Mark Williams of Tea Party movement and NAACP

[MrFun]

I think that might have worked if your average independant, even if they don't like the Tea Party, were prone to believe that the Tea Party was overtly racist as an organization. Its obvious they don't think it is based on racism, and thus they will recognize this as a huge strawman on the part of the left.

This goes back to my point in the OP that the Tea Party is not a central organization.

But there are still many racists who have joined the Tea Party movement. A number of them have participated in rallies carrying racially degrading sign images of Obama (such as the infamous Obama witch doctor poster, deriding health care reform).

[giblets]

I'd be surprised if racists didn't see the tea parties as an opportunity to complain about a black president, but it would be unfair to attack the tea party movement for being racist when most of the participants are there to complain about government policies.

[rah]

Yes, it's not centralized enough to have a leadership to denounce the racists. There are many individual members that have though. At least all the democratic racists are more discreet and the republican ones don't have to be.

[bipolarbear]

It seems the nebulous structure of the Tea Party lends them a convenient defense. Naturally there is no guiding dogma beyond, "Don't is be taksing me Obammer!" Anybody who has actually looked at the Tea Party will know they aren't racist.

I think the situation might be something a little bit like this though (I don't really have any facts to go on here so this is probably wrong).

For many who pay allegiance to the Tea Party this is their first time being involved in an "activist" (or whatever you call it) organization. The Tea Party has been widely said to be made up of Right Wingers with "extreme" or "fringe" opinions.

Basically there hasn't been much in the way of out and out hateful racism, but what could be perhaps more accurately described as extreme cultural insensitivity. If the above conjectures are true then I think we may have at least a partial explanation available.

Many in the Tea Party are effectively naive when it comes to politics and being in the national spotlight. Most would likely look some of the offensive signs and think it was funny comparing Obama to a witchdoctor, but not understand how this makes African-Americans feel, and more importantly how if affects their image. The rest is punditry.

[rah]

I can make fun of a standing president without being racist, thank you.

When blacks (or whites for that matter) compared Bush to a monkey, was that racist?
They were just saying he was an idiot.

[DanS]

Naturally there is no guiding dogma beyond, "Don't is be taksing me Obammer!"

If you listen carefully, you will understand that this is not the case. The strongest underlying current is against the GOP leadership. Obama and Bush will get similar scores from many of these folks.

[Guynemer]

I'd like to believe that was true, Dan, but I'm going to have to ask you to prove it.

[rah]

I would agree with a certain percentage but wouldn't agree on a majority.

[DanS]

The kiss of death to any tea partier running for office has been that they are too close to the GOP leadership. Their relationship to Obama hardly rates.

[Heraclitus]

NAACP no longer does anything other than pay its employees to get offended at nonsense.

+1

[Ben Kenobi]

But there is also no denying that there is a cultural part of the Tea Party movement that condones racism and racist behavior. Many racists have jumped on the Tea Party bandwagon as a means to rally their kind and spew out such racist vitriol.

Interesting.

"We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

Can you identify the source of the quote, Mr. Fun?

[Patroklos]

This goes back to my point in the OP that the Tea Party is not a central organization.

But there are still many racists who have joined the Tea Party movement. A number of them have participated in rallies carrying racially degrading sign images of Obama (such as the infamous Obama witch doctor poster, deriding health care reform).

Sorry Mr. Fun, but you need to abandon defending this retardation. There have been contests and rewards for people to submit evidence of this widespread and overt racism and nothing substantial has materialized.

This movement has dozens of millions of members and sympahizers and has had thousands of demonstrations. You have to provide something other than a handful of sign wavers (and no, the witch doctor signs are not racist) with an incidence of more than 1/10,000.

Right now one thing is certain, the NAACP has more racists in its ranks than the tea party ever did.

[Guynemer]

I do not dispute that the left in general, and the NAACP in particular, are all too happy to shout "racism!" when it serves their ends. However, two points...

(and no, the witch doctor signs are not racist)

The **** they aren't.

Right now one thing is certain, the NAACP has more racists in its ranks than the tea party ever did.

That's a rather bald-faced assertion that is neither supported nor refuted by any substantial amount of fact. It is absolutely not "certain" that your statement is even remotely true.

[rah]

There is a similar lack of evidence for the opposite.

[Guynemer]

That's a rather bald-faced assertion that is neither supported nor refuted by any substantial amount of fact.

As I said.