H.P.: Your request is being processed... Tea Party Federation Expels Mark Williams Over 'Offensive' Response To NAACP's Racism Charge

[mjah]

The tea party currently has the momentum to help flush a large number of incumbents, mostly D's, out of office. This is why there is, and will continue to be, an all out assault on them. The R's are willing to look the other way, since they are not in the same amount of danger from the TP's.

This year's Congressional elections, like all years' Congressional elections, come down to local fights. And the TP (if I may tear off a square from your acronym roll) is not a welcome presence to R's in every one of those races, so R's "look the other way" mantra will only be a good one in races where the TP is perceived to bring more positive than negative to the R's table. The R's are smart enough to know that this won't be the condition everywhere. In fact, it appears to me that "look the other way" has far more to do with the fact the R's can't do much about the TP's popularity anyway. It would be politically worse to engage in a circular firing squad with the TP than to support them and then expect them to fall in line after winning some of their elections (which seems like the most likely outcome).

Any, and every negative story, true or manufactured, will get plenty of airtime by the left leaning media. From now until the election.

Yep, just as the right leaning media have been doing since before Inauguration Day and long before that. We could spend years arguing over the networks news' and major papers' leanings and get almost nowhere, but the truly undeniable biases will come in the form of Fox News' and MSNBC's "coverage" (ppbbbbtttt) of the issues and elections.

For the D's, the TP is THE target for the upcoming election. Not whatever R they happen to be running against.

Reduce the TP's down to ignorant white racists, then tie every R to them.

So, misrepresent the candidate's positions and ideas, portray him as unworthy/reprehensible/not-a-real-American/clueless/etc., and appeal to emotion instead of reason? Sounds like a familiar approach. I believe I remember that from every hotly contested Congressional race ever.

Depending upon how utterly stupid district-by-district electorates are, it might work too, just as millions have fallen for the overrunning cup of contemporary GOP dishonesty. Parallels abound with the cynical Republican strategies of days past and present, with the only differentiation being the degree of dignity each "side" is willing to shed. Many outspoken R's have demonstrated over the past two years that they basically have no upper bound on self-embarrassment and are perfectly happy to campaign against elaborate figments instead of making more honest arguments based strictly on facts. Now many D's are lining up to do the very same thing, as they have in the past. We'll see how low many D's are willing to sink. Many will happily wallow right down there in the manure and filth, but it remains to be seen to what degree that will occur across the party vs. just in hotly contested races. (As we all know, degree always matters in Internet discussions. ) Recent incredible legislative events notwithstanding, D's are very often terrible at establishing and holding a party line. More often than not, they just don't have the fortitude for that brand of solidarity.

Personally, I don't think it's actually possible for the D's to recreate the scope and degree of the R's past 24 months of vocal self-embarrassment, even if they tried their best (and many of them will). There's just too much out there already; calling all GOP candidates Tea Party racists will have about as much credibility as calling all health care reform supporters death-panel executioners. People who hear the accusation will have long ago made up their minds, so the only folks to really profit will be the cable news outlets, their hot-air **** shovelers, and their advertisers.

All of this stuff exists because there are tens of millions of voters who respond to it. Not that there's an overall better system to be found, but the voluntary stupidity of the voting public is the real driver of this crap.

[Spartacus87]

That's not bigotry.

1. I certainly don't want the mosque RIGHT NEXT to ground zero considering the fact that radical Muslims were responsible for 3,000 American deaths in an act of holy war. I don't care that most Muslims aren't violent. The entire idea of a mosque right there is unnecessary.

Reminds me of this ad I just saw:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjGJPPRD3u0&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjGJPPRD3u0&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

When it's put into video format like that, it looks and sound even sillier to be concerned about.

[Hubbs]

Yes, I made up that 80% of tea party members are white...wait...no I didn't:

Interesting, considering the fact that 75% of the American population is... wait... white.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Reminds me of this ad I just saw:

When it's put into video format like that, it looks and sound even sillier to be concerned about.

See, to me, the existence of a mosque at Ground Zero would be a symbol of the awesomeness of America. Maybe I have a different idea of what makes America great though. But that's a topic for another thread.

Interesting, considering the fact that 75% of the American population is... wait... white.

More like 65%. And I think that's the only demographic that's trending down.

And the TP (if I may tear off a square from your acronym roll) is not a welcome presence to R's in every one of those races...

Lol

[greenspandan]

haha what more could the tea party possibly do to out itself as a haven for bigots. of course they had to kick this guy out after that absurdly blatant racist rant (racist satire is still racist, duh) but he is far from the only tea partier who holds such views.

he got kicked out because he was perceived as one of their leaders, and he outed himself so publicly and so blatantly.

no doubt there is still a huge contingent within the organizations who feel compelled to add the telltale "i'm not racist but..." riders to far too many of their statements.

[Spartacus87]

See, to me, the existence of a mosque at Ground Zero would be a symbol of the awesomeness of America. Maybe I have a different idea of what makes America great though. But that's a topic for another thread.

That's my thought on it as well.

But when you have Sarah Palin saying things like this on her Twitter like she did today:

SarahPalinUSA Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing

SarahPalinUSA Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real

It gets people riled up in a different direction for the "good" of America.

But yeah, this is some strange Tea Party/NAACP/racism thread, so maybe it's better to leave the WTC/Mosque discussion for another time. I just had to post that commercial since I just saw it and Chicken Fried brought up the topic.

[Ax]

This year's Congressional elections, like all years' Congressional elections, come down to local fights. And the TP (if I may tear off a square from your acronym roll) is not a welcome presence to R's in every one of those races, so R's "look the other way" mantra will only be a good one in races where the TP is perceived to bring more positive than negative to the R's table. The R's are smart enough to know that this won't be the condition everywhere. In fact, it appears to me that "look the other way" has far more to do with the fact the R's can't do much about the TP's popularity anyway. It would be politically worse to engage in a circular firing squad with the TP than to support them and then expect them to fall in line after winning some of their elections (which seems like the most likely outcome).

If the R's ever feel that the TP's are as likely to hurt them, as to help them, overall, they will join forces with the D's to marginalize them. It's the one thing, (any serious threat to the current two party monopoly), that will unite them, every time. Right now, the TP is far more trouble for the D's. That's why they're so desperate to have them thought of as ignorant, white, racists.

Yep, just as the right leaning media have been doing since before Inauguration Day and long before that. We could spend years arguing over the networks news' and major papers' leanings and get almost nowhere, but the truly undeniable biases will come in the form of Fox News' and MSNBC's "coverage" (ppbbbbtttt) of the issues and elections.

In the TV media, it's Fox on one side, and everybody else on the other. Meaning ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and the majority of network tv's "entertainment" lineup.

No question that Fox is, by far, more overt in their bias. I would argue that...

a) They have to be, in order to stack up against the overwhelming disadvantage they deal with, in terms of total airtime controlled by those leaning left.

That their, over the top, hit you in the head with a bat approach, is less damaging than the overall tactics of the others. Which is to put enough poison in your food each day, to kill you slowly, while remaining undetectable. With an occasional bat to the ole noggin as well. MSNBC being the most consistently mirror image of the Fox approach.

Me? I watch them all. My extraordinary built in BS detector enables me to ward off any dangerous side effects from any of them. Too bad that so few have that ability.

So, misrepresent the candidate's positions and ideas, portray him as unworthy/reprehensible/not-a-real-American/clueless/etc., and appeal to emotion instead of reason? Sounds like a familiar approach. I believe I remember that from every hotly contested Congressional race ever.

Yeah, but the TP provides an imaginary debil, that if successfully besmirched, can be used as a giant blanket to cover all those not actively joining the D's, in seeking to destroy this scourge of humanity.

i.e. the R's.

Depending upon how utterly stupid district-by-district electorates are, it might work too, just as millions have fallen for the overrunning cup of contemporary GOP dishonesty. Parallels abound with the cynical Republican strategies of days past and present, with the only differentiation being the degree of dignity each "side" is willing to shed. Many outspoken R's have demonstrated over the past two years that they basically have no upper bound on self-embarrassment and are perfectly happy to campaign against elaborate figments instead of making more honest arguments based strictly on facts. Now many D's are lining up to do the very same thing, as they have in the past. We'll see how low many D's are willing to sink. Many will happily wallow right down there in the manure and filth, but it remains to be seen to what degree that will occur across the party vs. just in hotly contested races.

Agreed.

All of this stuff exists because there are tens of millions of voters who respond to it. Not that there's an overall better system to be found, but the voluntary stupidity of the voting public is the real driver of this crap.

And a big, Amen.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I think it was just satire that epic failed.

Racists with low IQs should not attempt satire.

[NoCalMike]

For all the attention the media has paid the Tea Party, positive or negative, have they as a party or group or whatever, offered any ideas and/or solutions besides the what conservatives/republicans have already been proposing for the past 30 years? What differs from them? I know what their rhetoric says, but are they actually being given legitimacy by FOX news merely because they can be used as pawns to try and purge (D)s in November? And then what exactly happens? Once republicans become the status quo again do they basically just turn their back on the tea party?

I just want to know what the Tea Party is really standing for besides the very vague mantra of "stop taxing us and spending our money" because quite frankly that is not a new message, it isn't something invented by the Tea Party. It is a political philosophy, not a solution. What are the leaders of the tea party proposing on other issues besides the economy?

Are we to assume they are liberal on social issues such as gay marriage, don't ask don't tell, prohibition of marijuana etc etc....due to their "Get government out of our lives" message?

The closest I have ever heard a tea party representative come to commenting on any actual policy was on Larry King, a lady said something about giving small businesses tax cuts which would "create jobs"

[greenspandan]

Are we to assume they are liberal on social issues such as gay marriage, don't ask don't tell, prohibition of marijuana etc etc....due to their "Get government out of our lives" message?

not to mention wire tapping, torture, miranda rights, military spending, privacy, etc ... anything that expands the role of the government in our lives you would think ought to be a huge concern for libertarian types, but all too often they just turn out to be closet republicans, with no real problem with big government as long as it's doing the things they approve of. (incarcerating more, punishing more, waging war, subsidizing big business, etc)

[Hunter44]

And I think many very wealthy Americans are against income redistribution as well.

Except that our entire system of taxation has always been redistribution of wealth.

[alexey]

In the TV media, it's Fox on one side, and everybody else on the other. Meaning ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and the majority of network tv's "entertainment" lineup.

No question that Fox is, by far, more overt in their bias. I would argue that...

a) They have to be, in order to stack up against the overwhelming disadvantage they deal with, in terms of total airtime controlled by those leaning left.

That their, over the top, hit you in the head with a bat approach, is less damaging than the overall tactics of the others. Which is to put enough poison in your food each day, to kill you slowly, while remaining undetectable. With an occasional bat to the ole noggin as well. MSNBC being the most consistently mirror image of the Fox approach.

It can be argued that a left-leaning perspective on actual reality is better than an alternative reality.

[Hubbs]

More like 65%. And I think that's the only demographic that's trending down.

Bah, Wiki included Hispanics in the first number for "whites" on the American demographics page. Since when has Run DMC gone around writing tricky Wikipedia entries?

Anyway, the point is that the 80% number - which appears to be totally hypothetical, but, judging by what I've seen at the rallies, probably a pretty good guess - isn't particularly unusual, and definitely not a sign of racism. Unless you think Kenny G concerts are teeming with KKK members.

[Hubbs]

Are we to assume they are liberal on social issues such as gay marriage, don't ask don't tell, prohibition of marijuana etc etc....due to their "Get government out of our lives" message?

I wish we could assume that. I remember, in the earliest days of the Tea Party, the answer to that question seemed to legitimately be yes. Those "days" probably lasted for a total of a couple weeks. Fun while it lasted, I guess. Now you're generally right, and it's a shame.

[Duckus]

Are we to assume they are liberal on social issues such as gay marriage, don't ask don't tell, prohibition of marijuana etc etc....due to their "Get government out of our lives" message?

With folks like Bachmann and Palin hijacking the train - I don't think so.

From Wiki -

Bachmann supports both a federal and state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and any legal equivalents.[111] In support of a constitutional amendment she proposed to ban same-sex marriage,[111] Bachmann said that the gay community was specifically targeting children and that "our children... are the prize for this community."[112] Bachmann has said that people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered suffer from "sexual dysfunction" and "sexual identity disorders.

[Madison Redskin]

I think the single greatest reason why people think that TPs are racist is that they were quiet as ****** mice when GWB was in office, but went apoplectic once Obama got into office even though Obama's policies aren't radically different from Bush's. I highly doubt that a majority of them are racist, but the timing of their protests raises a few interesting questions.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I think the single greatest reason why people think that TPs are racist is that they were quiet as ****** mice when GWB was in office, but went apoplectic once Obama got into office even though Obama's policies aren't radically different from Bush's. I highly doubt that a majority of them are racist, but the timing of their protests raises a few interesting questions.

I don't think I agree with this statement. President Obama's policies, IMO, are radically different then just about anybody we've ever had in office, except may Carter (who couldn't get anything done) and FDR. He is clearly the most Liberal President I've ever seen.

[Duckus]

I don't think I agree with this statement. President Obama's policies, IMO, are radically different then just about anybody we've ever had in office, except may Carter (who couldn't get anything done) and FDR. He is clearly the most Liberal President I've ever seen.

Please list in your opinion the similarities (specific) between Obama's Presidency and Carter.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Please list in your opinion the similarities (specific) between Obama's Presidency and Carter.

Since I've already said that Carter couldn't get anything passed, it would be pretty difficult to do this, don't you think?

However, Carter did advocate many of the same kinds of programs that President Obama has supported.

[19Skins72]

Since I've already said that Carter couldn't get anything passed, it would be pretty difficult to do this, don't you think?

However, Carter did advocate many of the same kinds of programs that President Obama has supported.

Okay then, could you list perceived differences between Obama and Bush?

[twa]

Please list in your opinion the similarities (specific) between Obama's Presidency and Carter.

His foreign policy has many similarities,which should not be surprising considering who formulates it.

If you remove the already mandated military engagements,they are eerily similar....and about as foolish

[jpyaks3]

His foreign policy has many similarities,which should not be surprising considering who formulates it.

If you remove the already mandated military engagements,they are eerily similar....and about as foolish

Can you expand on this with some specific examples or initiatives?

[ABQCOWBOY]

Okay then, could you list perceived differences between Obama and Bush?

Sure, which Bush?

[twa]

Can you expand on this with some specific examples or initiatives?

Attempting to marginalize Israel and reaching out to Syria,Iran ect.

Or you can go to his South American policies embracing the leftists,both guided by the thought you can work with them.

[Madison Redskin]

I don't think I agree with this statement.

Tea Partiers supposedly want DC to be more fiscally conservative and so they loudly complain about Obama. Where the **** were they when Bush started two wars that will cost us trillions of dollars, pushed Medicare Part D through Congress (which will cost $700B over 10 years), bailed out Wall Street, etc?