From the compendium of writings sent by mass-murderer Hans Brievik before his rampage last year, this quote:

Also in mid-September 2008, politician Geert Wilders said during a speech in Parliament that Moroccans are colonising the Netherlands. According to Wilders, Moroccans didn’t come there to integrate, but “to subjugate the Dutch” and rule overthem. “We lose our nation to Moroccan scum who go through life while abusing, spittingand molesting innocent people,” Wilders stated. “They happily accept our dole, houses and doctors, but not our rules and values”, he said. According to him there are “two nations.” The cabinet’s nation is that of “climate hysterics and uncontrollable Islamisation.”

The other nation, “my nation,” Geert Wilders said, “is that of the people who have to foot the bill and are being robbed and threatened by Islamic street terrorists.”

Dave Neiwert's question about whether we should ask who Sean Hannity hangs out with, or even just gives a pass to when he interviews them is a timely one. After all, Hannity tries to smear Barack Obama with the "extremist" brush on a near-daily basis while hanging out with a few himself. And just Tuesday night, he softballed an interview with the far-right wing Islamophobic extremist Geert Wilders.

In Europe, the radical right is rising faster than a full moon on a clear night and no single person might exemplify that rise more than Geert Wilders. After collapsing the Dutch government on April 21st, he's off on a book tour to pimp his extraordinary book about how the Muslims are out to kill him. Hence, the Hannitized interview to promote his peculiar brand of Muslim hate.

Via the Seattle Times:

Wilders — who spent time in his youth on an Israeli kibbutz — is pro-Israel and staunchly anti-Islam. Describing Islam as a religion of violence and hate that wants to "enslave" the West, he has called for the closure of Muslim schools, made a high-profile anti-Muslim film, and wants forced registration of all Dutch citizens holding two passports.

In 2010, he was put on trial on charges of inciting hate, though observers say the perceived liberal bias of judges and his eventual acquittal only elevated his popularity. It served him well at the ballot box, with his 6-year-old party winning so many seats in elections later that year that the center-right government required his support to stay in power.

His attempts to portray himself as a victim of the liberal elite has made him a darling of the right in the United States, where he has secured space on The Wall Street Journal's op-ed page. This week, Wilders is set to promote a new book published in the United States, "Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me."

Unlike our own right-wing extremists, Wilders is not above hijacking liberal causes in order to advance his extreme agenda, which seems to be to separate the Netherlands from the European Union and then cleanse it. His actions leading to the toppling of the Dutch government were a statement of resistance against the austerity measures imposed mostly by the German government. On its face, that would appear to be a good thing, except that Wilders offers no solution beyond peeling the Dutch away from the EU and then forcing registration of all residents who hold outside passports.

While the nuances of Dutch politics are far beyond my pay scale, it seems apparent to me that Wilders' ultimate goal is to ethnically cleanse Holland and rid it of all Muslims or people who might appear to be Muslim.

Here are some snippets from a speech Wilders gave on May 1, 2012. Read them and imagine Hannity going into paroxyms of paranoia if someone other than a right-wing extremist like Wilders had said them about Americans, or someone Hannity likes:

...we must stop the Islamization of our societies by restricting immigration from Islamic countries, and expelling those who violate our laws and commit violence. If you respect our laws you are welcome to stay; if you don't, you do not belong here..

And fourthly, we must reassert our national identities. The nation-state enables self-government and self-determination. This insight led the Zionists to establish Israel as the homeland of the Jews.

[...]

We are fighting for the future of our children, the survival of the Western spirit, the preservation of our liberty and democracy, our Judeo-Christian and humanist heritage.

These quotes are not all that different from what white nationalists say in this country. And yet, here's Sean Hannity, softballing an interview, not even mentioning the worshipful Breivik, and behaving as though it's perfectly all right to persecute people based upon their religious choice. (For what it's worth, Breivik not only cites Wilders some 30 times in his anti-multicultural "manifesto" justifying his rampage, he even traveled to England once to hear Wilders speak.)

Freedom must mean something different to Wilders than it does to the rest of us. And to Hannity, who thinks it's perfectly fine to smear the Occupy movement at will while holding Wilders up as a shiny hero.