Personally, I have spied out three local Tea Party events here in Portland. In all I saw signs racially degrading Obama. In none did I see a single non-white face. They love to support racist causes like Arizona’s unconstitutional profiling law and trashing the Fourteenth Amendment. But Republicans continue to claim that the Teabaggers are not racist.
Are the Tea Parties racist organizations? No, said three African-American panelists presented with that question at the third and final day of the “Taking America Back” conference here on Saturday.
But given the fact that the conference was organized by the far-right World Net Daily (WND) and two of the panelists work for the online organization, their verdict was about as surprising as balmy nights and swaying palms on a South Florida summer night. Still, it reflected the anger and resentment that many conservatives have felt over the characterization of the populist Tea Parties as racist.
Many liberals and reporters have pointed out various signs of anti-black racism within the movement, which took root after Barack Obama was elected the nation’s first black president in late 2008. The NAACP brought that criticism to a new level this July, when it passed a resolution asking Tea Party leaders to repudiate followers who use racist language and symbols. The movement was set back on its heels again a few days later, when Mark Williams, chairman of the Tea Party Express, was expelled along with his group from the National Tea Party Federation after he wrote a satirical letter in which he called slavery as “great gig.” Earlier, Dale Robertson, leader of TeaParty.org, wrote an arguably racist E-mail to his followers.
The World Net Daily crowd stands considerably to the right of most Tea Party followers, and it is overwhelmingly white. But the WNDers feel the Tea Parties’ pain, and so the conference offered up what black speakers it had to take on the allegations of racism. They included Erik Rush, a WND columnist; Albert Thompson, executive assistant to Elizabeth Farah, who started WND with her husband Joseph; and Alan Keyes, an ultraconservative activist and oft-times candidate who has called President Obama “a radical communist.”
“There are a few racists in there. In any group, you’re going to find a few people of low character,” Rush said. But, for most in the movement, Rush said, “This has never been about Barack Obama. It’s certainly not about his skin color.”
He spoke to an audience of some 70 people. One of them was black… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <SPLC>
Now, I have no doubt that there are some Teabaggers who are not racists, just as there are some Republicans who are not racists. However, they are a racist party, simply because they are Republicans, who abandoned their commitment to equality when they adopted the Southern Strategy. They consistently use every dirty trick their vile imaginations can muster to disenfranchise minority voters, taking away their right to vote. Why? Most minority voters are poor or middle class, so the Republican party does not govern on their behalf. Republicans govern only for criminal corporations and the richest 1%. So Republicans, and their Teabagger Brown Shirts support racism, and in my book, anyone who supports racism is a racist.
14 Responses to “Racist Republicans Claim Tea Party Not Racist”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Not only do they espouse racism, lets not forget homophobia, xenophobia and just plain old truculence. If so many people had not died to turn the nation away from this bullshit it would be funny.
The teabaggers are for the most part Boomers, older whites, firmly supported by the likes of 5 deferment DICK cheney and a number of them who marched against “Nam in college because it was “party time” and “the establishment” symbolized by LBJ and NIxon. (present company exclude Tom) The really funny ass part to me is our boomer generation has become as bad or worse than the one we rebelled against. I guess somewhere along the way most of us lost our characters content and decided that our aging eyes could easier see skin color than the character of the one wearing that skin.
Mark, I’d like to believe, but cannot prove that today’s older progressives are retreaded activists like you and I, while today’s Teabaggers are the idiots that used to attack us in the streets back then.
Tom, in one of his autobiographical writings, the magnificent Studs Terkel (now deceased and a true Chicago treasure) tells of interviewing someone who had joined the Klan and how the Klan had used him, feeding on his feelings of being a nobody. Studs goes on to say “if you’re NOBODY, you can’t endure it unless there’s somebody below you”.
Charles, I like that. He hit on a well known concept of self-justification of self-created in groups through the demonization of an out group. Teabaggers in 1930s Germany demonized Jews.
I actually attended some rallies around her. It so pissed me off, my friend told me I should write about it. Thus my blog was born. The premise behind the tea bag party is Racist,bigotry, and Hate.
And of course I have to say not everybody because there’s always an assclown that insist they know someone who isn’t. I’m actually ashamed that in our Country this kind of perversion still occurs.
Truth is we let it happen. That’s another story for another time…
Her? Tim, if I had to define the Teabaggers around a single premise I’d say its extreme US white pseudo-Christian exceptionalism.
The teabaggers and birthers are playing the Race Card card. They get their inbred followers all riled up about that N&%%#$ in the White House and those dirty swarthy immigrants, and then they yell “Race Card!” when anybody criticizes them. They act all hurt and persecuted by yelling “Oh, that’s right, we’re just a bunch of old white racists,” etc.
That sums it up quite well, Tom.
These fruit loops are the brown shirts absolutely! People keep telling me “don’t worry they are small, it means nothing” I hate to tell you, you better believe it does or we are in serious trouble. Do not marginalize these tyrants cloaked in Patriots clothing! I remember when Palin said to lock and load and excused it away and Republicans dismissed it as just words, just a phrase. Dismiss this at all our peril!
This is getting worse with every speech I hear. The long sought Republican second revolution is getting closer regardless of how you marginalize it. It really took shape when the tea party took over the Republican party. Dick Armey threatened a hostile take over of the Republican part by the tea party and it is now complete.
Christine O’Donnell’s Tea Party win is called shocking by many but not for the real implications. She is another know nothing mindless talentless ditz. However when Karl Rove the liar who propelled the fool Bush into office to destroy us spoke the truth about her and how she knew nothing Glenn Beck berated him and told him to get in line behind the party I was floored when sucked spit and fell in line like the rest of the Republican party. The hostile take over is complete and you better be concerned.
I saw the details that emerged of an interview with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly in November 2007 in which she made the claim, without any foundation, that: “American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains.” That idiocy is dismissed and what they are electing to take our Liberty back? That victory puts $1m in her war chest.
Jim, I would not say that the takeover is complete, because Republicans fear challenging their Brownshirts openly. Hitler supported his Brownshirts openly, too, but destroyed them behind the scenes, The Neocon, Corporocon and Plutocon wings are trying to ride the Theocon and InsaniTEA wings into power, but if successful, the latter will most likely be under the bus,
It should go without saying that all the dedicated Teabaggers I know are either certified racists or worse since I write about them so much. The funny thing I rarely mention though is that the racism I see in some ways is not blatant hatred but a back handed disregard that in many ways is worse. When I listen to the Teabaggers at work they only see the world through their eyes, they have no consideration for anyone out of their little universe. The very idea that not everyone has been granted the same privileges or rights as they is so far above their heads you might as well lecture them on quantum physics. They assume that since they don’t belong to the Klan or Nazis that racism does not exist.
Now try and explain to them that even now an African-American kid is far less likely to get a decent education, attend college, and after that get a good job they immediately fall back to the usual position of blaming the kid or the culture. They ignore the fact of under funded schools, social outreach programs that help endangered kids, that well-paying jobs are leaving the country, and that without any of those things it makes escaping poverty next to impossible. Which breeds hopelessness and crime.
Yeah I imagine in very isolated pockets there are non-racists Teabaggers, I am sure I wouldn’t like they anyway since I have always felt the well off in society need to give something back.
Beach, I agree. Most racism is covert. But as I said, their willingness to support racist policies makes them racist.
Anyone with a PC can tune into youtube and see the teabag rallys from a laymans view, ie not reg tv networks were things are edited out of the news script, I haved viewed many of them and racism is very prevlent at teabag events, the 3rd grade poster signs and the live interviews with these old fat crazy peeps were they say many racist things, And many of them do not even know why they are there as a lot of them say glen beck told us to show up and that dude lies like a rug as he is insane and a big fake phoney, But he does it cuz he knows the right wing loons will obey his every command just like hitler did in the 30,s,, beck is the hitler in 2010 as if you listen close to him you can pick out things DER FURER said in the 1930,s germany, Wise up people and try let your own minds think for you and not glen becks distorted hatefull mind.
And just a note, These teabaggers do not pay a dime to attend those nut rallys, its all been pre-payed for them to attend by the 2 KOCH brother republicans who hate obama with a passion and they are both billioniers who are forking out the big bucks to diss on every dem in office so they can get thier way to elect all republicans in nov as that will benefit them and not the working class and its a shame these teabaggers do not have the minds to know this as they are low life sheep and they need that sheep dog to lead them right into the slaughter house.
Welcome Rad. 🙂
I agree with most of what you say, except for assigning the role of Hitler to Glen Beck. He would certainly fit the bill, but there are other aspirants to be the Republican Fuhrer, such as Rush.