Oh joy. The right wing has found another target: Thomas Perez, President Obama’s nominee for Labor Secretary, and head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division, who’s already unpopular among the right for some “radical” actions his department’s taken. Fox News and Fox Nation are vigorously reminding us how lefty and activist Perez is, and Senator David Vitter (R-LA) appeared On The Record last night to promise “significant pushback” on the nomination.

Vitter complained that Perez had “completely politicized that office. He's really been running it like an extension of the national Democratic Party or even extension of Obama's reelection campaign.” The Senator from Louisiana is particularly pissed on account of a DoJ suit brought (successfully) against his state for failing to offer all applicants an opportunity to register to vote. (He claims the suit’s real purpose is to bully states into giving up confidential personal information but didn’t elaborate much.)

Another thing that gets Fox’s panties in a twist is a report, released by the inspector general at the Department of Justice, that criticizes some of Perez’ testimony before the commission on the new Black Panther Party. Remember that one, gentle reader? Fox flogged it to death a few years ago in an effort to make a cause celebre out of it?

Do you have the ability to block Perez’ nomination? Van Susteren asked Vitter. No, he said, but he could slow it down enormously. “There's going to be significant pushback for this nomination. He's radical on a number of fronts. His record at civil rights division, we haven't even talked about his position on amnesty.”

Perez is also the target of at least two posts on Fox Nation. One quotes Rush Limbaugh who compared him to Hugo Chavez and then said:

We've got the same kind of people running this government as are running all those European so-called socialist democracies. …the New Black Panther case was just one small part of his tenure at the Justice Department. He was involved in the eighth grade transvestite lawsuits in New York, and the race quotas in New York City. This Perez guy is at the forefront of Obama's war on the Catholic Church and demanding that contraceptives be given away… He is a classic, classic radical leftist. 

Another post concentrated on Perez and the Black Panther case. "Testimony to Haunt Obama Labor Nominee?” wondered the headline. Which generated some comments like these.

 Good luck, Mr. Perez!