The NAACP is publishing what I’m sure is an unbiased review of the ties between the Tea Party movement and *gasp* racists.
According to the Kansas City Star, there are three key links.
The Council of Conservative Citizens, which is from what I can tell, pretty much a white separatist group. They have hosted or sponsored at least one Tea Party rally (as can pretty much anyone.) As I’m sure the report will point out, the CoCC has links to a number of prominent politicians not associated with the Tea Party, including Democrats. The Kansas City Star didn’t mention that, although it only took me about a minute to find it.
More clear proof that the Tea Party movement is racist: the leader of the Wood County, TX (population: a whopping 37,000) Tea Party used to be “involved with” the KKK. I’m sure the NAACP report will determine the entire US Congress is also racist, given there have been a number of Congresspeople who were linked to the KKK, including the venerable Democrat Strom Thurmond.
And finally, the 1776 Tea Party (teaparty.org) is lead by (if you can call anyone in the Tea Party a leader) Stephen Eichler, who is also a member of the Minuteman Project. The Star does mention they are anti-immigrant instead of calling them racist; they must have accidentally left out the word “illegal”.
I don’t know about you, but to me, those are some pretty weak links.
I’m not a member of the Tea Party. (Nor am I a fan of or do I agree with the CoCC, the KKK, or the Minutemen.) While the Tea Party folks hold many views similar to mine, the movement has morphed from ‘Taxed Enough Already’ into something else that more closely resembles Paleo-Conservatism. Which is fine, but not for me. So while I don’t really care what the NAACP thinks of a group I have no ties to, I’m really sick of people on the Left running around screaming “RACIST” at anyone who disagrees with them. It’s an indicator of weakness of argument; the NAACP can’t actually come up with any intellectual arguments against the Tea Party positions, all they can do is call them names.
I thought we were moving in to the post racial era. Apparently not.
Windy Recycling Day 