:

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