New reports prove that Muslim extremism is not the number one threat to the lives of American citizens. No, the number one threat comes from within, and violence from white supremacists is now listed as the top threat to America.

Since the attacks of 9/11, twice as many people have been killed by non-Muslim extremists than by Muslims on U.S. soil. These numbers have been verified year after year, and this new report is the latest in a long line of studies that have consistently shown that white supremacists and right wing extremists are the number one threat to Americans.

So why isn’t anything being done about this? After all, Republicans love to tell us that Muslim extremists want to kill us – that’s about the only thing Lindsey Graham has been capable of saying during the Republican debates – and Republicans have launched a war against Islam as a result. So why aren’t they taking action against right wing racists?

There are two answers to this question. The first is that these people are their base. Those are Republican voters out there committing acts of violence against minorities. Right wing hate groups have shown a tremendous amount of support for Donald Trump, and that’s not a coincidence. The anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant tirades that Republican candidates make are not random – they are well thought out, scripted lines that their managers know will win them support of the ugliest Republican bottom feeders, and it’s working beautifully for them right now.

The second answer is that, if we were to take action against violent right wing racists, it would be an admission that we actually have a problem. Just like with gun violence, Republicans want to dance around the real issue, create phony problems, and then tackle those non-existent problems head on – kind of like they do with their claims of combating voter fraud. But it all goes back to their refusal to admit that there are actually problems in the United States.

The problem of domestic, white supremacist, right wing terrorism isn’t going to go away just because Republicans pretend that it doesn’t exist. This is an issue that has to be addressed – law enforcement agencies need to start cracking down – before we end up with another massacre on U.S. soil.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced