Guest post by Gary DeMar

Any time the liberal media want to disparage the right side of the political spectrum, they call on a pool of go-to guys and gals to make their case for them. It’s not news reporting; it’s ideological position marketing designed to destroy the competition. One of their go-to guys is Mark Potok of the hard-left anti-Christian, anti-anything to the right of Ted Kennedy group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The latest target of the SPLC is Stephen Bannon, President-elect Trump’s pick for “chief strategist.” The folks at the SPLC say that Bannon “has no business working in the White House.” Why? Because he does not agree with the extremist policies of the SPLC.

The SPLC is in the money raising business for every known and unknown left-wing kook cause. It has gone from tracking the movements of violent racists, skinhead groups, and a brief resurgence of the KKK that number in the hundreds to creating hysteria over mainstream value voters.

One of SPLC’s supporters assaulted the headquarters of the Family Research Council.

 “FRC’s appearance on the list gained national attention in 2012 when a gunman, Floyd Corkins, entered FRC headquarters with the intent of killing everyone there. FRC’s building manager, Leo Johnson, subdued Corkins and was shot in the process. Corkins targeted FRC after finding the group on Hatewatch. SPLC has continued to label FRC a hate group even after the shooting.

“All the groups listed on Hatewatch, with the exception of black separatists, [George Yancey, professor of sociology at the University of North Texas] notes, are either political or religious conservatives. Yancey believes this is because SPLC is a liberal organization and it is using subjective criteria to choose which groups belong on the list.”

If you don’t agree with the SPLC leftist litmus test, then you are probably a member of a “hate group.” With its new definition of what constitutes a hate group, the SPLC has become a fund-raising machine. It’s no wonder that the SPLC is flush with cash. Ultimately, the tactic is to strike fear in middle-America so the checks keep rolling in. Most communities don’t see skinheads or even KKKers, so the SPLC needs a larger tangible enemy. Trump and Bannon are the organization’s new fundraising targets.

The SPLC is not interested in the hate escapades taking place in liberal cities across America by liberal loyalists most likely funded by leftists with deep pockets. The organization needs a standing target that the organization’s friends in the media can promote and divert attention from the mayhem that’s giving liberalism a bad name.

You might remember the census worker in Kentucky who was found hanging from a tree. Potok was Johnny-on-the-spot with his “expert” analysis. He blamed the incident on “anti-government sentiment very much whipped up by militia” types.

Here’s the problem. The man wasn’t murdered by anti-government marauders. “Bill Sparkman, the late Census worker, had killed himself, and staged the homicide hoping to get life insurance for his family. Tragic, yes. Right-wing terrorism? Only in Potok SPLC fantasy-land.”1

Even the liberal USA Today got the story right. So, was Potok and the SPLC discredited. You already know the answer. Of course not! Although, in 2014 the FBI no longer “severed its link with the organization and dumped SPLC from the bureau’s Hate Crime Web page.” (Washington Times).

According to the SPLC, hate has gone mainstream so you better send a donation before these “haters” come and get you, too!

The SPLC is a fund-raising industry designed to silence conservatives who want their country back, hold elected officials accountable to their constitutional oath, and uphold certain moral values. There’s not much money in fighting real hate groups now that only a few of the real haters are still around, so the SPLC needs a bigger, more menacing group of haters — your next door neighbors and the church down the street, and Stephen Bannon and Donald Trump!

There are others that have figured out that the SPLC is nothing more than a cash cow masquerading as a defender of human rights:

“The director of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights, which defends poor defendants in death-penalty cases, once told [SPLC’s founder] Mr. [Morris] Dees he was ‘a fraud and a con man’ because of ‘your failure to respond to the most desperate needs of the poor and powerless despite your millions upon millions, your fundraising techniques, and the fact that you spend so much, accomplish so little, and promote yourself so shamelessly.’” (Washington Times)

Muslim extremists who kill soldiers in the name of Allah on an army base or plan to blow up the streets of New York City or blow the limbs off innocent spectators at the Boston Marathon are of little concern when there are bigger fish to fry and more money to bank.


  1. Lachlan Markay, “Newsweek Trots Out Discredited SPLC Lawyer Mark Potok to Decry ‘Patriot’ Groups” (April 12, 2010). 

Cross posted on Constitution.com